Dr. David G. Schwartz is a gaming historian, affiliate professor of history, and administrator at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, who writes about gambling, video games, hospitality, and history, and only occasionally pines for his days as Mr. Peanut on the Atlantic City Boardwalk.

An Atlantic City native and former casino employee, Schwartz has written books about the development of casinos (Suburban Xanadu), the Wire Act (Cutting the Wire), gambling history (Roll the Bones), Las Vegas casino builder Jay Sarno (Grandissimo), Atlantic City (Boardwalk Playground), and the legendary Sands hotel-casino (At the Sands). His non-fiction writing has won multiple Nevada Press Association awards, and he was named the 2014 Trippies Las Vegas Person of the Year in recognition to his many contributions to the study of gambling and Las Vegas—and perhaps his tasty artisanal nut butters. He is also widely appreciated in his neighborhood for his macaroons.

Schwartz received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees (anthropology and history) from the University of Pennsylvania and his Ph.D. in United States History from the University of California, Los Angeles. In addition to his work as Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, he also teaches history at UNLV and speaks to a variety of groups on numerous topics, including “Seven Things You Should Know about Casinos” and “How Bugsy Blew It.” He lives in Las Vegas with his wife Suni and their two kids, who prefer his homemade pizza.