David G. Schwartz

David G. Schwartz, the Director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is a writer, speaker, and consultant whose areas of specialty include the history of and current issues in gambling. An Atlantic City native with a Ph.D. in U.S. History from UCLA and hands-on experience in the gaming industry, Schwartz has been at UNLV since 2001.

In addition to his work at UNLV, Schwartz is an active consultant. As Vice President of Research and Analytics for Santo Gaming, he assists the Las Vegas-based gaming management and consulting firm with a range of projects.

A prolific writer, Schwartz is also Gaming and Hospitality editor for Vegas Seven magazine, where he writes the biweekly “Green Felt Journal” column as well as regular feature and long-form pieces about the casino and tourism industries in Las Vegas and elsewhere.

Often quoted by local and national print and television media, his straight-shooting analysis, tempered by a genuine understanding of how the industry works, has made him a provocative interview. He has been dubbed “gaming’s leading historian” by Global Gaming Business magazine.
Born and raised in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Schwartz earned his bachelor’s degree (a double major in anthropology and history) as well as his master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania before receiving his doctorate in US History from UCLA.
He has written three books, including Roll the Bones: The History of Gambling, which tells the story of gambling from its origins to the 21st century; Cutting the Wire: Gaming Prohibition and the Internet, which explores the long legal battle over remote gambling that culminated in 1961's Wire Act and explores the impact of that battle on advent of Internet gambling since the 1990s; and Suburban Xanadu: The Casino Resort on the Las Vegas Resort and Beyond, which traces the development of the modern casino resort as an adaptation to the conditions of postwar Las Vegas.
Schwartz lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. You can learn more about his work on his website, www.dgschwartz.com.