Las Vegas Careers

Jack O’Diamond finished his shift dealing blackjack several hours ago. He pocketed a few hundred bucks for his efforts, which sounds nice…but he couldn’t make it past the roulette table on his way out of the casino. Now he has a bit of a dazed look on his face as he stumbles out the front door, and keeps mumbling something about “red 23”…

There’s no doubt about it—Las Vegas is an exciting place. Those jackpot sounds ringing across the casino, the screams of gamblers who have just won (or lost) a large sum of money… When it comes to making a living in this town, however, it can be a bit of a mixed bag. If you’re employed by (or own) a casino, you may have a pretty sweet deal. Casino and hotel owners, restaurant and club owners, and even many of the pit bosses and dealers do all right for themselves. But if you’re striding into town with dreams of making your fortune by letting it all ride on the Pass Line…you might be about to crap out. So to speak.

Because Vegas can also be dangerous. Like…East St. Louis dangerous. Even if you’re working as a quickie divorce lawyer (in which case clients should be plentiful), as long as you have a touch of the gambling habit, you could quickly see your income transform into…outcome. There’s a reason they call this place “Lost Wages.” And it’s not just because it looks good on a refrigerator magnet.

If you’re coming to Vegas to make a million dollars…it can be done. First…get a million dollars. Uh...okay, so you’re experiencing cash flow problems. No worries. There are a ton of people throwing their money away—you just have to be in the right place at the right time to…catch it.

The manager of a typical Vegas hotel makes $100k a year. If it’s a hotel/casino—especially one right on the strip—you’re making closer to a cool mil. And if you happen to own one of those blinged out monstrosities…well, you should hear some of those jackpot ringing sounds right about now. Any idea what the yearly gaming revenue is in Clark County? Try nearly 10 billion. With a “b.”

But…easier said than done, of course. There’s only so much prime real estate on the strip.

However, say you’re not the big business type. Still plenty of ways to collect a regular paycheck. And the nice thing is that housing is cheap—the average single-family home will run you about $110k in Vegas, well below the national average. High in demand are people who can deal, bartend, serve cocktails, and spritz gamblers with mists of H2O from spray bottles as they step into the 115-degree heat. (To be fair, this last gig is on more of a…volunteer basis.) You may make enough to survive, but you’re on the wrong end of the Vegas food chain. Not to mention the…ahem…purveyors of certain high-end professional services. Hey, at least it’s legal in some parts of Nevada. And it’s tax-free.

Of course, the real bottom-feeders are the gamblers themselves. Sure, there’s the occasional poker player who won the WSOP Main Event at 22 and has had sponsorship deals up the wazoo ever since…but most of your garden variety degenerate blows far more of his bankroll than he earns. Nearly all of them are in debt, at least at some point. And the deep emotional debt that comes from spending all day shuffling chips and calling for a jack…well, we won’t even go there.

You’re welcome to saddle up and roll the dice if you so wish. Just keep in mind that, in Vegas, the dice are loaded. So to speak.

And don’t forget that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Along with most of your life savings, usually.

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