By Deke Castleman – Published by Huntington Press – £12.10
Never mind celebrities, the people you really want to get to know when you’re in Las Vegas are those in charge of dishing out the comps – the casino hosts. You don’t have to be a big-shot to get comped; the small-timer can, by playing it right, get the odd free slap-up meal at a restaurant (see our article in InsideEdge issue 9).
In the pre-1990s corporation era, hosts rose through the ranks from dealer to casino manager to marketing execs, hosting a handful of established and big-money players. Then a high-octane young telemarketer fresh out of the Las Vegas Boiler Rooms showed up. Not so much pushing the envelope, as shoving it off a cliff, Steve Cyr reinvented Las Vegas with freewheeling, innovative and frequently scandalous marketing techniques.
Filthy rich whales
Castleman’s book exposes the psychology of the big gambler and how, more often than not, Cyr was one-step ahead, watching for whales ‘on tilt’ who risked blowing all their stack – and his long-term revenue.
He hunted whales in all corners of the earth with super-stretch SUVs, palatial penthouse suites, Dom-and-Beluga cocktail parties, and the most beautiful and accessible women (tarts) on the planet. If the bets were five figures then Cyr was on their trail and, like him or loathe him, you’ll find yourself rooting for the underdog.
Author Deke Castleman is a much-published authority on the underbelly of Las Vegas, and this super-cool book tears away the glitzy fa?ade that the corporations like to wear in Vegas and tears to ribbons the shroud that has for years covered the world of ultra high rollers. En route the lifestyles and inner-workings of the biggest punters are laid bare.
It’s an absolute must-read from anyone who ever peeked into a high-roller game and marvelled at the sums of money being gambled.
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