Las Vegas sportsbook jobs?

[Dweeb]

Eibon, you wrote:

"another reason I am moving is the nightlife - I am only 27, and the constant turnover of tourist women is something I think I can get used to. I've lived in my present area for about 3 years now and am restless - time for a change"


I don't know about that, maybe the other guys here have a differing opinion, I suppose it depends upon your age. I don't find it as easy to meet real women here -- as in other cities. I'm quite a bit older now, so that might be a factor. The club scene here is definitely for the young, ages 21 to 30 approximately.

But what I find (maybe it's just me) is that women who live here are totally jaded and difficult to get to know. I don't recall this in other cities, but then, I was a lot younger then.

The tourist women are here today, gone tomorrow. Not exactly a good start to a real relationship. That will get old pretty quickly (maybe not, again, maybe it's just me).

Hope this helps.
Dweeb

 

[GreenDoberman]

I don't usually agree with Bill, but he is dead no in his assessment this time. You are moving here for all the WRONG reasons, and if you do move here, you will get caught up in the gambling, nightlife, etc. and fall to the wayside like so many others I have seen.

 

[mvbski]

so why did you two move to vegas then ?

 

[Dweeb]

Eibon,

Pick up a Thomas Brothers Guide.

Pretty good map of Las Vegas.

http://www.randmcnally.com/rmc/seeClick.jsp?sPageId=explore%2fexploreCityMap.jsp&sPositionOnPage=0&cntType=PRODUCT&cntOID=1073842119&sHow=BV+Rule&sPromoInfo=null&sRedirectURL=%2fstore%2fstrProductDetail.jsp%3fOID%3d1073842119%26POID%3d-1073753925%26SeqNo%3d&BV_SessionID=@@@@1285655902.1072993764@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccfadckfifjhflcgencfhjdfiidfji.0&cmty=0

See this link, or if this link doesn't work, plug +"thomas brothers" +map into http://www.google.com

If you are in California, they have 3 retail stores:

http://www.thomas.com/locations/

I have been to the one in San Francisco (location has changed, I think). What a great place to get maps.

Hope this helps
Dweeb

 

[Dweeb]

Mr. Doberman wrote:

"I don't usually agree with Bill, but he is dead no (sic) in his assessment this time. You are moving here for all the WRONG reasons, and if you do move here, you will get caught up in the gambling, nightlife, etc. and fall to the wayside like so many others I have seen."


Eibon, you need to evaluate yourself. I am quite a bit older than you, and I can tell you flatly, I am totally unaffected by the "action" that surrounds me. I never play the slots, craps, or any other game that does not have a positive expectation.

But, what about you?

I can go to a casino, say hi to people I know there -- and not make a bet -- if I didn't already have something in mind before I went there.

I will tell that many people are destroyed by this town. Las Vegas (all by itself) has more chapters of Gamblers Anonymous, more pawn shops, and more places that make short-time loans at loan-shark rates -- than all the other places (added together) I ever lived before Las Vegas.

And (this is something I discuss all the time with folks I know) I would rather find a gal from some other place and bring her here -- than date the artificial women that I meet here. Just my opinion, but the only kind of women I meet are married, or fake, or they have a gambling / drinking problem.

Maybe it is different for a young guy.

P.S.: One of the attorneys that comes into my book frequently -- tells me that my habit of referring to women as "gals" reveals my age better than my disappearing hairline.

For whatever it is worth
Dweeb

[This message was edited by Dweeb on January 01, 2004 at 06:06 PM.]

 

[mvbski]

why is it ok for you To move there and not him ?

 

[Dweeb]

MVBSKI:

I don't mean to tell Eibon what to do. I just offered some info -- and hopefully, he is better informed to make his own decision.

Some people thrive here, some fail.

Another thing that Eibon ought to be aware of, some of the casinos on the strip prefer not to hire anyone who hasn't been here at least a year -- regardless of work experience -- because so many people leave before they have been here 12 months.

One thing that the statisticians do not emphasize: more than half the people who move here -- don't stay here. Frequently within a year, they go back to where they came from.

Just some thoughts
Dweeb

[This message was edited by Dweeb on January 01, 2004 at 08:59 PM.]

 

[Dweeb]

Wild Bill:

quoting what you said above:

"don't come here to take low-paying jobs that often require you to work in a ghetto hotel or drive 40 miles to Primm. That just strikes me as really going about it the wrong way, but if you are determined then go ahead, you"


My question:

Bill, how did you get your first job in a sports book? If you started 20 years ago, I recall that one could start on the strip with the Santa Anita, Rose Bowl -- or downtown with the Saratoga, Paddock, Hollywood, or the Derby.

But those stand-alone books are all gone now.

In 2004, not that easy to start from scratch on the strip -- except at maybe a Leroy's books like the Riviera.

Starting at a place like Primm Valley isn't so bad. You learn a lot quickly; they train from scratch. Free meals and when you're ready with enough experience, perhaps a move to another MGM property on the strip.

Dweeb

 

[GreenDoberman]

I think both me and Bill are not saying you can't move here, we are just giving you the honest appraisal of what you should expect, and given the information you have given us, the likely road you will take once you get here.
This place eats up many people and spits them out, then they go back home broke and crying and talk about how much Vegas "sucks". Well, those are the people that continually line our pockets and come back for more.

