Bill Healey speaks to Roger Marris about how The Club's prestige is enhanced through its strong and enduring relationship with their sophisticated jet-set membership.

The Ritz Club is world renown as one of London’s most prestigious addresses, and therefore a draw for business leaders and entertainers.  Through the years, the Club has hosted a fair number of influential and high profile people.  Can you share some of the more interesting stories?

This is a true story. It is still happening, right now, at a major Las Vegas casino resort. I decided to write about it because what is happening there is symptomatic of the gaming industry as a whole. I’ll explain shortly. But first, here’s the premise for this article, and the reason why it was written:

Up until very recently, gaming revenues were falling. Only in the past couple of months have we seen a rise in casino win, on the Las Vegas Strip, and in general. This is a fact, well documented by respected research. This fact has also been reported in gaming industry magazines and publications, and in mainstream press. But the market is still volatile, and has not settled into an observable pattern that can speak of some predictability in revenue maintenance, or reasonably-accurate growth forecasts.

Interview with Chris Moore - Author of Hidden Casino & Dark Casino

You have been writing recollection articles for Casino Life for a few years now. Is there a connection between your recollections and your thrillers?

My recollection articles have been factual. My thrillers are purely fictional. A famous author advised me some years ago that the thrillers I wanted to write should never be anecdotal.  He said it would limit my imagination, he was right.

How long did it take to write your first novel?

It’s no secret that casino operators are hurting. Caesars is drowning under some $30 billion in debt, and they are now turning their major operating unit into a REIT. Casinos as a real estate firm? Well, I guess it makes sense, from a bankruptcy point, I suppose. Casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey, are closing, including the $2 billion-plus Revel. The State Governor, Chris Christie, wants to move some casinos up north, to the beach. Well, good luck, is all I can say to this idea. And then there are the recent reductions, such as Foxwoods in Connecticut. Newly appointed CEO, Felix Rappaport, had this to say about the problems at Foxwoods:

“We think we have too much gaming.”