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David Clary

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Gangsters to Governors: The New Bosses of Gambling in America Kindle Edition

by David Clary (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.0 15 ratings

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Winner of the 2018 Current Events/Social Change Book Award from the Next Generation Indie Book Awards

Winner of the 2018 Bronze Current Events Book Award from the Independent Publisher Book Awards

Generations ago, gambling in America was an illicit activity, dominated by gangsters like Benny Binion and Bugsy Siegel. Today, forty-eight out of fifty states permit some form of legal gambling, and America’s governors sit at the head of the gaming table. But have states become addicted to the revenue gambling can bring? And does the potential of increased revenue lead them to place risky bets on new casinos, lotteries, and online games?

In Gangsters to Governors, journalist David Clary investigates the pros and cons of the shift toward state-run gambling. Unearthing the sordid history of America’s gaming underground, he demonstrates the problems with prohibiting gambling while revealing how today’s governors, all competing for a piece of the action, promise their citizens payouts that are rarely delivered.

Clary introduces us to a rogue’s gallery of colorful characters, from John “Old Smoke” Morrissey, the Irish-born gangster who built Saratoga into a gambling haven in the nineteenth century, to Sheldon Adelson, the billionaire casino magnate who has furiously lobbied against online betting. By exploring the controversial histories of legal and illegal gambling in America, he offers a fresh perspective on current controversies, including bans on sports and online betting. Entertaining and thought-provoking, Gangsters to Governors considers the past, present, and future of our gambling nation.

Author's website (http://www.davidclaryauthor.com)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Sports betting likely coming to California, but not soon" by Michael Shapiro mention of Gangers to Governors ― San Francisco Chronicle

"A well-written, tidbit-laden reference book about gambling in the U.S. from its beginnings to 2017." ― Las Vegas Review-Journal

"How the Supreme Court's sports gambling decision may affect your bets" by David Clary op-ed ― San Diego Union-Tribune

“David Clary delivers an encompassing look at the fascinating, ongoing evolution of American gambling. He touches on all the right topics – the mob, Las Vegas, Atlantic City, fantasy sports – to tell the story of where we’ve been, how we got here, and where we’re headed.” -- David Purdum ― ESPN Chalk

"It's a fascinating topic" - Full interview here -- Maureen Cavanaugh ― KPBS

"An inherently fascinating and impressively informative study, Gangsters to Governors... is unreservedly recommended for both community and academic library American History collections" -- Carl Logan ― Midwest Book Review

"Deeply researched, easily readable and highly engaging, Gangsters to Governors is an excellent read for fans of gambling and of American business and political history." ― Casino City Times

"Gangsters to Governors: The New Bosses of Gambling in America... goes back to the earliest days of gambling in America, betting on horse racing in the early 19th century. It covers state-run lotteries, legal gambling in Nevada, and mob control over Las Vegas in the 20th century... Among the most compelling issues Clary raises is how states and their governors have become leading advocates of gambling because they’re ever more dependent on the revenue it provides." -- Michael Shapiro, author of “A Sense of Place" ― San Francisco Chronicle

"Supreme Court ruling opens door to widespread sports betting" by Matt Villano Gangsters to Governors mention ― GlobalSport Matters

"Journalist David Clary’s book, Gangsters to Governors, is a fascinating read, chronicling gaming from the time of the mobsters forward to the relationships of politicians and state legalized gambling." -- Howard Hian ― travel/gaming writer for PokerResorts.net and managing editor of Travel Savvy News

"This timely inquiry raises important questions about the relationship of Americans to gambling and is essential reading for those interested in the politics and policy behind gambling." -- David G. Schwartz ― director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas

About the Author

DAVID CLARY is a news editor at the San Diego Union-Tribune and has been a journalist for more than twenty years. He previously worked at the Plain Dealer in Cleveland and is a graduate of Syracuse University.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B071P3Z14Z
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Rutgers University Press (October 30, 2017)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 30, 2017
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1852 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 343 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 081358454X

Best Sellers Rank: #3,919,577 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #92 in Slot Machines
- #1,035 in State & Local Government
- #1,039 in Sports & Entertainment Industry (Kindle Store)

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4.0 15 ratings

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David Clary

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David Clary is an award-winning author and a news editor at The San Diego Union-Tribune. Clary's latest book is "Soul Winners: The Ascent of America’s Evangelical Entrepreneurs," published by Prometheus Books, an imprint of Globe Pequot, in September 2022. "Soul Winners" explores how America’s entrepreneurial spirit has shaped evangelical ministries and influenced their worldview. "Soul Winners" blends meticulous research and thorough reporting to explain how evangelical entrepreneurs rose to power and assesses the consequences for the country.

