Being a floor man is not that much fun...

Quote: ncfatcat

Hey Bob Here in NC the Strippers PAY management to work in a club. I've heard of fancy NYC restaurants where to stay waiters were expected to "tip the Maitre'd $300 per week. That was in the 70's though...

The strippers don't pay the management, they pay the owner. And that's OK because of several things: It was part of the agreement when they took the job. The strippers are not employees, but sub-contractors. They are paying the owner to rent the dance floor. Similarly, in a lot of hair salons, the stylist rents the chair from the owner on a monthly basis.

Waiters paying the Maitre'd is acceptable as just another example of a regular staff person that gets tipped out by waiters.

Yeah, I worded it somewhat poorly but that is exactly what happened he berated the security guard for going into the dealer's break room to use the men's room there (and yes, he gave the guys back their "stuff" and told them to get back to work). He also told the security guards they were not to take their leaks in the dealer's break room or enter the area.

Yes, he was often eating a bowl of chili on the floor ... he had a stool in the dice pit and sat there... very approachable by everyone. Once he asked an applicant if he was nervous when the applicant replied "no", he said, okay maybe only its your hands that are nervous. (Benny Binion didn't miss a thing).

And his famous "Book it" when the guy put 240,000 on the line didn't cause him to skip a beat in his eating of his chili.

Not quite the kind of boss you find today. Then of course he had better dealers than you find today too. More loyal too.

Even his treatment of CWs was renowned. When everyone else in town had unwritten Rules of Thumb, Benny Binion had the rules painted on the wall: what dimensions girls needed to be hired for which shifts. Right there in black and white. And he had a mirror that showed the girls the view men would have as the girls bent to put the drinks down on the drink ledge of the dice table. Female job applicants were left to make their own decisions but they were told the truth straight out something no one else in town ever did.

Strippers pay stage rent but often its a discount early in the evening and owners often stage amateur nights to undercut their stripper employees (oops, independent contractors). Note, the scheduling of the independent is under management control and just about everything else is too.

Quote: NicksGamingStuff

One of the girls in my dealer school was a stripper. She said she paid the club $80 a night to work there and got to keep her tips. She also had to take a 10% loss on credit card tips.

That's the dirty little secret of strip clubs. The girls pay for everything--unless the owner brings in a XXX Superstar he can promote to bring the crowd in the door. She pays for the "private room dance." And you can bet they are expected to take care of the bouncers with an envelope from time to time off the record.

They are hardly alone. Realtors have to rent their desks, some mortgage brokers as well. Cab drivers often rent the cab, medallion, or both. I'm sure there are other examples. But they do not compare well. These are all people renting some means of production to earn. The dealer is hired for a flat rate "plus tips." The strippers are the closest example, but still not the same.

I'd have some respect if Wynn and other owners tapping the tip pool just went to a "banking system" where anyone could bank a set number of tables, keeping the hold and just paying either fixed or percent rent or a combination of both.

" That's the dirty little secret of strip clubs." That and most of the girls were not born girls !

Quote: AZDuffman

Cab drivers often rent the cab, medallion, or both. .

In most cities, cab drivers rent the cab for a 12
hour shift. Its call op's, for operation expenses.
Rental fee and gas are the op's and you pay for
them before you ever make a dime of profit.
On a slow night you can easily go home in the
hole, having lost money.

You might have respect for Wynn if they engaged in such internal banking but the Gaming Board wants the licensee responsible and doesn't want to hear about I rented out those tables that night and took a flat fee and Mr. FlyByNight must have slipped all those drugs into the drinks that night. There is a term for that in the bar industry that escapes me but often that is what people do, they lease the bar from the licensee.

So tonight I was floor for about the 4th time. It has gotten better and I am enjoying it more. They are probably putting me into dual rate, which is when I deal or floor depending on their needs. I am fine with that since dealing is not as exciting as it used to be and I am ready to learn more about the business. One thing that surprised me tonight is I was told by one of the other floor people if the general casino manager sees me with my ear plugs in he will fire me. He has seen me plenty of times when I have been wearing them, I guess he just doesnt notice. But to be safe I think I will try to get some skin colored ones so they are more discreet. I can always play it off as a hearing device (they shouldn't but could fire me for that). So I either lose my hearing or lose my job. I will just keep wearing them and try to stay away from him.

Quote: NicksGamingStuff

So tonight I was floor for about the 4th time. It has gotten better and I am enjoying it more. They are probably putting me into dual rate, which is when I deal or floor depending on their needs. I am fine with that since dealing is not as exciting as it used to be and I am ready to learn more about the business. One thing that surprised me tonight is I was told by one of the other floor people if the general casino manager sees me with my ear plugs in he will fire me. He has seen me plenty of times when I have been wearing them, I guess he just doesnt notice. But to be safe I think I will try to get some skin colored ones so they are more discreet. I can always play it off as a hearing device (they shouldn't but could fire me for that). So I either lose my hearing or lose my job. I will just keep wearing them and try to stay away from him.

