Reducing free play offers to gamblers has minimal impact on whether customers will return to a casino property, according to a new academic research study. Eliminating free-play incentives, however, might prove to be problematic for casino operators, the study found.

In 2002, hip-hop singer Mary J. Blige sang “Blue Suede Shoes,” a Carl Perkins song popularized by Elvis Presley, during the “Divas Live” special on cable network VH1. She later told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “I prayed about it because I know Elvis was a racist. But that was just a song VH1 asked me to sing. It meant nothing to me. I didn’t wear an Elvis flag. I didn’t represent Elvis that day.”

A new immersive learning center at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas is tapping into the power of virtual reality to support STEM engagement and student success. The institution has partnered with Dreamscape Learn on the initiative, which will incorporate the company's interactive VR platform into introductory STEM courses.

When information started to spread on social media about a proposal in the U.S. Senate to exempt sportsbooks in the United States from paying a handle tax, a question was quickly raised by gamblers:

Las Vegas has always been a gambler's paradise, and it's likely to remain that way as long as planes full of visitors continue to land at Harry Reid International Airport. But does that mean Sin City is still the best bet for gamblers?

Las Vegas has always been a gambler’s paradise, and smart money says it will stay that way as long as planes full of visitors continue to land at Harry Reid International Airport. But does that mean Sin City is still a gambler’s best bet?

It’s our first live episode of Milk Street Radio, recorded at The Beverly Theater in Las Vegas! In this special episode, Su Kim Chung shares Las Vegas’s most fascinating restaurants from history; “Top Chef” contestant and Black Sheep chef/owner Jamie Tran answers live cooking questions; and Neon Feast creator Al Mancini takes us on his ultimate food and drinking tour—complete with tiki rooms, hidden gems and one unforgettable dive bar that serve shots out of porcelain toilets.

To many, he was known as “The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” to others, “The Hillbilly Cat,” “The Memphis Flash,” “Elvis the Pelvis,” or simply “The King.” In Las Vegas, the Entertainment Capital of the World, Elvis Presley will always be remembered for the many years he spent performing to sold-out audiences from 1969 to 1977.

As the Tropicana closed its doors, 67 years of history were left behind. It is history that will now be home to UNLV’s library. “History is important, right, it’s the way we tell our story based on these pieces of evidence and having the records from the Tropicana itself enables historians and scholars. members of the community to understand the impact the Tropicana had in Las Vegas,” Sarah Quigley the director of special collections and Archives said.

Frank Sinatra was certainly a driving force in the progress toward equality in Las Vegas. But contrary to a popular myth, the singer didn’t end the shameful legacy of segregation on the Strip. It took political action to do that. Around 1955, Sinatra refused to perform with the Rat Pack at the Sands unless the casino hotel allowed group member Sammy Davis Jr. to also stay there. In response, Davis was given his own suite.

It has been over five months since a gunman opened fire at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, killing three professors. Now, the UNLV Oral History Research Center is launching a new project that hopes to "enhance the historical record around that day with first-hand accounts of the tragedy, campus and community response, and recovery efforts."

Professional sports in Las Vegas couldn’t be a hotter topic than it is today. But while locals and fans celebrate recent championships and successful events and look to future expansion, it’s easy to overlook the significant history of sports in the Valley and how we got here.