10/20/2022
Just a note from the author to see how everyone’s doing and what the audience thinks so far. I use Editor for typing my manuscripts and I consistently grade in the mid to high nineties using the Professional tab. The writings have not been subject to human opinion other than my own. You are getting first drafts of a soon to be published novel. Here’s my dilemma. I don’t know if the results from the Editor program suggest I am a writer or should I have been an English teacher. So help a brotha out. Feedback is like oxygen that fuels the brain to produce when life’s circumstances are not optimal. I receive negative and positive comments, equally. OK, now where were we…..
From my time at the Circus, I knew that from the moment someone enters a casino, eyes are on every move they make. Las Vegas is the Mecca for gamblers, and the town is dependent on those people for their livelihood. The guests that frequented The Circus-Circus were families, on a budget, and on the bottom tier of gamblers. Tips were lower, so employees were always looking for opportunities. The slot player on a hot machine, had a clean ashtray and a full cocktail, while others had to call out constantly for a soft drink, or even change for their machine. Porters held machines while a player ran for change or to the restroom, and steered customers to machines they knew were “hot”, hoping to get in on any winnings. We were always on the watch for people who made a living casing the slot areas for coins in machine trays, or machines showing unpaid winnings. Then there were the professionals; pickpockets, purse snatchers, chip thieves, those who used slugs, coins tied to fishing lines, and much more. The companies who designed slot machines employed the best engineers and mechanics money could buy. The slot cheats designed and manufactured tools in their garage and defeated every security measure the college graduates came up with. So, we watched for them, and we watched the change girls, and the slot supervisors watched us, and the Pit Boss watched them, and the Casino Manager watched him, and in a secret room somewhere, someone watched all of us. The Dunes Hotel and Casino was a major upgrade. It started when guests arrived, valet parking crews were on hand day and night to help guests arriving in their own vehicles. After parking the vehicle, they would race back to grab the ticket of a guest that was leaving and race off again. It was one of the highest-paying jobs in the industry and it was predominantly through tips. The older hands became supervisors and doormen and continued to get a share of the pot. Cabs were lined up in both directions loading and unloading customers efficiently and with every meeting ended with a generous handshake.
Guests were whisked to the front desk, all their luggage in the care of the bellhops. By the time the check-in procedure finished, the luggage was in their room. High rollers, known as whales, were greeted by the hosts and taken immediately to their suites. Some of them pulled up in a parade of limos, enjoying the red-carpet treatment and the crowds straining to see someone they could write home about. Junkets were organized, bringing gamblers by plane from New York and New Jersey. More customers came from Asia and the Middle East. Sometimes they would stop at the casino’s main cage and deposit suitcases of cash. The staff was highly trained, and in contrast to the employees at the Circus, the staff at the Dunes dressed to the standards of its clientele. The casino area was the only way to the rooms as the walkway split the main slot machine areas and the large pit holding blackjack and craps tables. The Baccarat and Poker rooms were off to the sides of the main casino area.
Adjacent to the Main Cage was the Security Command Post. It was manned by the shift supervisor, a dispatcher, and two additional guards for escort duties. All the guards wore police styled black uniforms, duty belts held batons, pepper spray, and sidearm. They wore earpieces and button microphones to communicate over the din of a full casino. Two bars opened to the casino floor and the Show Room was to the right of Security and its performers added additional decibels to the sounds. Security patrolled the hotel and grounds and watched over the gaming areas from static posts around the resort. They responded to calls quickly and most guests were oblivious to 3-4 burly guys escorting an unruly customer off the property.
Those departments are considered “front” of the house and include servers, pool attendants, and attendants who worked in shops providing other services.
The “back of the house” includes housekeeping, porters, the kitchen staff, complete construction and facility maintenance departments, and a large groundskeeping crew that maintained the world-class, Dunes Golf and Country Club. All these employees belong to the Culinary Union, a requirement of their employment. The slot change girls and change booth attendants were union, and so were the dealers. Slot floormen and pit supervisors were management positions. The Culinary Union and other service unions started in 1978 and began to win higher wages and retirement packages for their members. The seniority clauses allowed for priority shifts based on time in service, not necessarily good service. The union lawyers made it almost impossible to dismiss employees before taking other, time-consuming solutions to work issues.
The resorts accepted the contracts because the Culinary Union was under the umbrella of the massive Teamsters Union, a huge investor in strip properties through its pension fund.
The Slot Department was one of the main sources of income for the resort and it was watched constantly to ensure the operation did not fall prey to the many cheating scams that grew with the increase of slot play. With the introduction of 5-, 25-, and 100-dollar machines and jackpots that grew into the thousands, slot operations began to challenge the table games for drawing the biggest players and gross income. Part of the required training for our department was an introduction to the “Black Book”. The book held the names and most recent photos of people banned from casinos in Nevada, under the authority of the Nevada Gaming Commission. It was a part of Las Vegas that I didn’t know existed and I perked up. There is a companion to it called the ‘griffin book’ that contains pictures and descriptions of known slot cheats and their modus operandi. It became my favorite reading during breaks.
