The Mafia Beginnings Of Las Vegas’ Most Successful Failure
Throughout it’s short history as a city beginning in 1829, a lot of people have bet on Las Vegas and lost. Beginning with the Southern Paiute native peoples’ displacement during the mid-1850s, the Mormons tried their hand around the same time in an attempt to make Las Vegas a refueling destination for western travelers. That idea lasted 2 years before the environmental hardships created enough tension to split up the inhabitants.
It wasn’t until Benjamin “Bugsy” Seigel, a Genovese crime family associate, was lured to the area around Las Vegas in 1937. Seigel was originally sent to there to create illegal entertainment opportunities for the thousands of workers building the Hoover Dam in 1934. That was a much riskier venture than Seigel preferred, rather deciding to use Nevada’s legalized gambling laws to create a lucrative, legitimate business front.
The Great Depression and World War II both created the economic incentives for Nevada to further liberalize its gambling laws and gave Seigel the momentum he needed to seek investment from various mob bosses. Motivated by greed, the investments by Charlie “Lucky” Luciano and others were huge, topping out around 6 million dollars. And Seigel made sure to spend every cent of it on his casino The Flamingo. Although the old adage goes you can’t cheat a cheater – that’s exactly what happened to Seigel. Organized construction workers ran up costs nearly 10-fold mostly by not delivering supplies but making it seem as they though they had. Unions, being manipulated by other crime families, went on strike to delay construction or simply be used as bargaining chips.
It also turned out that Seigel was stealing money from the investments he had received, quietly stashing some of it away in foreign banks. When investors found out – it was the financial success of The Flamingo that would determine Seigel’s life. In a rush to get The Flamingo open, Seigel neglected to finish the hotel, but threw one of the most expensive grand openings in the world. Celebrities chefs, actors like Clark Gable, and entertainers were brought in from around the globe.
The press was incredible – the stars were the biggest – but nobody else showed up. It was right after World War II and few people had the expendable cash to spend. And the celebrities couldn’t stay at The Flamingo since there weren’t any rooms.
Approximately 6 months later however, the glamorous press coverage along with a rapidly improving economy made The Flamingo a gold mine allowing Seigel to payback nearly a quarter of the loan. By that time though, he had stolen too much and made too little. Bugsy Seigel was killed by gunfire in his home on June 20, 1947 – just 5 years before 10 more casinos opened and the Las Vegas strip was born.
Much of this Las Vegas history is covered in great detail in the book Five Families, a fascinating read about organized crime’s relationship with the United States over the 1900s.
5 Ways To Take Better Sunset Photos When Traveling
October 6, 2011 by Anil P.
Filed under Guest Post
This is a guest post by Darin Rogers, a freelance photographer and writer who specializes in culture, travel, and architecture – with a bit of everything else thrown in for good measure. Darin sent me his latest ebook, Capturing The Journey, a wonderful primer to making your travel photos better using the techniques that are second nature to photographers and shares some sunset specifics with us today. All of the photos in this post were taken by Darin.
Sunsets are one of the most photographed subjects on the planet. And for good reason. They are pretty, often made up of colors not commonly seen otherwise on a daily basis in the natural world. But because they are so photographed, sunsets have become a bit of a photographic cliche. Although every sunset is unique, it can be a real challenge to capture them in a unique way.
It’s difficult to completely escape the cliched aspect of sunset images, but here are 5 things you can do to improve your odds of capturing something interesting.
1. Look Behind You
We tend to go through life moving forward. Biologically, much of this comes from our physical makeup with our feet pointed forward and eyes in front of our heads. We don’t spend a lot of time looking behind us (or above us), unless of course we’re being chased. Sometimes, however, the best things really are behind you. And this can be true of sunsets. The sun may be setting in front of you but maybe it’s those clouds behind you where all the visual action is happening, or, importantly, where there just might be a more interesting composition.
2. Make Use Of Leading Lines
Not familiar with the concept of leading lines? Well, they are elements within your image that are used to compose and draw your viewer into the image. Notice in the first example below how I’ve used the line of the boardwalk, and to an extent the rocks on the left side, to give your eye a ‘path’ to follow into the image. This is a classic way to engage the viewer.
In the second example, see how the lines of the beach ultimately draw you to the fisherman and boat in the distance?
Monkey Mia, Western Australia (Technically this is a sunrise, but the concepts are the same.)
3. Look For The Story
A pretty picture is, well, just a pretty picture. Instead of simply a static image, what kind of story can you tell? Is there something going on around you that you can incorporate into the image to provide some interest for your viewers, make them think or ask questions? This is possibly the most important tip I can give. Again, it’s about engaging your viewers.
Subic Bay, Philippines
4. Look For Silhouettes
Sunsets are great times to look for and make use of silhouettes. Silhouettes often come about naturally when including objects in sunset photos, but if you keep your eye and mind open, you never know what less obvious idea you might come up with. Many things can make great silhouettes, especially if they are recognizable or create interesting patterns. Trees are often good subjects for silhouettes, particularly in winter when all the leaves are gone.
Elliot Bay from Victor Steinbrueck Park, Seattle, USA
Lone mangrove, Puerto Galera, Philippines
5. Place Something In The Foreground
You may be witnessing the most brilliant sunset in the world but if all you’re showing in your photo is the sunset, your image is likely going to feel rather static, like something is missing. Try placing something in the foreground. Foreground elements can add additional interest to a composition. Sunsets are rather distant subjects so placing something in the foreground can help to balance the composition as well.
