William N. Thompson is a Professor of Public Administration at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He was born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and attended Michigan State University and the University of Missouri at Columbia, receiving a Ph.D.(Political Science) from the latter in 1972. He has taught Political Science and Public Administration courses at Southeast Missouri State, Western Michigan University, Troy State University (Europe), and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He served as a research associate with the National Association of Attorneys General, a research advisor of Pension and Welfare Benefits in the United States Department of Labor, and as the elected supervisor of Kalamazoo Charter Township, Michigan. His research interests have focused upon many public policy questions with an emphasis on policy and the gambling industry. His books include Gambling in America: An Encyclopedia, Legalized Gambling: A Reference Handbook, and Native American Issues: A Reference Handbook, and The Last Resort: Success and Failure in Campaigns for Casinos (with John Dombrink). His articles have appeared in many academic, professional, and trade journals, including Public Integrity, Gaming Law Review, and Casino Lawyer. His commentaries on gambling issues have been quoted by national media such as New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal, and he has appeared on the Today Show, Cross-fire, the O'Reilly Factor, and Marketplace.
James Leidlein has been a city manager in Michigan for over thirty years. He was also employed as a labor economist with the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington, D.C. He earned an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Western Michigan University and a graduate degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California. He has been an adjunct faculty member in the Political Science Department at Wayne State University in Detroit for twenty years. He has taught introductory courses in American Government and Public Administration and graduate classes in Labor Relations and Administrative Ethics. He has been published in Public Administration Review, Public Integrity and is cited in Public Personnel Management and Berkley and Rouse's The Craft of Public Administration. He is also a member of the Michigan Local Government Management Association's Ethics Committee. He resides with his wife, Kathleen, in Harper Woods, Michigan.
