Huntington Press
Experts
Media Kit
The Publisher, Page 1
Anthony Curtis' Las Vegas Advisor, Page 2
Download a Quick Look of Our Books!, Page 3
Our List of Titles, Page 4
Experts, Page 5
Benefits, Page 6
Download Our Media Kit, Page 7
Probably no area of human endeavor embraces so much superstition and entails so many misconceptions as gambling. This makes it tough to obtain solid factual information about the many elements of casino gambling, sports betting, game playing, and other aspects of the gambling industry. However, sound gambling information based on mathematical truth, as well as the most up-to-date data on all the travel amenities that surround the gambling tables and machines, are available from the many experts affiliated with Huntington Press:
Anthony Curtis is the author of Bargain City—Booking, Betting, and Beating the New Las Vegas and co-author of The Art of Gambling. Curtis has served as a consultant and gambling authority for Disney Studios; ABC’s "20/20", and NBC’s "Crime Story." Articles about or by Curtis have appeared in USA Today, Publisher’s Weekly, Casino Player, Chicago Sun-Times, L.A. Times, Newsday, Wall Street Journal, Discover Magazine, the London Times, and other high-profile publications. Curtis has also been featured on "48 HOURS" and "DATELINE NBC." As a professional gambler, Curtis’ top tournament wins include $76,000 World Matchplay Blackjack Championship, $125,000 Atlantic City Craps Championship, $50,000 Las Vegas Keno Championship, and $60,000 Las Vegas Blackjack Championship. He is the publisher of Huntington Press and lives in Las Vegas.
Jeffrey Compton, author of The Las Vegas Advisor Guide to Slot Clubs (out of print), is a member of every single slot club in Nevada, and most clubs nationwide. He has spent the last decade researching casino slot clubs and player tracking systems. Friendly, articulate, and knowledgeable, Compton has been a frequent guest on radio and TV. Articles about Compton and his book have appeared in print media nationwide, including USA Today, Travel Weekly, and the Chicago Sun-Times. Compton lives in Las Vegas.
Max Rubin, author of Comp City—A Guide to Free Casino Vacations, has worked in the casino industry for 25 years–as a dealer, pit boss, casino owner, gambler, and comp profiteer. As a high-stakes blackjack player, Rubin has been comped to everything from unlimited room service to golf, from Lear jet rides to Super Bowl tickets. Rubin has been featured on "48 HOURS" and is an entertaining guest for radio and TV interviews. Ask him about the good days when his dad was a casino cheat. Rubin lives in Las Vegas.
Jean Scott, author of The Frugal Gambler, More Frugal Gambling, and Frugal Video Poker, and co-author of Tax Help for Gamblers, might seem just like your average grandma and retired English teacher from the Midwest. But thanks to her voluminous writings and frequent TV appearances, she has become one of the most well-known casino low rollers in the country. Jean has been featured on "Dateline NBC," "Extra," "Hard Copy," and appears frequently on the Travel Channel. She was named the "Queen of Comps" by Dan Rather on CBS’ "48 Hours," for her outstanding skill in using the casino comp system. During the 22 years she has been gambling, Scott has developed literally thousands of techniques for getting almost anything she needs or wants in casinos from Las Vegas to Atlantic City. The Queen now lives in Las Vegas, where she and her husband Brad have realized so much financial success with their gambling that they now play at high-roller levels.
Bob Dancer is the author of Million Dollar Video Poker, and Video Poker for Winners! software. Bob is the world's foremost video poker expert and a regular columnist for Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Tens of thousands of casino enthusiasts look to Bob Dancer for advice about playing their favorite gambling game. His Video Poker Strategy Cards, Winners Guides, videos, and software are the best-selling video poker tutorials of all time–making Bob Dancer the most sought-after source of video poker advice in the country. When he's not chasing jackpots, Bob can be found teaching video poker strategy to standing-room-only crowds in casinos around the country.
