This presentation is the final project in a course I took called Creativity and Problem Solving. Through the use of a software program called "Super Decision" I undertook the question of whether or not Major League Baseball should consider entering the Las Vegas market.
3. Baseball’s Background Can be traced back to the 18th Century American newspapers were referring to baseball as the "National Pastime“ National League was formed in 1876 American League was formed in 1901 Dead Ball Era, rules of the game and equipment were developed Black Sox Scandal of 1919 First public gambling/betting case in sports
4. Vegas Background Discovered in 1829 Casinos and showgirl theaters first appeared in Vegas in 1931 Gambling legalized in 1931, rise of Casinos Let there be light… Hoover Dam supplies electricity to Vegas 1937 Organized Crime, building of more casinos in 1950s 1970-2008 Vegas showed rapid growth and it became the gambling capital of the world
5. Should Baseball have a franchise in Vegas? Been there done that… sort of. The story of the Nevada Dusters 1963 Conn Hudson tried to interest the NL in placing a professional team in Nevada Milwaukee Braves relocated to Vegas Hudson financed the building of Horizon Field state-of-the-art ballpark located on the southwestern outskirts of Vegas Vegas fell in love with their new sports heroes Team salaries/contracts proved to be a problematic Other problems players, took full advantage of the abundant nightlife A few scandals here and there Animosity with other forms of entertainment Experts said Dusters was set-up for failure Vegas market was NOT large enough to support the team
The popularity of the sport inspired the semi and fully professional baseball clubs in the 1860sWhite Sox werethe most successful franchise in baseball, Chicago baseball players were not paid especially well like other elite players on big-city clubs. The White Sox were owned and operated by a tight-fisted tyrant named Charles Comiskey, all of the players resented him because they couldn’t even support their families financially and were powerless due baseball’s reverse clause. Players became easy targets for gamblers looking to have games thrown in order to win bets. 8 of the White Sox players (Shoeless Joe Jackson) were paid $7500-30000 to throw games and they threw the 1919 World Series. The players were indicted and tried for conspiracy.
to entertain the largely male-majority dam construction workers. Called Boulder Dam later named Hoover DamFirst gambling license given in 1931 to Northern Clubby 1954, over 8 million people were visiting Las Vegas yearly pumping 200 million dollars into casinos. Gambling was no longer the only attraction; the biggest stars of films and music like Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Abbott and Costello, Bing Crosby, Carol Channing, and others performed in intimate settingsThe population of the city doubled every decade since 70s
Former MLB player turned oilfield millionaire He didn’t want to create a new team so he found a team that he wanted to buy and relocate the Milwaukee BravesHudson’s Folly was completed in 1962When the Vegas bookmakers offered odds against the Dusters -- as they often did in the early days -- Hudson turned it against them, saying that the "guys on the Strip don't want us to succeed because the Nevada Dusters stand for good, wholesome entertainment."
