Dr. Bernhard has delivered hundreds of keynote addresses and lectures around the world. He has provided testimony in front of a number of state and federal bodies, and consulted on the design of problem gambling policy in Kentucky, Louisiana, Florida, New Jersey, Nevada, Ontario, and Alberta, Canada. In 2002, his research and teaching achievements earned him the inaugural Shannon Bybee Award from the Nevada and National Councils on Problem Gambling. He was also named (as one of six American scholars) to serve on the National Council on Problem Gambling’s International Problem Gambling Think Tank. His international work will continue in the academic year 2003-2004 with trips to Korea, Portugal, Brazil, Australia, South Africa, China, and Russia to lecture and advise on responsible gaming policies.

Dr. Bo J. Bernhard is an honors graduate of Harvard University, where he double majored in sociology and psychology. His final undergraduate thesis (on gambling behaviors in Las Vegas) received recognition from Harvard’s department of psychology as an outstanding dual-major research piece. This thesis led him to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he has continued to pursue research in gambling behavior. At UNLV, he was awarded the Outstanding Graduate Student awards for the department of sociology and for the entire university.

After receiving his Ph.D. in 2002, Dr. Bernhard accepted an assistant professorship in UNLV’s department of sociology, making him only the second academic in the history of the college to be awarded a professorship after obtaining his Ph.D at UNLV. He was also named the Director of Gambling Research at UNLV’s International Gaming Institute, where he holds an assistant professorship in the department of Hotel Management in the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration. His career came full circle recently when he was invited to return to Harvard – this time by colleagues at the Medical School – to conduct research this past summer.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Bernhard’s research agenda has incorporated virtually every social scientific methodology, from classic experimental designs to ethnographic research. While still a master’s-level student, he served as site director for a pioneering Eli Lilly drug trial that explored pharmacological treatments for pathological gamblers. This study was the first gambling study ever funded by Lilly. He has also conducted survey research and focus groups on gamblers’ behaviors.

Dr. Bernhard’s research papers and publications have emphasized the need for a “clinical sociology” that blends macro insights from sociology with the micro and clinical applications of psychology. His studies have been prominently featured in local and national media coverage, and have been highlighted in nationally televised specials on the CNN, the Discovery Channel, Telemundo, and the History Channel. A fifth-generation Las Vegan, Dr. Bernhard is currently at work on his book Vice Capades, a sociological perspective on those who gamble to excess.

For Booking Information click here

<< Back to more Las Vegas Speakers