The last gamble
Subtitle: betting on the future in four Rocky Mountain mining towns
By: Katherine Jensen and Audie Blevins.
Contributors: Blevins, Audie L.
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Tucson
Language: eng
Number of pages: 221
Subjects: Gambling -- Economic aspects -- Rocky Mountains Region.; Gambling -- Economic aspects -- West (U.S.); Community development -- Rocky Mountains Region.; Community development -- West (U.S.); Tourism -- Rocky Mountains Region.; Tourism -- West (U.S.)
Description: When gambling was initiated in Deadwood, South Dakota, in 1989 and in three Colorado towns two years later, most residents imagined that the new tourist attraction would bolster the tawdry main streets of these "Old West" mining towns. Instead, gaming limited employment options, threatened historical preservation, and transformed the tax structure as it became the dominant industry in these towns.

From the onset of legalized gambling in the Rocky Mountains, authors Katherine Jensen and Audie Blevins collected economic data, interviewed officials and citizens, and perused countless historical sources. Their efforts have resulted in a unique account detailing the dramatic changes in communities that stake their economic and cultural futures solely on the gambling industry.

Jensen and Blevins offer readers clear insight into the dilemmas faced by the four communities, a clarity that is powerfully enhanced by their personal ties to the people and places. The Last Gamble is an intriguing work that will appeal to all readers with an interest in the modern American West and will prove especially valuable to policymakers, preservationists, historians, and sociologists.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 197-216) and index.
Table of contents: title: The drive for the legalization of gambling; title: Race, gender, and class in the legacy of the gamble; title: Stagnation and decay in retrospect; title: Gold rush returns; title: Historic preservation, facadism, and the fast buck; title: Community transformation in the gamble; title: Mining quarters : settler camps to gambler traps; title: Legalized gambling as a community development quick fix.