Grass and sand dunes, Newport, Oregon, USA
In the end, it’s possible to move beyond the cliche and get a good sunset photo. Remember, a good sunset photo isn’t necessarily about the sunset, but rather, how well you engage the people viewing it.
Darin, thank you for the guest post. Darin Rogers is a freelance photographer specializing in culture, travel, and architecture. Originally from the States, he currently bases himself in Australia and the Philippines. He regularly travels the world, searching for awesome shots that will contribute to his becoming world famous. You can see more of his work in a copy of his ebook, Capturing The Journey and read his blog at http://www.darinrogers.net/. Darin can also be found on Facebook and Google+.
What Is The Best Travel Laptop?
A laptop is the single most versatile piece of technology you can travel with. Despite the gains that tablets like the iPad and Nook Color have made, they don’t have the hardware flexibility or storage capacity (not to mention computing power) of a most laptops quite yet. Though that day will come (I’m guessing in about 2 years), for the moment, many of you are probably still carrying around some type of portable computer when you travel. Perhaps you’re in the process shopping around for one right now.
I’m asked “what is the best travel laptop” and it’s a topic I’ve covered from other angles before; though that specific question is much like “what will make me happy?” The answer depends a lot on you so let me be your digital therapist and together let’s find your laptop nirvana.
Get Your Categories Straight
Your basic laptop comes in one of 3 travel flavors: netbook, PC, and Mac. There are others but this gross oversimplification is most of what you need to find a good machine to travel with.
- Netbook – What defines this class of laptop is size. Typically less than 25 centimeters (~10 inches) across and less than a kilo in weight (~2.2 lbs). All standard netbooks run Windows or Linux; the closest laptop in size Apple has is the Macbook Air. (I can help you hack that netbook to run Mac OS X however.)
- Laptop PC – Larger than netbook size and everything not Apple, often referred to as notebooks.
- Macbook – Apple laptops coming in the Macbook Pro and Macbook Air varieties, running some version of the operating system OS X.
So how can we break these different types of laptops into he simplest terms without going into much detail at all?
Netbooks are cheap, small, and have long battery life but can be a pain to stare at the small screen for too long. The keyboards aren’t the most ergonomic either. Laptops have more comfortable monitors and keyboards but are typically 20-40% larger and heavier than a netbook. Part of that added weight are built-in components you might use, like a DVD player or hard drive with lots of capacity to store more travel photos. Finally, Macbooks and their operating systems are built to work together. That means increased reliability but at higher cost.
The programs that run on Windows, Mac, and Linux all vary and while some are made for all, others may not. CNET’s version tracker can tell you which applications run on different platforms. (Use the “Search” tool in the upper right and select Windows, Mac, or both.)
What Would You Really Use A Laptop For?
Many of us don’t like to admit we’re part of the Facebook, email, occasionally type some documents crowd. It’s uncool and nerds like me might try and convince you a more powerful laptop can do magic – letting you run Photoshop smooth as butter or open 15 applications at a time. That’s all fine and good but if you have never opened Photoshop in your life (and don’t plan on it) or aren’t playing graphic intensive video games on while you travel – save yourself the money.
Those of you using a laptop for more than 2-3 consecutive hours a day while traveling probably want to avoid the some of the repetitive stress injury postures common with netbooks or consider getting something larger altogether. Gizmodo has rated the best notebooks of 2011 if you’re leaning in that direction. As a general rule you’re not looking for the best laptop in terms of power – you’re looking for the best laptop to meet your needs and budget.
Check Multiple Sources For Realistic Battery Life
The battery life manufacturers list on their websites and manuals are theoretical maximums inflated by 50-100% in many cases. That’s not very accurate if you do things like use monitor or travel to places are aren’t constantly 21 degrees Celsius. Battery life also degrades over time an within about a year of typical use you’ve lost 10-20% of original capacity. All of that said, you should deduct 40% off any battery life stated by an manufacturer and flex some Google muscles to get comparisons from reputable tech sites like PC World.
- If you’re using a laptop already Battery Bar for Windows and iStat Pro for Mac (both free) can tell you how healthy your battery is and these are 7 ways to extend what you’ve got.
That will help give you an accurate measure of battery life – second to weigh in importance (in my opinion) if you travel frequently. If you want a head start, PC World has a good rundown of the top 10 ultra-portable laptops.
Replacement Parts And Other Things To Consider In What Is Ultimately A Personal Decision
Macbooks are great (a 15-inch Macbook Pro is one of the two laptops I travel with) but finding replacement parts for Apple products is difficult. Aside from being hardware specific as I mentioned earlier, the fact remains than only 10-15% of people use Macs worldwide. Parts are typically more expensive so many smaller computer stores around the world don’t stock Mac components like hard drives that may go bad. (Here are 2 ways to get advance warning of hard drive failure.) That’s where PC users have an advantage and something to consider if you’ll be traveling for extended periods of time and a dead laptop could effect your business or general mood.
Along those same lines reliability is important. Research by SquareTrade has found one-third of all laptops fail within 3 years and netbooks are 20% less reliable than their bigger cousins. The full report by SquareTravel, including the top brands (available as a PDF download) can help you make the sturdiest decision. Once you have that laptop be sure to protect it from the effects of traveling.
I could have come up with a list of what I think are the top net, lap, and Mac books (and still may) but those tend to get dated quickly. This advice is much more consistent over time; at least until we start bringing in tablets for a serious discussion.
What laptop do you carry and recommend? Have any opinions for those who may be shopping around or looking to upgrade? Share your best laptop tips in the comments below!
[top laptop photo by mikecogh, ruler photo by Auntie P]