I was constantly on the move looking for things to do, above and beyond my normal duties. I became an expert in resolving counting mistakes made by the change girls when checking them in and out of their shifts. It was a combination of being gifted with numbers and common sense, and a trick I learned when counting sums. It is easier to find mistakes if you reverse the order of the numbers you are adding. If you keep them in the original order, your brain will continue to make the same error when you add the numbers together. I was good with employees and customers, whether handling corrections or discipline with the employees, or soothing customers, irate when their favorite machine malfunctioned. It had been three months and I didn’t have a single person in mind when trying to duplicate the success I enjoyed at the Circus. One day I was talking to Cleo at her change booth, and she asked if I wanted to go to her church, the coming Sunday.
“I don’t know Cleo; I usually don’t get up early on Sundays. Then there’s football games and I’m busy checking my parlay cards.”
“That’s the reason ya’ll need to be in church. I know you be carousing in them clubs and whatnot. Don’t you know gambling is a sin?”, she wagged her gilted nails at me as you spoke.
I wanted to remind her of the commandments on gluttony and gossip, but instead changed the subject.
“Hey, whatever happened to the pregnant change girl? She coming back?”
Cleo jumped at the bait, “I heard she had to take the baby to somewhere in New Mexico. She took her vacation time and some maternity leave, provided through the union. Why you asking bout her anyway, ain’t you married?”
“Happily, separated Cleo, and I’m not looking.”, I replied.
“Oh yeah, I see how you and that skinny white girl, be hanging on each other.”
“Strictly coworkers and drinking buddies.”, I said, walking away.
Two weeks later, Magdalene returned to work.
“Welcome back.” I said after she had clocked in. “You ready for all this madness again.”
‘Yeah, I’m ready.”, she smiled. “And I really need the money.”
“Well let’s get you checked in.” I opened the door and followed her to her change bank. Magdalene had long dark hair that fell to the small of her back. She had lost the weight from her pregnancy and as she put on her change belt, I offered to hold her hair up as she pulled the straps over her shoulders and tightly cinched the belt around her waist. I studied her as she counted the bank, mouthing the totals in deep concentration before signing for the change. She thanked me and made her way to the area she was assigned to for the night. Nola ran up as she left, out of breath and late as usual.
“Thanks for covering for me Barron. I had a hard time getting a babysitter. It’s gonna take my whole check to pay bills this month. I don’t know how I can get through this month. By the way, are you that helpful to all the girls, or you looking for a senorita.”
“Sounds like someone is a little jealous.”
“That’s right, I want you all to myself!”, she bounced away, turning to see if I was checking her out.
“Promises, promises, when are you going to get rid of that deadbeat dad?”, I asked.
“Right after you file for divorce.”, she countered laughing as she walked away.
Later that night we went out for a smoke break, and I asked her if she was serious about making some money. She looked at me and said ‘
“I don’t know what your’e thinking but I’m not that kind of girl.”
“I’m not that kind of guy.”, I laughed, “If you can stop for drinks after work, I’ll explain it all to you.”
“I’ll have to pay the babysitter extra. “, she answered.
“I’ll pay for the babysitter. It will be worth it.”
Nola shook her head in agreement and that night we went to a small local bar and ordered a pitcher of beer and took possession of one of the pool tables. Over the next two hours I told her about the skim at the Circus-Circus and how I wanted to do the same thing at the Dunes. Nola did not need to hear more, she agreed and thought she might have a couple of change girls in mind. I said we would start with setting up dollar machines and writing jackpot tickets. I told her about the collectors already working with me and her eyes lit up in anticipation. I went on to explain that this was not a scheme to get rich, but it would serve as a nice second income. Over the next two weeks we recruited three change girls on the floor and one carousel attendant. Our first night we pulled in $2500 and met at the same pool hall and bar to go over the night and plan future operations. Nola drank too much, and I ended up driving her home. I had tried to give her an extra hundred to catch up on her bills and she had refused. I slipped the hundred into her bag when she went in to get her kids and took a cab home. The Dunes would be a little tougher because we did not have a way to draw the supervisors to other parts of the casino. We stayed with the small crew, and I continued to work hard and a few days later, it paid off. I was approached by the lead slot mechanic to see if I was interested in going to school to become a slot mechanic. He had heard about my engineering classes and had talked with Bob and other supervisors about my work ethics. I controlled my excitement and said I would love the opportunity. Best of all, it was a college level class, and the casino paid for everything. I had not talked to Magdalene much since her return and was surprised when she approached me asked if I was going to go bowling. When I said yes, she asked if I needed a ride. The casino grapevine must have let her know my car was in the shop. I said sure, and that night she drove me to the alley. After bowling, she came up for a nightcap, spent the night, and never left.
