> As soon as I saw that original post I knew I was going to be called
> on to comment. So here's the deal, just to set the record
> strai...well...a little less bent :)
hmmmm, a thirteen paragraph response about bartending in vegas from a person
that has never bartended in vegas?
first off, casino employers dont take kindly to people that sluff off. my
first casino job i worked as a temp barback at Bally's for final four weekend.
they liked my work ethic and i was in orientation on the following tuesday,
and on the schedule days later. i guess it can be a 8-9 week response for
lazy people.
as for becoming a barback in the union and taking a year to get a union
bartending license, the rules are changing. there is a shortage of union
bartenders in vegas as we speak. the union barbacks that are in class and are
consistantly attending classes have been givin an earlier date to obtain their
'pour card'. also, the union classes are on the verge of becomming more
intense and similar to college like courses.
as for landing a great job, i know a few barbacks that make more money than me
and PROBABLY more than most people on this board. it is all about knowing the
system a person is in.
as for the local joints, i wouldn't work a local bar even if you had a gun to
my head. albeit there is great money in local joints, and i mean incredible
money, the danger in local bars is tremendous. i say that because i used to
work graveyard at a local bar here in town. i also commercial crab fish in
the bering sea in the winter time. i would take crabbing over graveyard local
bartending in a heartbeat. there are too many f--ked up people that frequent
local bars in the morning hours. F--ked up on who knows what, that have been
known to pull a gun on a bartender for not using the right glass when pouring
a drink.
Night clubs are all about the look. unless a person looks like pam anderson,
brad pitt, or carson daly, they dont get a job. i have seen the biggest idiot
bartenders that look great, but cant bartend to save their life. that is the
nightclub scene.
in short, when i moved here from seattle 7 years ago, i thought i had a ton of
bar experience. i had worked and managed in a fine dining/club establishment
on the water in seattle. i was wrong. this is the big time. no other city
in the world like vegas. the casinos bring in hundreds of different liquors
by the semi-truck load here. we go through cases, and cases, and cases of
liqour a day. not a case a week or month like in seattle.
in short, i am a union bartender. i make $16 an hour, $200-400 in tips a day,
work a 40 hour work week, get fed three meals a day at work, casiono provides
my uniform, and i have the best health benefits in the state.
that is an unusually long post from me, but i feel i needed to rebut
spellbinder's somewhat inacurate reply.
atilano