The Naming of Gaming
The Naming of Gaming Pauliina Raento Academy of Finland and William A. Douglass University of Nevada, Reno The naming of casinos in Las Vegas, Nevada, is an essential ingredient in the design of the city's entertainment landscape. More than 300 names have been used in the naming of gaming in Las Vegas since 1955. They occur in seven dominant patterns: 1) luck and good fortune, 2) wealth and opulence, 3) action, adventure, excitement and fantasy, 4) geography, 5) a certain moment, era, or season, 6) intimacy and informal- ity, and 7) "power words" commonly used in the naming of businesses. The categories are described and analyzed from the perspective of the evolution of Las Vegas. Regional variations between the Las Vegas Strip, Downtown Las Vegas, and suburban Las Vegas are also discussed. The names provide a powerful means of evoking senses of place, images, and identities for the casinos. They underscore the interpretative subjectivity and plurality of the relationship between people and commercial urban environments. Introduction We name people, things, and places to distinguish them from one another and to give them character. Often the names are commemorative and draw upon features (usually positive) of individuals and places. Buildings, streets and towns are named after other familiar places, historical events, and distinguished persons who have played a notable role in the shared past. As an example of the latter, over one quarter of the roughly 3,000 counties in the United States are named patriotically, most often commemorating a political figure (Zelinsky 1983, 6). Names of streets and buildings in capital cities and other centers of importance have special prestige.
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