American Casino
| American Casino | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 31 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Craig Piligian |
| Original release | |
| Network | Discovery Channel |
| Release | June 4, 2004 – December 28, 2005 |
American Casino is an American reality television series which tracks the daily events of the managers and employees of the Green Valley Ranch Casino resort in Henderson, Nevada, a suburb of Las Vegas. The show began airing on the Discovery Channel on June 4, 2004, but was moved to the Travel Channel in June 2005.[1] In other countries including Europe, the show continued to air on Discovery.
The show was executive produced by Craig Piligian of Pilgrim Films & Television.[2] Piligian had also created American Chopper and American Hot Rod.[3]
Subjects
[edit]Subjects of the show have included:
- Pat Kearns - SVP of Operations
- Dan Wilson - VP of Marketing
- Joe Hasson - General Manager
- Ralph Marano - Assistant General Manager
- Wayne Shadd - Director of Marketing
- David Demontmollin - Marketing Manager
- Michael Tata - Vice-President of Hotel Operations (2004)
- Brett Magnan - Vice-President of Hotel Operations
- Ninya Perna - Hotel Manager
- Joe Mulligan - Executive Chef
- Willie Bierlien - Banquet Chef
- James Fricker - Pastry Chef
- Alex Peluffo - banquet and Convention Operations
- Dawn Laguardia - Director of Food and Beverage
- Bill Burt - Director of Casino Operations
- Matt Sacca - Director of Player Operations
- Cheryl Rose - Director of Slot Operations
- Fred Tuerck - Assistant Security Manager
- Kelly Downey - Manager, Race and Sports Books
- Lorenzo Fertitta, President, Station Casinos
- Frank Fertitta, Chairman & CEO
Relatively free of interpersonal drama, episodes have included a behind-the-scenes look during rock concerts, slot promotions, blackjack tournaments, weddings, and other events.
Production
[edit]Filming began in January 2004, at the Green Valley Ranch hotel and casino in Henderson, Nevada.[4][5][6] Approximately 600 hours of footage was shot for the first hour-long episode.[7]
Michael Tata, vice president of hotel operations, died of an accidental fentanyl overdose on July 6, 2004.[8][9] Prior to Tata's death, more than a dozen additional episodes had been planned for the series' first season, which initially consisted of 13 episodes.[10] The ending of the series' seventh episode, airing on July 16, 2004, acknowledged Tata's death: "In memory of Michael Tata."[11] In August 2004, the show was renewed for an additional 18 episodes.[12] Later that month, an episode involving Tata's death was delayed without explanation until later in the year.[13]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Lawrence, Christopher (November 14, 2005). "Life on the Couch: Resort employees reflect on reality of 'American Casino'". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on November 24, 2005.
- ^ Cling, Carol (December 22, 2003). "Shooting Stars: Two reality-themed series prepare for 2004 launch". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on January 8, 2004.
- ^ White, Ken (June 3, 2004). "Reality Series: Lights, Cameras ... Gamble". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on July 7, 2004.
- ^ Cling, Carol (January 12, 2004). "Shooting Stars: 'Las Vegas,' 'Elimidate' prepare to start new work around town". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on February 20, 2004.
- ^ Cling, Carol (January 19, 2004). "Shooting Stars: 'View' slated to arrive in Las Vegas; MTV work winds down". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on March 28, 2005.
- ^ Cling, Carol (January 26, 2004). "Shooting Stars: Area production schedule features foreign visitors". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on November 17, 2004.
- ^ Cling, Carol (February 9, 2004). "Shooting Stars: 'Survivor' producer Burnett excited with 'Casino' work". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on February 20, 2004.
- ^ Jones, Chris (July 7, 2004). "Green Valley Ranch official found dead". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on July 10, 2004.
- ^ Lawson, Jen (August 17, 2004). "Alcohol, painkiller blamed for hotel executive's death". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
- ^ Clarke, Norm (July 9, 2004). "Death causes halt in show's filming". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on July 11, 2004.
- ^ Clarke, Norm (July 18, 2004). "Late 'Casino' exec got viewers riled". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on March 8, 2007.
- ^ Cling, Carol (August 2, 2004). "Shooting Stars: Filming at 'Caesars' continues; 'The Club' set to start work". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on May 5, 2005.
- ^ Clarke, Norm (August 12, 2004). "Episode on death of exec delayed". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Archived from the original on August 16, 2004.
External links
[edit]- Green Valley Ranch website Archived 2011-09-23 at the Wayback Machine
- American Casino at IMDB