Gamblers Book Club, Volume II: Chapter 1 – The Second First Year
By David J. Paster
Most first volumes do not take years to unfold (except for some of those Russian novels with hard to pronounce names), but after 46 years, Volume I has concluded and Volume II has commenced. It has been open to its first chapter for one year now. Fortunately, some of the principal characters of the Gambler’s Book Club story have carried over in some incarnation from Volume I to Volume II. The fundamental historic link comes in the form of the “gambler’s librarian,” and now seasoned emeritus, Howard Schwartz.
The distinguished publisher, and long-time Las Vegas man of letters, Avery Cardoza owns the store now and is hands-on active with its renaissance, but Schwartz remains its spirit for many casual patrons and hardcore searchers for quality gaming-related resources.
On May 25, 2011, The Gambler’s Book Club (GBC) celebrated its one-year anniversary at its new, new location (the stored moved twice, like a floating craps game, from its battle zone locale on Charleston Blvd.), and it would be easier and faster to list who was not there than who was. I will not violate their collective privacy by providing that list of who’s who attendees, but it can be said that there have been few occasions in gaming’s fabled history where so many people who actually knew what they were talking about with regard to gaming were in one place at one time. The marquee names of expert writers on many of the thousands of books lining the shelves of GBC mingled freely, without distinctions of being a populist or academic, old school or new school, or even familiar with the criminal justice system or baby-faced.
As a move to embrace the next wave of communication beyond books, the store has embraced Internet communication technology with an in-house, high-end audio-video production studio. Schwartz conducts near weekly chats that are distributed as podcasts at http://gamblersbookclub.libsyn.com/. Unlike many of the trade magazine or academically bent podcasts, the well-polished CEOs, CFOs and marketing directors of monolithic corporate gaming houses and their interpreters, equity analysts and gaming researchers are not the only ones interviewed. Rather, Schwartz, with an extensive background in traditional journalism, asks well-researched and carefully thought out questions to the Rudyard Kipling-esque characters that make the gaming industry the fun, (albeit some are hesitant to admit it) business and even lifestyle that it truly is. Schwartz consistently provides an environment that allows his guests to proverbially loosen their ties, let down their hair and simply enjoy being part of a conversation with a non-imposing and unassuming, but quietly brilliant, “favorite uncle” type who holistically knows the gaming/gambling business like few others do. Plus, Schwartz ends each interview with a tremendous and even ingenious open-ended question, “Is there anything that I forgot to ask or that you have always wanted to be asked?” Some great answers arise when the reigns of control are handed over like that.
At a Casino Management Association dinner well over a decade ago, Jackie Gaughn made a profound distinction: “Gamers are those jackasses with their fancy suits, food you can’t pronounce and roller coasters; gamblers play cards and shoot dice.” What is refreshing about Schwartz’s podcasts and the GBC in general is that both are demilitarized zones that are welcoming to members of both camps.
Led by the ever-merry Mary Wohlers, the GBC staff is more helpful and knowledgeable than any Borders or Barnes & Noble employee could ever hope to be, and they can be found at their default flagship location of 5473 S. Eastern Avenue (Las Vegas) 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday–Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. GBC also has a fantastic website (www.gamblersbookclub.com) and will actually accept real-live calls at (702) 382-7555 or (800) 522-1777. Just from loitering at the store and hearing incoming calls, it seems that no piker’s question is too strange or element of gaming too obscure: “You want to know about Faro or Bucking the Tiger in gold mining camps of South Dakota in the year 1864? Sure, let’s see what we can find.”
With unrivaled resources for delving deeper into the gaming universe, it is without reservation that many will attest that GBC, its staff and the eminent Schwartz, with his seemingly endless tutelage to so many in the industry, are Las Vegas treasures.