Perspective

Running Scared: the Life and Treacherous Times of Las Vegas Casino King Steve Wynn, was written by John L. Smith. Smith is an award winning journalist with the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Smith is well known for his collection of books on Las Vegas, from Sharks in the Desert, No Limit, and Of Rats and Men.

Smith has spent a great deal of his career following the lives of high rollers in Las Vegas, from the gambler to the biggest kingpin. The author has used his wide range of contacts to put together a comprehensive but abbreviated sketch of the life of Casino King Steve Wynn.

It is clear that Smith has a strong grasp on the history of Las Vegas from its earliest days with Bugsy Siegel to the introduction of Bill Harrah, Donald Trump, and Steve Wynn. Smith keeps the text as reader friendly as possible, outlining...