Skip To Main Content
Steve Friess on Muck Rack

Steve Friess

Verified
(He/Him)
Ann Arbor, Detroit, Ypsilanti
As seen in: The Ann Arbor Observer, University of Michigan, Apple Podcasts, MSN, MSN Canada, The New York Times, Yahoo Life, Bloomberg Businessweek, Bloomberg News, Business Insider, Daily Mail, HuffPost and
Covers:  gambling, law, politics, LGBTQ, sports, pop culture, Las Vegas, technology, health, education, betting, casino, poker, gaming, china, gay
PlayUSA columnist covering intersection of gambling, business, culture, politics, sports & law. NU graduate, UM fan. #LGM Dad of two. 🏳️‍🌈

Get in touch with Steve

Contact Steve, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.

Learn more about Muck Rack

Actions

Share this page

Steve Friess’s Biography

Read Full Bio →

Columnist for PlayUSA focusing on the intersection of gambling, law, technology, sports, politics, culture, and health. Has covered Las Vegas, Macau and the gambling industry for more than 25 years for the New York Times, Newsweek, Time, BusinessWeek, New York Magazine, Washington Post, BuzzFeed and many others. Bylines from China, Cambodia, Vietnam, South Korea, Estonia, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, England and Canada. Frequent appearances on NPR, CNN, MSNBC and …

Steve Friess’s Journalist Portfolio

See all →
If This Happens in Vegas, It Can Sure Stay in Vegas

If This Happens in Vegas, It Can Sure Stay in Vegas

It's a casino in a trailer on an empty lot, set up for the sole purpose of retaining the valuable zoning desi…

View article →
Danger In Tomorrowland

Danger In Tomorrowland

A nation driven by technological genius, shaken by a monument scandal and vulnerable to Russian meddling. We’…

View article →
Derek Stevens Is Sin City's Most Interesting Rising Mogul

Derek Stevens Is Sin City's Most Interesting Rising Mogul

Grosse Pointe native Derek Stevens on Vegas, how he's paying homage to his hometown, and why the Michigan cas…

View article →
Half-truths and absurdities litter the debate over Internet gambling

Half-truths and absurdities litter the debate over Internet gambling

No good arguments or data to support banning online gambling were cited at a Congressional hearing last month.

View article →
Wynn Resorts' Board, Its Nominees and Elaine Wynn Are All Denounced in Shareholder Report

Wynn Resorts' Board, Its Nominees and Elaine Wynn Are All Denounced in Shareholder Report

The casino conglomerate's corporate governance was called into question in a report that also rejected the ar…

View article →
Steve Friess says goodbye, but his love for Vegas endures

Steve Friess says goodbye, but his love for Vegas endures

Plus, he solves one of Vegas' burning mysteries.

View article →

Articles

TIME100 Philanthropy: Kate Forbes

|
By Steve Friess Verified
| TIME Verified
Red Cross and Red Crescent volunteers and workers are among the earliest humanitarian responders when disaster strikes. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) president Kate Forbes ensures that volunteers and supplies are where the humanitarian need is most urgent—including in crisis zones such as Sudan, Gaza, Ukraine, and Iran. In March, Forbes announced she was seeking a second term as president.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

TIME100 Philanthropy: Terrence Meck

|
By Steve Friess Verified
| TIME Verified
When Terrence Meck took over in January 2025 as president and CEO of the New York City meal-delivery nonprofit God’s Love We Deliver (GLWD), the group was trying to raise $100 million to develop an 80,000-sq.-ft. food-prep, packing and distribution facility. Meck quickly saw donors weren’t sold, so he reduced the plan to a more palatable $40 million campaign to rent a smaller space. A year later, the actress Rosie Perez joined him for the ribbon-cutting on a 30,000-sq.-ft.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?

TIME100 Philanthropy: Ron Bruder

|
By Steve Friess Verified
| TIME Verified
It’s been a tumultuous 20 years since real estate developer Ron Bruder launched Education For Employment (EFE) to bring job training programs to the Middle East and North Africa. Several of the organization’s priority geographies—notably Egypt, Tunisia, Lebanon, Yemen, and Gaza—have endured civil wars, uprisings, regime changes, and devastating attacks. Yet Bruder, 78, has built a sprawling, remarkably flexible nonprofit.
Open in Who Shared Issue with article?
See all 854 licensed articles (1,086 Total)

Interview

See all →

What was your first job as a journalist?

I wrote an expose of Long Island video stores renting porn to minors for Long Island Monthly when I was 15.

Who's your favorite fictional journalist?

Bob Woodward as played by Robert Redford

How do you prefer to be pitched on stories?

Email