This thoughtful book examines the ten major campaigns to legalize casino gambling in America that were waged between 1976 and 1986 and proposes an explanation for why legalization of casino gaming lags behind legalization of other forms of gambling.

John Dombrink is on faculty at the UC Irvine Department of Criminology, Law and Society. He received his Ph.D. in Sociology from UC Berkeley.

William N. Thompson is the chair of the Public Administration Department at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He received B.A. and M.A. degrees (Political Science) from Michigan State. His Ph.D. is from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Thompson served on the faculties of Southeast Missouri State, Western Michigan Univ., and Troy State University; he also served as Research Associate with the National Association of Attorneys General, and Research Advisor to the Administrator of Pension and Welfare Benefits Programs in the US Department of Labor. For two years he served as Supervisor of Kalamazoo Township in Michigan. Since coming to Nevada in 1980, he has been actively studying public policy and gambling. He and John Dombrink of the University of California-Irvine were gaming consultants to the President's Commission on Organized Crime, resulting in their collaboration on The Last Resort. Thompson's articles on gambling have appeared in numerous publications, he has lectured extensively on the topic of international casinos, and he wrote a 45-article series for the Las Vegas Sunon world casinos. He co-authored (with Michele Comeau) Casino Customer Service=The WIN WIN Game; he is also the author of Legalized Gambling: A Reference Handbook (1994, 2ed 1997), and Native American Issues (1996, 2nd ed. 2005),(both ABC-CLIO). He was a consultant to the Wisconsin Public Research Institute, co-authoring: The Economic Impact of Native American Casinos in Wisconsin(1995), The Social Cost of Gambling in Wisconsin (1996), and Crime and Casinos in Wisconsin (1996). Dr. Thompson's television appearances as a gambling authority have included: NBC's "Today Show"; ABC's "World News Tonight with Peter Jennings" and "Nightline"; CNN's "Crossfire" and "News Stand: Fortune Magazine"; CBS's "48 Hours"; PBS's "Newshour with Jim Lehrer," "Going Places" and "Frontline"; "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous"; the CBC's "Sunday Morning"; NPR's "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered"; and "Studio 2" on TVOntario. He has been quoted extensively in the news media and has served as a consultant and/or expert witness for Loto Quebec; Crystal Casino, Winnipeg; The Detroit Casino Study Commission; Puerto Rico Tourism Co.; Netherlands Board of Casino Games; and Native American gaming in Michigan, Arizona, Idaho, Texas, and Montana.