Abstract
The John D. Dombrink Gaming Research Files (approximately 1951-1990) contain the research files of John D. Dombrink in preparation for his book The Last Resort: Success and Failure in Campaigns for Casinos, published in 1991. The collection consists of newspaper clippings, journal articles, and public reports on a variety of topics and issues related to gaming in the United States, including organized crime, commercial gaming, and regulatory practices and issues. The collection also contains manuscript drafts for The Last Resort: Success and Failure in Campaigns for Casinos with handwritten revisions and comments by Dombrink, as well as correspondence about the book’s potential publication and promotion.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Related People/Corporations
Scope and Contents Note
The John D. Dombrink Gaming Research Files (approximately 1951-1990) contain the research files of John D. Dombrink in preparation for his book The Last Resort: Success and Failure in Campaigns for Casinos, published in 1991. The book examines the ten major campaigns to legalize casino gambling in the United States between 1976 and 1986, and proposes an explanation for why legalization of casino gaming lags behind legalization of other forms of gambling. The collection consists of newspaper clippings, journal articles, and public reports on a variety of topics and issues related to gaming in the United States, including organized crime, commercial gaming, and regulatory practices and issues. The collection also contains manuscript drafts for The Last Resort: Success and Failure in Campaigns for Casinos with handwritten revisions and comments by Dombrink, as well as correspondence about the book’s potential publication and promotion. The research files mainly cover Nevada, New Jersey, and New York, but several other states and international issues are also included in the collection. Select material has been digitized for preservation purposes and is noted at the box level of this inventory.
Access Note
Collection is open for research. Arrangements must be made in advance to access digital files; please contact UNLV Special Collections and Archives for additional information.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials remain as they were received.
Biographical / Historical Note
John D. Dombrink is currently Professor Emeritus of Criminology, Law & Society and Sociology at the University of California, Irvine. Dombrink was born on August 19, 1952 and has studied various topics related to gaming and gambling, including commercial gaming, organized crime, and various legal aspects of gaming in the United States. He received his PhD in Sociology from the University of California at Berkeley. He co-authored two books with Daniel Hillyard, Sin No More: From Abortion to Stem Cells, Understanding Crime, Law and Morality in America and Dying Right: The Death With Dignity Movement. He is also a co-author of The Last Resort: Success and Failure in Campaigns for Casinos with William N. Thompson. He has also authored numerous articles on the legal treatment of vice, organized crime, and commercial gambling in the United States. Since 1999, he has directed the Criminology Outreach Program, which provides academic support to and encourages over 1,500 high school and middle school students in the Orange County area. Dombrink currently resides in California.
Source:
“John D. Dombrink,” University of California, Irvine School of Social Ecology. Accessed February 13, 2020. https://faculty.sites.uci.edu/dombrink/
Preferred Citation
John D. Dombrink Gaming Research Files, approximately 1951-1990. MS-00329. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated in 2001 by John D. Dombrink; accession number 1993-14.
Processing Note
In 2020, Sarah Jones rehoused the collection, wrote the finding aid, and entered the data into ArchivesSpace. In 2020, due to insurmountable preservation issues, Sarah Jones digitized select materials from the collection for preservation purposes.