Ian Andersen is the author of Burning the Tables in Las Vegas, 2nd Edition. Not only a globe-trotting high-stakes professional blackjack and poker player, he's also an international speculator, with homes in Zurich, Hong Kong, and Panama City.
Cathy Scott is the author of The Killing of Tupac Shakur. Cathy was a full-time police reporter for the Las Vegas Sun at the time of Tupac’s murder. A reporter for over a decade, Scott has received more than a dozen journalism awards. Her articles have appeared in the Los Angeles Times and the New York Times. Scott covered the Los Angeles riots, Operation Restore Hope in Somalia, and the Republic of Panama’s drug interdiction program. She has authored several books including The Murder of Biggie Smalls and Mafia Daughter: The Life and Tragic Times of Susan Berman.
Richard W. Munchkin is the author of Gambling Wizards. Richard is a writer, producer, and director of film and television. His status as an expert-level backgammon player provided access to many of the world’s top players, from which he chose the eight subjects of this book. He lives in Santa Clarita, California with his wife and sons.
John L. Smith is the author of four Huntington Press titles: No Limit, On the Boulevard, Quicksilver, and Of Rats and Men. John is a fourth-generation Nevadan and has written more than 2,000 columns that have appeared in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. In 1998, John was voted "Nevada's Outstanding Journalist" by the Nevada Press Association and was awarded third place in the National Headliner Awards.
John Robison is the author of The Slot Expert's Guide to Playing Slots. John earned a master's degree in computer science from the prestigious Stevens Institute of Technology. He's the video poker columnist for Midwest Gaming and Travel magazine and a contributor to Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Atlantic City Insider magazines.
Olaf Vancura, Ph.D., is the co-author of Knock-Out Blackjack—The Easiest Card-Counting System Ever Devised and Advantage Yahtzee. Olaf received his Ph.D. in physics from Johns Hopkins University in 1992. Subsequently, he joined the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, and for several years taught the Casino Gambling curriculum at Tufts University. He presently serves as Director of Gaming Products at Mikohn Gaming. Vancura is also the author of Smart Casino Gambling, heralded by leaders in industry and academia.
Barney Vinson is the author of our novel, The Vegas Kid. Barney worked as a dice dealer at the old Dunes Hotel, then went to Caesars Palace as a gaming instructor in the ’80s. He’s taught the games to thousands of beginners and knows what they need to know. He is also widely recognized as Las Vegas’ foremost humorist. His classic Las Vegas Behind the Tables quickly achieved local bestseller status and established Vinson as an eminent observer of the Las Vegas scene.
Deke Castleman is the author of Las Vegas (Compass American Guides), Nevada (Compass American Guides), Nevada Handbook (Moon Publications), Whale Hunt in the Desert: The Secret Las Vegas of Superhost Steve Cyr (Huntington Press), co-author of the Las Vegas Advisor, and has written about Las Vegas in travel guides published by Time Out, Fodor’s, Frommer’s, Simon & Schuster, and Foghorn. In addition, Castleman’s articles on Las Vegas and Nevada have appeared in Nevada Magazine, Casino Magazine, Historic Traveler, American Way, Spirit, and other in-flight publications. Castleman lives in Reno, Nevada.
Ken Fuchs, co-author of Knock-Out Blackjack—The Easiest Card-Counting System Ever Devised, is a senior electrical engineer with a major U.S. communications company, specializing in the field of cryptography. He has extensive experience in coding blackjack simulators and in the development and analysis of scientific blackjack methods for individual and team play.
Branch Whitney, author of Hiking Las Vegas and Hiking Southern Nevada, first visited the mountains (Rockies) at the age of seven and knew immediately that he wanted to climb them. Within two weeks of moving to Las Vegas in 1983, he bagged Mt. Charleston. He’s logged more than 3,000 miles hiking the trails, paths, and routes surrounding Las Vegas. These days, he stays busy maintaining his Web site and finding new trails and routes around Southern Nevada.
