Accomplishments: William F. Harrah College of Hospitality

Brett Abarbanel (International Gaming Institute, Hospitality) was featured in a video interview with Asia Gaming Brief on the crossover between video games, gamification, and gambling games. 
Tiange Xu (Hospitality) received a $3,000 research stipend award from UNLV's International Gaming Institute and the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling for his research study examining problem gambling and mental health disorders in Nevadan university students. His mentors for the project are Brett Abarbanel (International Gaming Institute)…
Nasim Binesh (Hospitality), a doctoral student, recently presented a research paper at the Food Trex Travel Research Summit international conference. Binesh worked with assistant professor Amanda Belarmino to develop the paper, which examines the role historical knowledge of a restaurant plays on a customer's willingness to pay…
Brett Abarbanel (Hospitality, International Gaming Institute) was interviewed by CNBC's Melissa Lee in the documentary Generation Gamble, which investigated the intersection of online betting, trading and gaming, and the growth of these markeets during the pandemic. Abarbanel discussed the role of risk-taking in our everyday lives…
Huiying Zhang (Hospitality), together with alumni Xi Yu Leung and Jie Sun co-authored "How the hotel industry attracts Generation Z employees: An application of social capital theory" published in Journal of Hospitality and Tourism. Based on social capital theory, this study investigates how the hotel industry attracts the Gen Z workforce through…
Hyelin Kim, Esra Topcuoglu and Sungeon (Jake) Kim (Hospitality) published "Green message strategies and green brand image in a hotel context" in The Journal of Hospitality Marketing & Management. Topcuoglu and Kim are doctoral students. This research investigates the effects of different green (environmental) message types on…
Kasra Ghaharian (Hospitality and International Gaming Institute) recently presented alongside other experts at the The European Lotteries and World Lottery Association Responsible Worldwide Webinar Week to address the implications of payments modernization for responsible gambling and the potential role of data science in addressing…
Anthony Lucas and Ashok Singh (both Hospitality) recently published an article “The House Edge and Play Time: Do Industry Heuristics Fairly Describe This Relationship?” in the UNLV Gaming Research & Review Journal. Based on modified versions of licensed pay tables from reel slot machines, the study found simulations of play failed to indicate…
Seyhmus Baloglu (Hospitality) co-authored the article "Examining the role of country image in the relationship between cuisine image and intention to visit a country," with Bulent Aydin (School of Hotel and Tourism Management, Batman University Turkey), and Bayram Zafer Erdogan (Faculty of Business, Anadolu University, Turkey). The article…
Brett Abarbanel (International Gaming Institute and Hospitality) recently moderated a panel at the Esports Insider ESI Digital Summer, entitled "Identifying sources of revenue and growth sectors of the esports industry", in which she and several esports industry CEOs discussed revenue opportunities in the metaverse. Abarbanel presented an…
Won-Yong Oh (Management, Entrepreneurship, and Technology) and Jinsuh Tark, who is in MBA/MS Hotel Administration dual program, published a business case study "Green Car Inc.: Strategic Direction in the Car-Sharing Service Industry" with Ivey Publishing. Ivey Publishing is a leading business case study publisher with a global perspective. The…
Ozgur Ozdemir (Hospitality) published an article "Quantifying the economic impact of COVID-19 on the U.S. hotel industry: Examination of hotel segments and operational structures" in Tourism Management Perspectives. The study has focused on the initial shocks of the Covid-19 on the U.S. hotel industry, and revealed the varying economic impact…