Ponticello, John

John Ponticello was a Las Vegas resident involved with several community and political organziations. He is most known for the Research Gambling Game Project, which he conducted in 1969 with support from the University of Michigan and the Oregon Research Institute. For ten weeks, he set up a new game called "Stakes and Odds" in the Four Queens Hotel and Casino to study human decision making and risk analysis in a realistic scenario. He worked for 38 years as a casino supervisor and operator. In 1996, Ponticello unsuccessfully ran for the State Assembly on a platform that sought to improve Nevada's education and decrease its crime. He was also president of the Paradise Democratic Club for twenty years, a representative for the state of Nevada at three Democratic conventions, and a member of the Nevada Electoral College during the 2012 Presidential Election. He passed away June 15, 2015 from cancer.

Source:

"Hat in the Ring: John Ponticello," Las Vegas Sun, July 23, 1996.

Poundstone, William, Priceless: The Myth of Fair Value (and How to Take Advantage of It). New York: Hill and Wong, 2010.

"John Ponticello, Obituary," Las Vegas Review Journal, June 17, 2015.