From Madison, Wisconsin, Phil Kessel had a very successful career in the NHL, where he became the league’s “Iron Man”, setting a record for consecutive games played with 1,064.  As impressive as that accomplishment is, the other former players who had achieved that record over the previous decades were not the scorer that Kessel was.

Kessel was the 2006 WCHA Rookie of the Year in his lone year at the University of Minnesota, and the Boston Bruins were impressed enough to draft him with the fifth pick of that year’s draft.  The Right Wing made the team quickly, but suffered a setback immediately when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.   He would beat it, and as a rookie, he won the Bill Masterton Trophy.  Kessel played two more years in Boston and was a player on the rise, but that would take place elsewhere.  The Toronto Maple Leafs traded two first-round and one second-round pick for Kessel before the 2009-10 Season began.

Kessel was a top scorer in Toronto, going to three All-Star Games and posting four 30-Goal seasons.  Despite this, the Leaf fans turned on Kessel due to a perceived bad attitude and poor diet.  In the hockey-mad city of Toronto, Kessel became the scapegoat for the Leafs' failures.  He was traded to Pittsburgh in 2015 and played a significant role in the Penguins' back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2016 and 2017, and in the latter win, he mocked his own poor diet by filling the Cup with hot dogs, which he then proceeded to eat.  He would later have his best season in hockey, posting a career-best 92 Points in 2017-18, and in 2018-19, he led the NHL in Game-Winning Goals with 10.

He continued to play a few more seasons, but his skills began to decline.  In his final NHL campaign, Kessel won his third Stanley Cup as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights.

Las Vegas in the mid-20th century was more than a gambling capital. It was a place where stage lights outshone the slot machines. Liberace’s jeweled pianos sparkled, the Rat Pack’s tuxedos set the tone, and audiences saw singers and comedians turn into legends while redefining glamour and fame. Hollywood picked up the imagery and wove it into film and music, giving the casino mystique global reach.

The Modern Shift in Engagement

Brick-and-mortar casinos never stopped evolving. The Flamingo promised Hollywood polish in the 1940s, the Sands gave intimacy through the Copa Room in the 1950s, and the International opened in 1969 as a mega-resort, with Elvis Presley’s record-setting residency helping validate entertainment as a profit driver. More recently, the opening of Resorts World in 2021 showed how casinos continue to reinvent themselves, blending luxury hotels, high-tech theaters, and headline residencies to attract a new generation of visitors.

Today, those expectations extend beyond the casino floor. People increasingly want flexibility in how they participate, whether that is having more ways to pay, quicker access to winnings, or a wider range of games than a single resort could offer. As Joe Turner explains, playing overseas at offshore casinos allows players to access a greater variety of games and enjoy more user choice than many state-regulated operators. The appeal is not the technology alone, but the shift from a fixed in-person experience to one that fits around individual lifestyles. These platforms echo the adaptability that once defined physical casinos, now translated into digital choice.

From Bait to Business

In the early days, the math was simple. The show was the lure, the games paid the bills. Not every residency broke even on tickets, and plenty needed help from the casino floor. Over time, the equation flipped. Big residencies became their own revenue stream, with a ripple effect through dining, merch, and tourism. The headliner was no longer a luxury line item. The headliner was the business plan. A modern example is the Sphere in Las Vegas, which has turned residencies into blockbuster events. U2’s run at the Sphere grossed more than $244 million, one of the highest-earning residencies on record.

Cultural Influence Beyond the Stage

The impact of casino residencies stretched far beyond the gaming floor. They influenced fashion and stage identity. Liberace’s sequined costumes and jeweled pianos made theatrical excess a signature of live entertainment. Elvis’s capes and jumpsuits set the template for arena spectacle, echoed later by artists from Michael Jackson to modern pop stars.

They also intersected with social change. The Rat Pack’s prominence in Las Vegas coincided with mounting pressure on casinos and hotels to end segregation. While progress was uneven, the presence of stars like Sammy Davis Jr. in high-profile venues made it harder for the Strip to maintain discriminatory practices.

Hollywood’s Enduring Fascination

Casinos remain one of cinema’s favorite backdrops. Martin Scorsese’s Casino portrayed the city’s grit and corruption in the 1990s, while the Ocean’s Eleven remake in 2001 gave audiences a slick, modern heist with Las Vegas as the star. More recently, 21dramatized card-counting on the Strip, and The Hangover turned casino nightlife into comedy gold. Streaming platforms have followed suit, using casino imagery as shorthand for wealth, risk, and intrigue. Hollywood keeps coming back because casinos offer ready-made drama: bright lights, fortunes on the line, and characters larger than life.

A Global Stage

From showroom residencies to silver screen legends, casinos shaped what it means to be an entertainment icon. They proved stars could carry resorts, that spectacle could rival the gaming floor, and that style born in neon could ripple far beyond the Strip.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we maintain and update our existing Top 50 lists annually.  As such, we are delighted to present our pre-2025/26 revision of our top 50 Anaheim Ducks.

As for all of our top 50 players in hockey, we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Hockey League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Ducks failed to make the playoffs again, but three new entrants and two elevations within the Top 50.

As always, we present our top five, which remain unchanged.

1. Teemu Selanne
2. Ryan Getzlaf
3. Paul Kariya
4. Corey Perry
5. Jean-Sebastien Giguere

You can find the entire list here. 

Defenseman Cam Fowler, who was traded to the St. Louis Blues during the season, remained at #6.

Goalie John Gibson was also unable to move his rank based on last season.  The now Detroit Red Wing remained at #8.

Center Troy Terry moved up three spots to #19.

Center Trevor Zegras advanced twelve spots to #29.

The first new entry is veteran Frank Vatrano.  The Left Wing debuts at #38.

Mason McTavish makes his first appearance on the list at #41.

The third new entrant is Center Ryan Strome, who comes in at #50.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

Days after the WWE announced that Stephanie McMahon was the first inductee for their Class of 2026, their subsidiary, TNA, announced that former TNA Knockouts Champion, Mickie James, would be inducted into their Hall of Fame. 

James will be inducted on October 12, when TNA will have its Bound for Glory Event, which will take place in Lowell, Massachusetts. 

A five-time Knockouts Champion, James won multiple titles in the WWE and is still an active competitor in the independent scene.

We here at notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Mickey James for her impending honor.