Sin City High


Book Description




Sin City Gangsters


Book Description

Sin City Gangsters: The Rise and Decline of the Mob in Las Vegas is a fast-paced account of how the mob created and controlled Las Vegas. It contains accounts of how the most powerful mobsters in the country built, bought, and controlled not only gambling casinos in Vegas, but also many important politicians, who did the mob’s bidding. Some of the more notorious mobsters were Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky, Moe Dalitz, Sam Giancana, Tony Accardo, and Nick Civella, as well as the men they chose to carry out their plans, such as Tony Spilotro, Lefty Rosenthal, and Donald Angelini. Sin City Gangsters devotes a chapter to Jimmy Hoffa, and how the Teamsters Pension Fund financed the mob’s casinos. The book also offers fascinating accounts of the roles of Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley in Vegas. Another chapter is devoted to Howard Hughes, who arrived in the dead of night in a sealed, germ-free railroad car and did not leave his suite at the Desert Inn for years. During that time he bought one casino after another as if playing Monopoly. Following his exit and that of the mob, Vegas became the domain of Jay Sarno, Kirk Kerkorian, Steve Wynn, and Sheldon Adelson. They were visionaries who transformed Vegas into the entertainment capital of the world by building billion-dollars-plus resorts and hiring the most popular contemporary entertainers. Sin City Gangsters is the only book that charts Vegas from the first modest mob-owned casinos to the present billion-dollar-resorts; its cast of characters is an assembly of exceedingly ambitious risk takers who let nothing stand in their way of turning their dreams into stunning realities.




Sin City


Book Description

Jack the Book Man Aug 2003.




Chronicles of Old Las Vegas


Book Description

Discover one of America's most fascinating cities through 30 dramatic true stories spanning Las Vegas's 150-year history. James Roman takes readers on a tour through the glamorous and sometimes sordid history of Las Vegas and explains how a railroad town transformed itself into "the Entertainment Capital of the World." Essays explore the major historic events from the founding of Sin City and the building of the Hoover Dam to the rise of the Rat Pack at the Sands and the establishment of the Mafia-controlled casinos. Also included are intriguing tales of Vegas celebrities from Frank Sinatra and Liberace to Siegfried and Roy, as well as numerous historical photos and full-color maps.




Filming the Fantastic: A Guide to Visual Effects Cinematography


Book Description

Don't waste valuable time and budget fixing your footage in post! Shoot the effects you want effectively and creatively the first time. This full-color step-by step guide to visual effects cinematography empowers you to plan out and execute visual effects shots on a budget, without falling into the common pitfall of using high-end computer graphics to "fix it in post, which can be an expensive, drawn out process. Instead, learn how to put your shots together before you start shooting-whether you're working in digital or film. Learn how to effectively photograph and create miniatures, matte paintings, green screen set ups, crowd replication, digital rear projection, and so much more to create elements that will composite together flawlessly. The main purpose of effects is to promote the story, not just to wow an audience with amazing tricks created digitally. This book describes methods for creating seamless effects that don't call attention to themselves but enhance the scene as a whole. The technical foundations of film and digital capture are given in the introductory chapters of the book, and you are presented with real world scenarios that illustrate these basic concepts in a practical sense. Step-by-step illustrations of photographic element creation empower you to learn how to effectively pre-plan and execute your own visual effects challenges.




Billboard


Book Description

In its 114th year, Billboard remains the world's premier weekly music publication and a diverse digital, events, brand, content and data licensing platform. Billboard publishes the most trusted charts and offers unrivaled reporting about the latest music, video, gaming, media, digital and mobile entertainment issues and trends.