His previous book, "Gangsters to Governors: The New Bosses of Gambling in America," earned medals from the Independent Publisher Book Awards and the Next Generation Indie Book Awards in 2018. The book, published by Rutgers University Press, explores how and why states have encouraged and promoted the expansion of legalized gambling in America. "Gangsters to Governors" was cited five times in the U.S. Supreme Court’s majority opinion that struck down the federal ban on sports gambling in May 2018.

Before joining the Union-Tribune in 2002, he worked in a variety of editing and design roles at The Plain Dealer in Cleveland. Clary, a native of Central New York, is a graduate of Syracuse University with degrees in newspaper journalism and political science.

Please visit www.davidclaryauthor.com for more about the book!

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John Kowalczyk

History made fascinating

Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2017

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I had little interest in reading a book about the history of gambling in America. Then out of the blue I heard that an editor colleague who sits about 20 steps from my desk, David Clary, had written one and, in fact, had been quietly working on it for six years or so. It was his first published book. I simply couldn’t not buy it. I simply couldn’t not read it. My sense of obligation turned to gratification before I finished the first chapter. Clary’s meticulously researched “Gangsters to Governors” weaves a fascinating, true story about a slice of our culture that we all know at least a little something about, but likely not the breadth of anecdotes and characters and rising and sinking fortunes that went into the evolution of gambling in this land that dates back even to before the United States was a thing. It’s all chronicled in Clary’s book. From seventeenth century horserace bets to the “high-speed daily fantasy sports industry,” Clary covers it in 11 themed chapters that roughly present the chronology of American gambling. As the title alludes, Clary details government’s ongoing role in restricting, regulating and cashing in on this pastime as well as criminal figures and organizations throughout our history who not only cashed in on it but were instrumental in developing gambling into the billion-dollar enterprise it has become. Whether you like it or not, if you have at least a passive interest in gambling in America and you read this book, you’ll come away as more of an authority on the subject. I’m told that people who already are authorities have said that Clary “got it right.” Clary’s detail work on the personal stories of those who figure prominently in developing the gambling industry helps make this book read more like a novel than a dry history book. Before I read it, I already knew that David Clary was a first-rate journalist and news editor, not to mention one of the most gentlemanly and funny people in our work group at The San Diego Union-Tribune. Now I also know him to be a first-rate book author. He truly did get it right.

3 people found this helpful

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Travis C

A nation of dreamers

Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2017

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"Gangsters to Governors" is an enlightening history lesson, a collection of fascinating stories about politicians and mobsters throughout the history of American gambling, but what was most interesting to me from the first chapter to the last was one overarching relationship: the one between the common man who dreams of getting rich instantly, and the powers that be who are in a position to take advantage of that dream. Nowadays, as governments have mostly succeeded in pushing out organized crime and have become more pragmatic and less moralistic on the issue, they're increasingly looking to legalized gambling as a silver bullet to balance their budgets without raising taxes, with often unforeseen consequences -- glossing over the fact that many forms of legalized gambling are themselves thinly veiled taxes that disproportionately affect the lower and middle classes. "Gangsters to Governors" clearly and convincingly lays out the benefits of common-sense legalized gambling without ignoring the pitfalls that can come when financially strapped governments take an overzealous approach to expansion. It's a tricky balance, to be sure, and Clary's book doesn't pretend to have the perfect answer. Instead, it's a thoroughly researched account of the past and the present. Who knows what the future holds. One thing's for sure: Americans will always be looking for a shot -- no matter how tiny -- at turning their lives around in an instant, and someone's going to be there to sell them that chance.

Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2017

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David Clary has written a fun and very informative book on the evolution of gambling and gaming. A good, enjoyable weekend read.

One person found this helpful

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Leemer

This is a great read!

Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2017

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This is a great read!! It's fun, informative and perfect for a plane ride. Gambling, for better and worse, has been a part of the fabric of America from our beginning. David Clary walks us through this history with it's colorful characters and social oddities. Our governments, federal, state and local, have never quite known how to deal with gambling and their interest is a parallel history. Gangsters to Governors is a great reference work for one of our most interesting and peculiar industries.

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Bonnie Lamoreaux

This book was written by my nephew in law. ...

Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2018

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This book was written by my nephew in law. It has a lot of information and is very absorbing. It shows the way forward for gambling in the USA

Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2018

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Excellent book on the history of the old Las Vegas

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Robert from CA

Engaging and comprehensive

Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2018

This book answered so many questions that were in the back of my mind for years: gambling laws and how we got where we are, the unique status of Native American tribal lands, sports betting and much more. As gambling touches on so many aspects of American culture and history, the book provides great background on a variety of topics, such as our current president's ventures in Atlantic City, Howard Hughes in Las Vegas, the tangled relationship between gambling and professional sports, and, lastly and of course, the mob. A terrific read!

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Gangsters to Governors: The New Bosses of Gambling in America Kindle Edition

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David Clary

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