If the music is that bad, you should consider filing a complaint with OSHA. There are certain guarantees you have when you show up for work, and if you really have an irritation with it, my guess is other people do too. I spend a lot of time in casinos and have never been in one where the piped-in muzak was too loud (sometimes if a band is playing, it can be too loud). It's not worth risking your job over a pair of earplugs.

It sounds like it's going well for you, so you also may want to consider moving up in the world (aka looking for another place to work). This would give you another option to getting away from those working conditions.

It is ridiculous how loud it is. Several people have talked about filing a complaint with osha. Will they come out on a fri night? One customer even said he is going to have his lawyer sue us for his hearing damage. If I had a dollar for every complaint from a customer about the music I could have bought my new car by now, and it has only been this loud since march!

Quote: NicksGamingStuff

It is ridiculous how loud it is. Several people have talked about filing a complaint with osha. Will they come out on a fri night? One customer even said he is going to have his lawyer sue us for his hearing damage. If I had a dollar for every complaint from a customer about the music I could have bought my new car by now, and it has only been this loud since march!

If there are plenty of complaints from customers, I should think the volume would have been reduced by now.

Would it help if we complained when visiting the D? I usually just stay away from noisy places, but if it helps I'll do it. I even have ear plugs of my own.

Quote: Nareed

I even have ear plugs of my own.

So do I, and now I know to be carrying them with me to the D! Only rarely have I been in a casino where I wished that I had hearing protection, but there have been a few times.

Quote: NicksGamingStuff

It is ridiculous how loud it is. Several people have talked about filing a complaint with osha. Will they come out on a fri night? One customer even said he is going to have his lawyer sue us for his hearing damage. If I had a dollar for every complaint from a customer about the music I could have bought my new car by now, and it has only been this loud since march!

They might or might make a visit on the weekend. One thing I would advise is to be as speciffic as possible. Not sure if there are cheap dB meters available, but if you can lay your hands on one and get some readings without being fired. A regulatory will respond better to you saying: "there is a setady reading of 'xdB' all ovedr the floor and as you get to the slots it is 'y' with a peak of 'z' when something hits. The readings were taken over a period of 'a' hours and this music is this loud on purpose on evenings as in the day the reading is only 'b'" Than if you just call up and say, "it is loud in here!"

Quote: Nareed

If there are plenty of complaints from customers, I should think the volume would have been reduced by now..

The casino manager has instructed the management if someone complains it is too loud turn it up more (seriously!)

Quote: NicksGamingStuff

The casino manager has instructed the management if someone complains it is too loud turn it up more (seriously!)

That's rather sadistic. Any reason to have the sound so loud?

But there has to be a way past it. Perhaps someone can volunteer to record sound levels. I would if someone spotted me a dB meter with a manual.

Three years ago, the Wizard posted a blog about his survey of air quality in Las Vegas casinos. He mentioned that he didn't know where he would go with the study, so I don't know whether there was any follow up. Maybe it's time for a survey of casino sound intensities. (Just a little suggestion for how the Wizard can keep himself busy now that he is loafing around on the Sands' dime.)

The organization where I used to work had an Occupational Safety and Health division. The had staffs of both safety engineers and industrial hygienists who worked under a federal contract and performed surveys at company requests. Basically, their role was to determine how the companies could improve their work environments and avoid being subjected to OSHA fines or other sanctions. I suspect there is a similar group in southern Nevada, possibly at UNLV, but I don't think it would work for an individual employee to call and request a visit/survey without management approval.

This sounds just like where I work. Dual-rates make 17/hr, while most dealers are 1 or 2 bucks more depending on their base pay. Full floors it goes up to 20-22/hr. I have zero interest in flooring, but I also want to get out of the business altogether. And I've also thought the full floors are the worst dealers, or most of them, and that's why they floor. I really hate when the floor gets on my case about some technicality that's not procedural.

I'm also an agist when it comes to casinos. I hate when I have an old slow dealer, especially on craps. Once on BJ this guy that must've been about 80 was dealing maybe thirty hands an hour. It got to the point where I thought that particular game was LOSING money cause he wouldn't be able to deal enough hands to make up what they're paying him.

I agree with nick. I was playing there at 330 this morning and the music was so loud, I couldn't hear the dealer.

Perhaps they are trying to chase away a certain segment of their customers. Recall perhaps the high pitched wine a convenience store broadcast that chased away teenagers but couldn't be heard by old fogeys.

I just called there and complained and said I'll never
be back, too loud. I haven't been there in 3 years.

I work in an oil refinery where hearing damage is a big deal. We are required to wear ear plugs, reprimanded if we are caught without them. We receive hearing tests yearly. If a test shows someone has suffered hearing loss, this goes down as a "recordable injury". My last trip to Vegas the party pit at the Excalibur was so loud I wouldn't even walk near it. I would consider these to be unsafe working conditions. OSHA I think would certainly frown on managements attitude toward this.

Quote: dlevinelaw

I agree with nick. I was playing there at 330 this morning and the music was so loud, I couldn't hear the dealer.

You should have said hi to me, I was there at 330!

Quote: EvenBob

I just called there and complained and said I'll never
be back, too loud. I haven't been there in 3 years.

Unfortunately, the manager remembered Bob from 3 years ago, and immediately turned up the volume.