Nolan Dalla - QUESTION LAS VEGAS

[THE KOD]

I read your article in free picks answering the email from the person asking about moving to Las Vegas.
It is interesting reading as we dont get that kind of perspective and everyone still thinks Vegas is a boom town.

When this is asked you almost always reply with the state of the sports wagering positions available. Being a dealer, cocktail waitress, valet parking, etc.

Question -
Someone told me one time that the valet parking guys make
75 thousand a year and the jobs are passed down from father to son. Is that true still today ?

Question - what about other industrys there in Las Vegas. Home construction ? Sales positions ? technical jobs ? craftsman ? painters ? Does everything have to tie into gambling to live there. My ideal life would be to have a job outside the gaming industry and gamble every damn night.

I have been to Vegas 10-20 times but am limited to the Strip and downtown like the Freemont. Is there such a thing as the suburbs in Vegas ? Can you live away from the city and be close enough to hit the sports books alot ?

Thanks


Scott-Atlanta

 

[fletcher]

not nolan but here you go valet job can never be gotten yes they make very good money but not 70 grand a year more in the 35-40 range which is not bad.

Tech jobs do ok in casinos.

The construction which is every thing else you listed besides sales is most union jobs where you have 3 list a,b and c and convetion set-up which is big money but also union a,b, c.

sales jobs are everywhere working in super market is a good job laugh if you want but union and start out at very good money.

 

[JT]

One thing though about working in a Grocery Store is that unless you have prior experience you will be started out as a bagger at minimum wage. However if you work hard you might move up quicker then here in California due to the high turnover nature of Las Vegas. Plus a willingness to work graveyards would help due to most people hate to work those hours. Just my two cents as someone who works in that biz. Good luck.

 

[Nolan Dalla]

First, I'll defer to Flecther who has been here much longer than me and no doubt knows more about regular daily life in this city than I do. Essentially, all I know is the casino industry. Other than that, I really am not very knowedgable. That said, here's my answer to Scott's questions:


Someone told me one time that the valet parking guys make
75 thousand a year and the jobs are passed down from father to son. Is that true still today ?

REPLY: It's not true. Maybe back when all the casinos were owner run and operated, there was a nepotism system for hiring. But no more. Also, that figure is way too high. Most casino valets pool their tips. Bellagio, I know pools the tips. I once asked the valet parkers what they make downtown and they said $60-70 a day. That's in tips, plus minimum wage -- so that comes out to a $24,000 a year job (Horseshoe and Las Vegas Club). I presume the valet parkers in the better properties make close to 30K, maybe mid-30s.


Question - what about other industrys there in Las Vegas. Home construction ? Sales positions ? technical jobs ? craftsman ? painters ? Does everything have to tie into gambling to live there. My ideal life would be to have a job outside the gaming industry and gamble every damn night.

REPLY: I have to plead total ignorance. I have no idea what non-casino jobs pay or what the market is like. I hope I never have to find out. I do know unions are very strong in this city. SOme of the top jobs are the conventioners (set ups) which are Teamsters. I was at the Palace Station last night and the guy behind me said he sells used Toyotas and makes $5,000 a month -- so there are some regular jobs just like in other cities.


I have been to Vegas 10-20 times but am limited to the Strip and downtown like the Freemont. Is there such a thing as the suburbs in Vegas ? Can you live away from the city and be close enough to hit the sports books alot ?

REPLY: I'm sure Flether will jump my case on this, but Henderson would probably be considered a suburb. So would Summerlin. As for being close to sportsbooks, there are enough "locals" casinos scattered around town that you conceivably never have to visit the Strip and still you can find all the gambling and entertaiment options you need.

Hope this helps,


Nolan

 

[fletcher]

your right henderson is not vegas nor would i live in vegas summerlin and henderson are the burbs an henderson is it's own city 2nd biggest in nv. even though i am only 10 miles from strip it is a whole different lifestyle in green valley whittney ranch where i live. Not even close to what vegas is like. cost is more in these to places green valley and summerlin. but when you are there you can understand why. more moderen and master planned community. But there are nice parts of vegas but just not my type of place traffic is like when i lived in atlanta but way smaller area.

you hardly ever catch me driving in vegas to many cars and roads cannot catch up to growth.

i do go there late at night to people watch like nolan talked about and on freemont,some of the best times in the world can be spent just watching shit you won't see anywhere else, from stars to whores and either way no-one really cares who they are.

go to green valley ranch by me and you will have as many stars pro and actors as the palms or mandaly or any of the other top spots and people just act like the are any one else because all they want is the cash and snatch.