Moving to Las Vegas....

[pocket300]

So I am going to vegas in 5 weeks for the first time since I have turned 21. I was there once when I was 15 for a bowling tournament, but what fun is that?! lol I live about an hour and a half from AC here in Jersey and I was seriously thinking about becoming a dealer here but lately I have been reading the threads where guys have been out of school for months and still havent landed a job. I really only still live in Jersey because my mom is here and my brother and sister are still somewhat on the younger side and I would like to be here for them as long as possible since my dad is not around.

A little background for you, I am 22, I have been dealing poker since I was 17 in underground games all over NJ (lucky to have never been in the box when some were busted). I am just pretty much fed up with the underground scene around here because everytime the doorbell rings you have to look over your shoulder to make sure you arent in trouble, not like the way it used to be. I love poker, from stud to razz, i know all the games, and I just love to be around a game.

I know I have seen some threads around here about some people going out to vegas with no prior experience and landing jobs with very little or no trouble in the smaller rooms and then eventually moving up to the bigger rooms. I was hoping that maybe some of you guys/gals that live out in vegas would be able to give me some advice on what areas to look in or around when I am out there as far as places to live would go. I am looking for a good neighborhood within I would say a half hour driving distance of Vegas and anywhere in the 600-1000$ range. I know it seems quite high but I am used to paying 900$ a month for a hole in the wall apartment here in NJ so I think I can handle that amount in Vegas.

I was also hoping that maybe some of you guys/gals that live in Vegas would be willing to give me some advice on how you landed jobs out there when you got there. I know I am probably going to get flamed since there have been 20 threads in the last week about how I should call every room and find out how to get hired etc etc. But it cant hurt to ask someone who already works in a room how they went about getting a job.

Thanks in advance guys.

[Damani311]

bump

I'm doing the same thing, moving out there with no experience, and wouldn't mind getting a job dealing.

[hoff21]

I just moved to Henderson from Illinois. I have a background in racebook. I am here for the start of football season hoping to land a job in the sports side of things so can't really help with the dealing questions.
As far as living here. Everyone will tell you Summerlin or Henderson. I chose Henderson since I have more friends that live here. You're looking at paying $800 for a safe one bedroom apartment. I pay $860 a month for 730 square feet. Has a nice pool and decent workout room. Have only been here for 3 days now and am starting to question the quality of tennants. So maybe you should look to pay a little more if you're already used to a 900+ rent amount.

[52s]

I'll make this quick.

Put on your white shirt, your black slacks, and your black shoes, and go to every room in town - in person - and talk to the manager (with one caveat, Bellagio - no casino exp., no job, don't bother).

Another piece of advice - the "dealt home games back home" schtick's been played out in Vegas. I have a friend who has hiring power at a room and he says that's the Number 1 thing he hears now, as its apparently what "teachers" from the "dealer schools" have told newbies to say. However, since you're legitimately coming in from the NJ/NY area it may be believed and may get you an audition in one of the smaller rooms. Maybe.

"In 5 weeks" means around Labor Day Weekend, when things start to slowly pick back up, so you might have some luck, but generally all the open jobs in town get taken up by WSOP dealer re-treads hunting for work/wanting to stay in town after the zoo is over and has shipped out.

If you want to see what jobs there are in Vegas, search on the 'Net. You can pretty much find what openings there are for 90%+ of the rooms online.

I'll provide some links.

Wynn
Venetian
MGM Mirage properties (Mandalay Bay, Luxor, Excalibur, MGM Grand, Monte Carlo, some others)
Harrah's properties (Caesars Palace, Rio, some others)
Station Casinos (GVR, Red Rock, Boulder Station, some others)

And you can Google some of the random others, such as Planet Hollywood and Golden Nugget, to name a couple.

Best bet for right now is to hunker down and fill out all the online apps and have them ready to submit. They're a pain in the balls and you'll need all your info straight.

And... that's it.

[Photoc]

To add to what 52s just said. For every 1 dealing job that opens, there are literally 50+ applicants and the "dealt home games" crap doesn't fly anywhere. Home games means nothing. What the cardroom hears you saying is "I've dealt illegaly with no casino training/knowledge. Please hire me".

Where I work, we had 2 positions open on extra board, which have since been filled. We had close to 200 applicants.

[*TT*]

[ QUOTE ]
Have only been here for 3 days now and am starting to question the quality of tenants.

[/ QUOTE ]

Welcome to Vegas.

[pocket300]

I appreciate the stuff you guys are telling me, I pretty much figured that the "i dealt in illegal homegames back in NJ" wont fly as much but I didnt mention that I am going to vegas in 5 weeks for a vacation, just so happens that when i am out there, i will be doing some research on room to room on how to get hired etc. I will also be driving out into the henderson area to look at apartments/homes. I don't plan on moving out into Nevada until later in the year, but i just thought I would get the ball rolling while I am there and not just decide to pack it up and leave one day with nothing. I will also be attending a dealer school when I do get there. I know that will look good as far as some managers might be concerned. I am not trying to be arrogant, but im pretty sure if I get an audition somewhere, a room manager wont be disappointed.

[52s]

On a personal note, funny thing is is I used the "home games" line back in '05 when I was looking for work trying to break in (and before it got overused in town) and was able to get auditions - it was just a matter of then going in and banging out the audition itself no problem - and also being able to show that I wasn't some brainless halfwit.

Now that I have casino exp. on the resume I've dropped the "home games" crap off the "resume".

I still get told stories of how it was in town as late as mid-2004... "You can pitch a card? You're hired!"

[Rootabager]

Why isnt every dealer top notch if it's so hard to get the jobs, and they have so many applicants for every job. If they are only taking the best and most experienced, it seems like vegas would be full of expert dealers which doesnt seem to be the case.

[*TT*]

[ QUOTE ]
Why isnt every dealer top notch if it's so hard to get the jobs, and they have so many applicants for every job. If they are only taking the best and most experienced, it seems like vegas would be full of expert dealers which doesnt seem to be the case.

[/ QUOTE ]

There needs to be a position available in order to hire.