[PartyAt8]

Hi! I'm a single 20 year old male currently living in Colorado Springs. I moved here on an impulse after being in Florida for a few months, which I've come to regret a bit since this city isn't quite what I was looking for. While I'm sure the clean air, the constant view of the mountains and the slow speed of everything around here may appeal to some, it's simply not for me.

I've spent most my working life between different hotels doing various jobs (beach attendant, bellman, guest services host, valet, etc.) and in my experience, the money has generally been great. Especially the tipped jobs! I'm told Las Vegas is a very serious tipping city and most of the economy is centered on hotels and the hospitality industry in general.

My questions:

1. How hard would it be for me to get a valet or bellman job right off the bat? I see a lot of places hiring in my online searches.

2. Being in Florida, I thought I hated being hot.. But after being frozen solid for most my tenure here in the Springs, I will gladly go back to the sunlight. How much different is the so-called 'dry' heat from the wet heat in Florida?

3. I'm told it's a transient city with people coming and going all the time, so are people more open to meeting new people because of this? People in the Springs seem a bit cold - not unfriendly, but not terribly open either.

4. Would I be able to take a union bartending course before turning 21, or is being 21 a requirement?

5. I am a city man at heart. Some people live for that small town community feel but I've always thrived in the more detached and quick-paced cities. Does Las Vegas have that crowded city feel to it?

6. I do realise that what you think about a certain city/town is always relative to where you come from. I grew up in a 3rd world country in the Caribbean, so what a lot of people in America consider 'ghetto' or 'trashy' actually seems quite nice to me. How bad are the "bad" parts of LV? When looking for an apartment, where are some places I should avoid?

7. I will be coming without a vehicle and probably won't have one for a little while. If I get an apartment with a more central location, is the city somewhat walkable (groceries, dining, some entertainment)? I've heard nightmares about the PT there, is it really that bad?

8. Do tipped employees really make good money out here? Of course what one considers to be "good money" is highly circumstantial... I would likely be living alone or (eventually) with a roommate. To put it in perspective, I was working a rather difficult job at a huge hotel here in the Springs (no names haha) which was also the worst paying job I've had in my life at just $9 an hour in a non-tipped position. I was able to survive on this with, of course, minimal disposable income, but I was still surviving. If I have similar costs of living in LV (supposedly just 4% higher there than here) and with the nature of the work I'll be looking to do, will I likely make more money?

9. In my last question, I'm talking about the Broadmoor. Disgusting set of people there, but that's another story for another time!

10. What advice would you personally give to me before moving there?

Thanks for reading and thanks in advance for answering!

[airics]

you are not even old enough to be on the casino floor so the chance is nil...

also you need juice.. which you don't have..

you don't just walk up and get a valet job...

also.. paid parking is destroying the wages of the valet...

you need to be a friend of a friend to get any of those jobs...

you will be in retail at 10 bucks an hour just like everybody else.

[yellowsnow]

You are not old enough. Your only options will be fast food and retail. Neither of those pay enough to make a living.

[PartyAt8]

Originally Posted by yellowsnow

You are not old enough. Your only options will be fast food and retail. Neither of those pay enough to make a living.

Right, I've been told that a few too many times in my life and yet I've never once had to work in "fast food or retail". If you read my question again I asked the objective difficulty of acquiring a tipped position in any hotel. I never mentioned casino floor and I never said it has to be a major strip hotel. If I'm missing something please feel free to correct me, but don't try to doom me into being a fast food worker.

[PartyAt8]

Originally Posted by airics

you are not even old enough to be on the casino floor so the chance is nil...

also you need juice.. which you don't have..

you don't just walk up and get a valet job...

also.. paid parking is destroying the wages of the valet...

you need to be a friend of a friend to get any of those jobs...

you will be in retail at 10 bucks an hour just like everybody else.

I feel like what you're referring to are valet jobs at major hotels, and not necessarily what I'm looking for. Is being 21 a requirement for being a valet or bellman?

Paid parking is understandable.

No, I will not be in retail at 10 bucks an hour.

Have you personally worked as a valet in LV?

[BBMW]

If you're worried about the age requirement, call HR at the resorts and ask.

[robojester]

There are states where you can work the floor at 18.

Maybe join a chain, maybe gaming/ dealing and then transfer here.

you could get training for free and be able to travel if you wish.

Another place you may look for some experience is serious customer service is cruise lines.

Sure would be an adventure for a young person and again land based properties become much more realistic.

[PartyAt8]

Originally Posted by BBMW

If you're worried about the age requirement, call HR at the resorts and ask.

A vast majority of them (outside the Strip at least) are 18+, according to their websites and application forms. I wasn't worried until two people posted here saying my chances are nil if I'm not 21.

[PartyAt8]

Originally Posted by robojester

There are states where you can work the floor at 18.

Maybe join a chain, maybe gaming/ dealing and then transfer here.

you could get training for free and be able to travel if you wish.

Another place you may look for some experience is serious customer service is cruise lines.

Sure would be an adventure for a young person and again land based properties become much more realistic.

I'm not sure why you guys think I want to work casino floor? I never said that and I'd honestly rather not. The two jobs I mentioned were bellman and valet. Generally any tipped position in the hospitality industry, these are just what I have experience doing.

[Lafemmenikita1]

If you survived on $9 an hour in Colorado, you'll definitely survive on $9 in Vegas, but I think it would be better for you to apply to higher paying jobs since you already have hotel experience.
What's more worrisome is your lack of car.
With your youth and lack of Vegas connections, you're less likely to find a strip casino job and so you'll probably have to expand your search to the off-strip casinos, like one of the Stations. I imagine that the tipping would be less there, and so it would probably be better to get a higher hourly rate. You could start there and hopefully work your way up the food chain.
Without a car, getting to these Stations will be difficult, but not impossible.

Do you have any family here that you can stay with in the short term?
How much savings do you have to live off of while you job hunt?
It'll probably take longer than you think to find a job, and those high paying tip jobs on the strip are hard to come by precisely because of the reasons you want one!