CSI


Book Description

There are certain films and shows that resonate with audiences everywhere—they generate discussion and debate about everything from gender, class, citizenship and race, to consumerism and social identity. This new ‘teachable canon’ of film and television introduces students to alternative classics that range from silent film to CSI. Since its debut in September 2000, CSI’s fusion of cinematic spectacle, forensic pathology and character drama has regularly drawn in tens of millions of viewers around the world This original new study investigates CSI’s cultural importance, both for the media industry and for the criminal justice system itself, exploring its formal and narrative style, and its impact on media culture CSI provides a model for studying how genre, narrative, industry concerns, and the broad 'public life' of a television series contribute to our understanding of the nature and function of contemporary popular television




Games of Greed


Book Description

Examining the consequences of greed in today's society Fear and greed are among the strongest motivators. They influence all our decisions. Every day, we see the lives of the fabulous and famous in the press, on TV, and on social media, and we envy them for their luxurious lifestyle. We want it all too! Games of Greed reveals how some of these people let greed get the better of them. This book connects the dots between the Panama Papers, Bernie Madoff, famous rough traders, and con artists like Nick Leeson, Jérôme Kerviel, Billy McFarland, and Jordan Belfort, the real Wolf of Wall Street. It reveals the excesses of Main Street and Wall Street and Silicon Valley, and even loafing Las Vegas—art heists, stock markets, bitcoins, and festival fraud. ​In this insightful book, Torsten Dennin demonstrates the pitfalls of greed through many examples of people who, like Icarus, flew too high and fell with catastrophic consequences. In the current day and age of increasing financial tensions and fewer planetary resources, his analysis of greed is both relevant and timely.




All the Water the Law Allows


Book Description

As the population of the greater Las Vegas area grows and the climate warms, the threat of a water shortage looms over southern Nevada. But as Christian S. Harrison demonstrates in All the Water the Law Allows, the threat of shortage arises not from the local environment but from the American legal system, specifically the Law of the River that governs water allocation from the Colorado River. In this political and legal history of the Las Vegas water supply, Harrison focuses on the creation and actions of the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) to tell a story with profound implications and important lessons for water politics and natural resource policy in the twenty-first century. In the state with the smallest allocation of the Colorado’s water supply, Las Vegas faces the twin challenges of aridity and federal law to obtain water for its ever-expanding population. All the Water the Law Allows describes how the impending threat of shortage in the 1980s compelled the five metropolitan water agencies of greater Las Vegas to unify into a single entity. Harrison relates the circumstances of the SNWA’s evolution and reveals how the unification of local, county, and state interests allowed the compact to address regional water policy with greater force and focus than any of its peers in the Colorado River Basin. Most notably, the SNWA has mapped conservation plans that have drastically reduced local water consumption; and, in the interstate realm, it has been at the center of groundbreaking, water-sharing agreements. Yet these achievements do not challenge the fundamental primacy of the Law of the River. If current trends continue and the Basin States are compelled to reassess the river’s distribution, the SNWA will be a force and a model for the Basin as a whole.




Adventures in Autism


Book Description

The master of motivation, Peter A. LaPorta, returns and brings us heart-warming stories of courage, determination, and overcoming adversity. Adventures in Autism takes you around the globe to meet incredible families that live each day under the umbrella of Autism. Open your eyes and your mind as these amazing individuals demonstrate the wonderful accomplishments they have achieved by surpassing the boundaries that society has placed around them. From surfing to horseback riding, competitive sports to musical performance, they live full lives as the Autism flows through their system. Through the many adventures in the book you will meet such children as Ping Lian, a world class artist and a proven force in the global art community. You will be introduced to David and Terry, two children recovering from Autism through years of biomedical therapies. You will be in awe of the single mother of five boys that juggles her world with three children on the spectrum. Peter even opens the Autism window to his own family and shows us how wonderful life can be living with his son, Peter Jr. Numerous stories within will show you that any circumstance can be overcome. The world is facing an Autism epidemic that is systematically altering the future of the human race. The statistics are staggering as children are being thrown into a vortex of darkness. Now is not the time to close your eyes in ignorance. Now is the time to embrace Autism and fuel the motivation to move forward. Come along for this amazing ride across the Autism universe. Peter A. LaPorta is the highly acclaimed author of three best- selling titles. His first book, Ignite the Passion, A Guide to Motivational Leadership was named by Amazon.com to be one of the top 20 books on motivational leadership in print. A former DISNEY leader, Peter travels the globe spreading his messages of motivation and service. For more information on Peter and his incredible journey, visit http://laportaenterprises.com