It's not all "seashells and balloons", as Al McGuire used to say, out here. We would be doing a disservice to you if we did not tell it the way it is.

You want to move here to be closer to the "action". Well the action is not here, its offshore, its anywhere in America. The only "action" here is watching tourists give away there hard-earned money day after day. If you still want to move to our quiet little Mormon community, best of luck.

 

[Dweeb]

Yeah, the tourists really have no clue re what is a fair wager and what is not.

On the front page of the rx today, "Fleece the Sucker" by Stephen Nover tells it like it is. I like Nover because he doesn't pull any punches.

Such a contrast with the folks who lie to tourists. Have you seen the weekly column by Rob Singer in Gaming Today? His thesis, basically, is that you play a negative expectation game for a while, then you move up from quarters to dollars to $5 -- and all of a sudden, you make a lot of money and go back to Arizona with your pockets full.

I too have seen a lot of folks chewed up and spit out by this place.

Dweeb

 

[WildBill]

I have never worked for a sportsbook, only have worked for casinos that had them. I know all the numbers and my interest in sportsbooks is strong, but my desire to put in knowing the conditions is not. Not to mention after a short time in Vegas it became clear to me that if you want to make good money and have a good job, don't work for them. The opportunities for a good job and good career are far better outside the casinos themselves. There are many great companies that build the casinos, supply the casinos, service the casinos and their workers...all who will offer on average better wages than the casinos will and give you a chance to have a nice diverse career. Work for a casino and you get slotted into very limited lines of work and very defined promotional scales after a short time, getting out them requires either vastly improving your education or being an extremely dynamic person that catches the fancy of the few stars in each organization. For me the grass got so much greener the day I left the casino company.

And let us all be realistic here, if you are going to work for a book, don't do it as an aside to being a serious sports bettor. That just doesn't work, I know countless that tried it and it never works out. The books need people that take the job seriously and real bettors that are successful can always find things to do with their time that yield them more than 8 or 9 bucks an hour.

And lastly, yes I am well aware of the area to the east of the Stratosphere, I mean that area raised a stink about their proposed rides. That is a very nice, yet limited enclave of artistic and yuppie types that live in the few nice old houses there are in Vegas. There are almost no places to rent around there and the area is very small. Same for the small enclave downtown where Oscar and a few other rich people live. There are tiny pockets like that where the residents have lived there many years and take great care of their places to maintain some semblance of old charm. Still though if you strand even a few blocks from them, you will end up wishing you hadn't. To make it easy for anyone that isn't from here, the simple rule here is that more often than not, if you go at least 5 miles from the Strip or Downtown, you probably will be in a decent area. If you are less than that, you are more often than not going to be in a not so nice area. Exceptions are there, but they are not the rule.

 

[Dweeb]

Wild Bill,

You wrote: "Same for the small enclave downtown where Oscar and a few other rich people live."

Not that this has anything to do with this thread, but I have always been curious.

Where is this enclave that Oscar B. Gin-drinker lives? The west side and north of Bonanza are a little rough, so the only areas I can think of are the John S. Park neighborhood and the area near the old Las Vegas High School.

Dweeb

 

[WildBill]

I believe it is the John S. Park area, but not quite sure. I just read about the area couldn't say exactly where it is. I have read him and others talking about it a lot though and someone told me that their attorney lives a few houses from Oscar and that it is a very small area of quality with a mess in every direction around it. Sorry couldn't tell you more than that though.

 

[Dweeb]

ok, that's probably the right location. Not too many months ago, some homeless guy happened down Oscar's street (the story didn't specify the street name or location), and stumbled across Oscar's car.

The homeless guy saw some loose quarters, nickels, & dimes laying on the front seat. So the homeless guy did $100 + damage to Oscar B's car breaking out the window to get the change.

Dweeb

 

[Dweeb]

Eibon,

Update for you. In January 2004, I moved. In my old location, where I lived 5 years, the building was sold, and it was quickly obvious that the new landlord and I would not be happy with each other.

Anyway, I restricted my search to the same area, the area east and south-east from the downtown Las Vegas area. I ended up finding a place about 5 blocks distant from where I formerly lived.

Anyway, here's the points I want to convey to you:

(1) Even though I wasn't looking for this type of place, I did locate some 2 bedroom units in the $550 to $600 range. These are all older units, in an area where much of the construction is 40 or 50 years old. Actually, a few buildings are 60 to 100 years old directly south of the downtown area and the construction east of downtown dates from after World War Two.

Not sure if you have kids. A lot of places don't want people with kids. This is because of the noise and problems. They are kind of stuck in a catch 22. Who wants a 1 bedroom? Someone like me / without kids. Who wants a 2 bedroom? People with kids. But the landlords want people without kids.

(2) One thing that really stuck out is the unbelievable supply of rental housing. In the 20 plus years that I have been visiting and living in Las Vegas, I can't recall ever seeing so many rentals in all prices and sizes available on the market. All sorts of reasons for this huge supply of rental housing, but the low interest rates certainly allow more people to buy (instead of rent). In my neighborhood, literally every other building has a for-rent sign posted.


And above, in an earlier post, I lumped the places along Koval in with all the other places near Swenson. Those 2 areas are only a few blocks apart, but they are worlds apart in terms of their crime rates. If I had only the choice between the 2 areas, between units near or east of Swenson and units along Koval, I would choose Koval.

Dweeb
Hope this helps