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There have been countless books about Las Vegas, but there’s never been one quite like The Las Vegas Book, a new, high-end coffee table book by Joris Dekkers.
“It’s been a great project driving it forward from the first idea to towards completion and I’ve loved every step of the way,” Dekkers told PokerNews. “I’ve always been fascinated by Vegas and being a bit of a historian kind of drove me to ask questions every time I set foot in this crazy desert town, but I don’t think any concrete ideas culminated until I visited the Wynn for the first time, which inspired me so much. I felt really sort of connected to that place.”
The Las Vegas Book explores how the city became the capital of entertainment by exploring, through both text and photographs, the history of Sin City, from The Mob and Sinatra in the 1950s to Jay Sarno’s Caesars Palace and Howard Hughes in the 1960s. Kirk Kerkorian’s International Hotel – starring Elvis Presley – opened the megaresort era, ultimately leading up to the most lavish destination resorts built by Steve Wynn: The Mirage, The Bellagio, and Wynn & Encore Las Vegas.
- Cost: $495 USD
- Manufactured in: Italy (Handmade) w/ velvet interior and a leather case with gold foil
- Weight: 8kg / 18 lbs
- Dimensions: 39 x 33 x 6 (cm) / 16” x 13” x 2.3”
- Edition: First, Limited (3,500)
- Language: English
- 28 Chapters; 450 Pages
- Photos: +300
- Worldwide shipping within 24 hours weekday orders. Shipping costs calculated at checkout
Dekkers recently joined the PokerNews Podcast to talk about his book, which you can watch at the 24:25 mark in this video:
An Idea Comes to Life
When he was around 30, Dekkers first visited the Wynn, which made an indelible mark on the man from the Netherlands. The seed for The Las Vegas Book was planted more than a decade ago, but it took a while to grow.
“I thought Vegas deserves not only an up-to-date book but also something more majestic that’s really something to be proud to have at your home.”
“Nothing sparked me to write a book in those beginning years, but I kept coming back and then COVID happened and I thought, ‘I want to do something with my old passion, my old hobby, and why, why shouldn’t it be Vegas?’ So, that got me into reading and then eventually writing about it.”
There is no shortage of books on Las Vegas, most of which are hardcover, but most date back to either the 90s or 2000s.
“I thought Vegas deserves not only an up-to-date book but also something more majestic that’s really something to be proud to have at your home. Coffee table books are really upcoming … but none of them ever went into the history and the evolution of Las Vegas, and that surprised me. Vegas is such a strange thing, you can’t compare it to any city, right? You’re there and after a few days you’re like, ‘Oh my God, how am I going to survive much longer?’ There’s alcohol kicking in, there’s partying, there’s long poker sessions – it’s sort of a matrix where you’re plugged in and then you go home and all of a sudden things seem boring. I hope that this book at least brings people back to those glorious moments that they experienced when riding the waves in Vegas.”
Enlisting Experts
While Dekkers knew he wanted to do a book that would do justice to Las Vegas, he soon realized how big of a task that might be.
“I think the idea to publish the most lavish, grand, majestic book about Las Vegas is putting a lot of pressure on yourself,” he told PokerNews. “I started asking myself the question – why am I the guy that is going to do that? Who am I? I’m just a guy from the Netherlands growing up in a small town. So, who am I to say that this is a book that Vegas fans need to have? Relieving that pressure and starting that journey, you can’t do it without help of experts.”
One expert he brought on board was Roger Thomas, who has been the right-hand man of Steve and Elaine Wynn for more than four decades. He’s considered the best interior designer of luxury casino resorts including the Golden Nugget, Mirage, and Wynn & Encore.
“Roger played a major role in creating those opulent places, and from the onset, he was not only my editor in terms of design and how to put a book like this together, but he was also an adviser, a connector. He connected me to pretty much everyone that I needed to speak to or work with to create this book. I can’t thank him enough.”
He also had ex-CFO Circus Circus Enterprises and CEO Mandalay Bay Glenn Schaeffer to help edit the book by lending his extensive knowledge of the Strip.
More than 25 people have been involved in the creative process surrounding The Las Vegas Book Project including a videographer, multiple photographers, a design company, text editors, and a back-office team.
Breaking Down on the Strip
Now, you might be wondering what a videographer would be doing with a book. Well, the answer is Dekkers & Co. launched an extensive marketing campaign, including a movie-like trailer for The Las Vegas Book.
In it, Dekkers talks about the project while making his way from the desert to Las Vegas in a classic car. There’s actually a fun story behind that.
“We had this idea to rent a car, drive in the desert, get a drone, and just film something that would portray the journey from me, as an author, driving through the desert and then slowly onto the Strip,” he explained. “I was searching a vintage car on Toro and I found this 1965 Jaguar … it’s a very obviously fragile car. We drove it in August, the car was really suffering. It actually broke down near the end. I thought it was a problem with the engine due to the overheating and the over usage, but it was actually that I ran out of gasoline.”
He continued: “So, I had to park the car on the Strip next to the Flamingo. The police had to sort of close off the road for me. It was insane because there were so many people driving past me and they were like, ‘Wow, what an awesome car. Who is this guy in a suit? It’s kind of a James Bond appearance there. But it was fantastic, I will never forget it.”
Saying Goodbye to the Mirage
One of the properties featured in the book is the Mirage, which Steve Wynn opened in 1989. The property revolutionized the Strip and even became the center of poker action for many years. However, the Mirage’s run came to an end last year when the casino shuttered to make way for an upcoming Seminole Hard Rock venue.
“I think there’s no more iconic place that’s left than the Mirage on the Strip. You could say the Flamingo is even more iconic in terms of longevity, but the Mirage revolutionized the Strip,” Dekkers said of the resort. “When Steve Wynn built that place, he transformed everything in Las Vegas. Everything got 10x bigger in terms of investment, resort size, imagination, and storytelling. It was the heyday of Vegas. Economically, the 90s was the largest growth era. Steve Wynn completely took advantage of it in the best way possible with that beautiful resort that changed the face of the Strip.”
The timing was coincidental, but The Las Vegas Book helps serve as a sort of swansong for the Mirage by highlighting its inception and appreciating its historical impact.
For more on The Las Vegas Book, you can follow them on both Instagram and TikTok.
Learn More and Order Your Copy of The Las Vegas Book here!
Win a Copy of The Las Vegas Book w/ PokerNews
Joris Dekkers has been kind enough to offer a copy of The Las Vegas Book to giveaway to one lucky fan of PokerNews. Now through the end of February, poker fans can enter to win a copy of the $495 book simply by following these three steps.
Do that and you’ll be entered to win. A winner will be randomly selected on March 1, 2025, and announced on the March 7 episode of the PokerNews Podcast.
*Images courtesy of Joris Dekkers and The Las Vegas Book.
PR & Media Manager
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