Bartending in Vegas

Got a question. A high school friend of mine is seriously considering moving to Vegas. He is currently a bartender and has front desk experience. He also can speak, read, and write Japanese. He would have to move from Hawaii to do this so it would be a bigger commitment to move to Las Vegas then just packing up the car and driving. My question is with a resume like this what position should he apply for? Bartender, Front desk, Concierge? I figure since he can read and write Japanese it puts him into a unique position. Any thought?

 

I am sure bartending would pay more than front desk. Unless he had college degree and was looking towards being in charge of a front desk.
from what I told he first will need a permanent address in vegas to have a chance at a job. Like many he might have to start at a lesser place and move upward.

Good luck if he tries it.

 

Not a lot of gamblers from Japan, so not likely a huge asset in Vegas.

Mandarin or Cantonese definitely.

 

I haven't seen many people in Vegas from Japan or of Japanese descent. And many of the people who are of Japanese descent, don't speak Japanese.

 

Hospitality skills, speaks Japanese, already in a great place ... why go to Vegas?

 

My bartender friends and other service staff I know in Las Vegas tell me they got their foot in the door any way they could and then worked their way into good positions. Many of them started as temps or seasonal staff with the goal of getting on with one of the major resort casinos. I don't want this to become political - but most of them have worked toward landing union jobs.

Keep in mind this is the time of year when business is significantly slower in Las Vegas. I visited with my Las Vegas friends this week and virtually all of them have had their schedules cut back. And, the seasonal/temp people are simply on call (and not expecting to get called unless it's for a special event).

Bill

 

Thanks for your input. As for why he would leave Hawaii there are two reasons. One is he was born and raised there so to him i's his home town and he would like to do what 80% of his friends have done and that's move off the island. Second is it is one of the most expensive places to live. You would think things like fresh fish would be abundant but most of the area around the island is banned from commercial fishing. Fresh vegatables have to be flown in and are too expensive. Your car tires only last half as long as they do on the mainland because the rock they use in the asphalt is made from dead coral and it's sharper...hell when a plane lands in Hawaii a tanker ship full of oil has to be shipped from California so the plane can get enough fuel to leave.

 

As said, he may need to start somewhere or anywhere. I have friends that started in the resorts as buffet runners and are not executive host and casino managers. A lot of the stuff in Vegas also depends on who you know.

 

He should get a job at a chain hotel and then try to transfer to Vegas. No examples come to mind at the moment but there must be some sort of internal process for this at the big chains (Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott ... .). Then after a few years he could probably have his pick of the Vegas resorts.

 

yes tom, from what i am told by a couple guys that work at harrahs, you need an address for a few months before they will hire...then,unless you have some juice, just get in the door, then work hard(the number one thing is to show up on time),then work hard, then harder, and look for an opening. i have a friend from back here in mass that started that way, in a small joint, then went to the rio and now he's working carnaval court $$$$$$$$

ps. are you the tominiowa from the old Vegas Gang board?

 

Can't fault a guy wanting to get off the rock. We adore Hawaii, absolutely love it, but couldn't live there.

Some mentioned national brands -- good idea. Hilton and Westin are out at Lake Las Vegas, Marriott (JW) out in Summerlin, Renaissance in town, FourSeasons, etc.

Good luck to him.

 

+1. Has to decide if he wants to work in the hotel side or F&B side. Like shifter mentioned, Japanese isn't that useful compared to Mandarin or Cantonese but it's better than nothing. Compensation wise, he's probably going to make more money as a bartender. One of my friend's friend is from the islands and he's a hotel manager at one of the hotels on the Strips. I believe the guy started as a regular FD agent before working his way up to Hotel Manager.

Is he in college or going to college? If so, he can attend UNLV while working at one of the hotels. Pretty much every hotel on the Strip hires UNLV students since they're right there..

 

Apply for everything. Accept the best offer. I'd recommend coming with a sizable nest egg. It's likely he'd begin as extra board, and work up to part-time. Full-time and benefits is hard to come by in the hotel casino business. So, it will take time to be established. There are plenty of HI transplants here. It can be done, but it does take a bit more planning due to the expense to relocate. Once he gets his foot in the door, he can work hard and advance. Fluency in Japanese is a valuable skill in the corporate realm; interpreters are often needed. There isn't great demand in Las Vegas, but that doesn't mean there aren't opportunities. Scour job postings.

 

The only advice I can give is that the night club industry does their summer hiring feb-march. Thats just another way to get your foot in the door and network.

 

I can't begin to thank everyone advice. This makes the decision process so much easier and better then going in one direction then finding out later you made a mistake. I know scores of people who move to Vegas without a plan and don't last 6 months. I spoke with him last night and he is already saving money for the move. His only roadblock is his mother is in a care home and when the time comes and he she passes he will be ready to go.

Once again thanks to everyone!

 

Bad idea. Until he can prove one year of residence in nevada, he'll pay huge out-of-state tuition.

Most every job in this city starts as minimum wage ($7.25) part-time, so he should plan on 3 days work per week for awhile in some place off strip where the tips aren't real good. Any work in a casino usually has a long line of applicants in front of you. Think it's easy to find a job on the strip ?! So does everyone in every thrid world country on earth. Seems like everybody everywhere has a dream about coming to vegas to be a bartender or dealer. It could be worse - he could be wanting a dealing job. Personally I'd tell him to pick up on the transfer idea previously mentioned or forget it. He could EASILY find himself working one or 2 part-time jobs trying to juggle the schedules or out of work for awhile.

 

If he wants a bi-lingual advantage in the US., he's gonna need to speak spanish. In vegas, chinese also works especially in places like Gold Coast, Palace Station, El Cortez.