The Labor of Luck: Casino Capitalism in the United States and South Africa
In this gripping ethnography, Jeffrey J. Sallaz goes behind the scenes of the global casino industry to investigate the radically different worlds of work and leisure he found in identically designed casinos in the United States and South Africa. Seamlessly weaving political and economic history with his own personal experience, Sallaz provides a riveting account of two years spent working among both countries’ casino dealers, pit bosses, and politicians. While the popular imagination sees the N
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‘Double down’ on The Labor of Luck,
What I find most impressive about this study is that it moves skillfully between macro, meso, and micro levels of analysis. Each level works on its own; for example, students of political-economy will be interested in Sallaz’s comparative, macro-level account of the state’s regulation of ‘vice’ in two national settings. Students of industrial relations will find insights in the meso-level investigation of manager-worker relations. And ethnographers and fans of Erving Goffman will be captivated by Sallaz’s micro-level description of blackjack dealers and gamblers on the casino floor. Yet Sallaz’s aim is to transcend these levels by showing an intelligible linkage between them. He succeeds, and the sum is truly greater than its parts.
In short, I highly recommend this well-researched and carefully crafted book – and since it bears a ‘soft $16’ price tag, no need to ‘stand’ in line at the library, instead just ‘hit’ “add to shopping cart”!
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