Jon Ralston, author of The Anointed One, has covered politics in Nevada for nearly 20 years. He writes columns for two major state newspapers, produces a daily political briefing and a biweekly newsletter and hosts a weekly television show. He lives in Las Vegas.
Mike Weatherford, author of Cult Vegas, rolled into Las Vegas on October 29, 1987—the last night Frank, Sammy, and Dean would stand on the same stage on the Strip. Beat down by a long drive, he didn’t make it to that show, but he’s seen plenty of others since then as the entertainment reporter for the Las Vegas Review-Journal newspaper for the past decade-plus. A native of Tulsa, Oklahoma, Weatherford lives in Las Vegas with his wife and daughter.
Dennis Griffin, author of Policing Las Vegas, Battle for Las Vegas, and Cullotta, retired in 1994 after a 20-year career in investigations and law enforcement in New York State. He and his wife Faith moved to Las Vegas shortly afterward. Denny wrote his first novel, The Morgue, in 1996. He currently has six published mystery thrillers, including the first two books of a Las Vegas-based trilogy. He’s an active member of the Mystery Writers of America, Las Vegas Valley Writers Group, Henderson Writers Group, and the Police Writers Association.
Ken Van Vechten, author of Neon Nuptials and Golf Las Vegas, writes about Las Vegas, travel, and golf for Alaska Airlines magazine, the Los Angeles Times, Westways, and Nevada magazine, among others. His third book, Las Vegas Eat! (Globe Pequot), is due out in spring 2008.0
Lee Nelson, co-author of Kill Phil and Kill Everyone, has been the top-rated tournament poker player in Australia and Asia since 2000. He’s made so many final-table appearances that he’s been nicknamed “Final Table.” In 2005, Lee won the Party Poker World Open, the $120,000 High-stakes Speed Poker event, and the 7-card stud championship at the Aussie Million, as well as the pot-limit Omaha event at the Irish Open.
Marissa Chien, co-author of Tax Help for Gamblers, is an Enrolled Agent and the president of her own firm, Advantage Tax Plus, Inc., where she provides tax-accounting, financial-planning, and wealth-management services to her clients. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan and has approximately 300 individual and corporate clients, including Jean Scott and poker-pro Phil Gordon, as well as other poker champions and professional gamblers.
Michael Shackleford, author of Gambling 102, graduated from the University of California-Santa Barbara and landed a job as an actuary for the Social Security Administration. In 1997, he introduced his Web site on gambling, www.wizardofodds.com. In 2000 he left his job to devote full time to the Web site and a consulting business for the gaming industry. Today, he analyzes new casino games for game inventors, designs slot machines, teaches a casino math class at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, and serves as a consultant to land-based and Internet casinos around the world.
Steve Friess, author of Gay Vegas, first moved to Las Vegas in 1996 to work for the Las Vegas Review-Journal. A former contributing writer for The Advocate, Friess has also covered gay topics for USA Today, the New York Times, Newsweek, and dozens of other major periodicals. The Long Island native also founded the Las Vegas chapter of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association and is a former NLGJA board member. Friess and his partner, NBC producer Miles Smith, co-host “The Strip” podcast, a weekly Vegas-centric celebrity interview program found at TheStripPodcast.com. Friess and Smith wed at the Palms Hotel-Casino in March 2007 and live with their two chihuahuas, Black and Jack.
Rick Blaine, author of Blackjack Blueprint, is a career executive with a Fortune 500 company whose hobby for the past 25 years has been beating the casinos at blackjack. Well-versed in all aspects of winning play, Blaine has excelled both solo and as a blackjack-team player and leader. Blaine has earned a significant (mid-seven-figure) second income and traveled the world playing blackjack. He’s particularly well-known in blackjack circles for his ability to teach new players how to beat the game. He lives in New York.
Huntington Press authors and experts are available for interviews.
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