Considering a move to Vegas

You need to check out this thread, where several people have moved to Vegas for poker, including Pman who you are already discussing in the other thread.

https://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/108/l...

El Diesel lived in casino hotels and airbnb's for a few years while playing poker, super cheap with Diamond at Caesars properties and no resort fees.

I am also considering moving there but I would not without a job lined up

feels like you've answered your own question. the economy sucks, bartender positions aren't opening up very much and the job market sucks

To be fair though it's like that everywhere. Even with my experience it's really hard to get the kind of gig I actually want.

I have some training in dealing BJ and Poker but I am not nearly as marketable in those areas.

COL does seem to be lower in LV even all things considered.

Whether it's fool-hardy to move first then look depends on your bankroll right? It's unknown how long it could take u to get hired there. I would get a bartending gig there first, then move. You're only 4 hours away, so u can drive there if u get called for interviews. Plus, apartments usually require a job there or a remote job to approve u for a lease.

I would probably start with renting a room, I can get approved for a room on padsplit pretty easily since I have a job where I'm at now and you just need to submit some paystubs showing you can cover the rent, no matter where you live, which that will reflect. As of now it's an idea I'm entertaining but haven't put into motion. It's been something in the back of my mind for awhile. I've lived in a few different states and QOL varies drastically in my experience. The vegas job listings on CL etc have a lot more than the area I'm living in now so that peaked my interest even though it's probably not as easy as it looks on there.

It sounds like you're ready for a change, but I don't see you listing reasons why LV is a desirable destination. In fact, you are off to a good start listing reasons why it is not.

Here's another - the hospitality industry and tech companies have both targeted bartending as one of the first service jobs to use robots. And Las Vegas is top of the list where that will happen.

You're going to end up serving slushees at joe-bob's frozen daiquiri shack and living in someone's garage that they've converted to multiple 'rooms' for rent.

Im making some assumptions, of course, but it sounds like you're relatively young, single, and not a ton of liferoll savings. You should be looking at places that truly have a low cost of living (usually hand in hand w/ low taxes). Florida and Texas are always on those lists, and both have active poker scenes.

Personally, if I was in your shoes I'd look at a place like Bloomington, IN. A college town that is in the midst of a major growth spurt. Low COL, ample job opportunities and more being created daily, and QoL that is off the charts when compared to Vegas.

Good Luck!

Hey, thanks for the reply. Can you give me your opinion on why Bloomington beats LV for QoL? I kind of like vegas, visited many times but never spent longer than a week or so at a time so I'm willing to grant that I don't know what its like year round. As for FL, I lived there for a couple years. The humidity is too much. And there was a lot of other things I didn't like about it that I could go on and on about.

TX is great, visited San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas and liked the vibe. But it's really expensive. I've only been back in SoCal for a few months since returning from FL but I'm already feeling that wanderlust kick in again. Since Vegas is close, I can visit family where that isn't an option if I go too far east. I appreciate the input, again this is just kind of something I'm mulling over and any specifics about life in LV on the day to day is useful.

As far as the robots replacing bartenders; we could say the same about poker players! :p

Several poker rooms in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale area along with a ton of bartending jobs. Florida also has no state income tax. Major downside is the cost of living in Florida has crept up quite a bit in the past decade.

As I said in my previous post about FL. Been there, done that. Not a fan of dodging hurricanes every year. Also the shitty food. And the general clout chasing, hard-up-for-every-dollar attitude people have. It's like CA but much worse. Trash everywhere, shitty food, ghetto, and did I mention the food?

Publix is actually more expensive than most grocery stores in CA by the way. Especially meat / fish. And the pubsub? As a point of pride? Be serious.

I hear ya regarding humidity. Pretty much the entire southeast would be out of the question for me simply for that reason.

QoL can be very subjective, of course, and the criteria will often change multiple times throughout your life. The biggest issue Vegas has is that it attracts, and traps, some of the worst that society has to offer. That leads to it ranking higher in things like crime, and lower in things like schools, than a city of its size and wealth should.

For me, renting a room from someone (or even having roommates) is unfathomable. But clearly that is something that is acceptable for you at this stage in life. Nothing wrong with that, I would just encourage you to have some kind of exit plan (and savings) if/when things go sideways.

The best advice would be to have a job, any kind of job, lined up prior to the move. Hint: security guards are always in demand and are primarily entry level. Dealing poker also typically has a low bar of entry, but may be in less demand. With no experience, a quality dealing school can give you an edge.

Good Luck!

If you're under 30, looking to party/gamble/work in service-facing jobs, Vegas is great. The COL has gone up a ton since pre-COVID, but it's still on the lower end of the country, all things considered.

Can you walk in off the street and get a job at the center flair bar in Carnival Court? Of course not. But there are thousands of bars everywhere all over the city, most of them are open for a ton of hours a day (Vegas is no longer a 24 hour city, sadly), if you have experience, references, and no visible track marks I'm sure you can find a decent enough job in a day or two.

As long as you have a 5-10 year exit plan you'll be fine. You won't want to live in Vegas for the rest of your life, but if you have no attachments and want to have fun, go for it.

There are so many offstrip local bars that if a person is a quality bartender and quality person (i.e. shows up to work on time and isn't flakey) it isn't all that hard to get a job. Sure you might have to work at it a bit, but they are out there.

As for your assertion that Vegas is no longer a 24 hour city, what are you talking about?

I was just there a couple of weeks ago. I found food, drink, and poker at 2 in the morning during the week. I was hit upon by a prostitute late at night at Red Rock. I went grocery shopping after midnight. Heck even some legitimate massage parlors are open 24/7.

What else are you looking for?

To me, the biggest determinant about moving to Vegas or not is to really know thyself.

There are tons of opportunities in Vegas, both good and bad. If a person is a good bartender and hard worker, they should be able to eventually find a job somewhere in the Valley. Job turnover is huge in Vegas due to drawing transients and unstable people, just not being a transient or unstable guves you a leg up.

On the flip side, there are lots of opportunities to go off the rails. It is a 24/7 city. Drugs, gambling, alcohol, and sex are easily available 24/7. If a person has an addiction, they will find an easy outlet whenever they find the desire. I have seen very good bartenders/waitresses lose their jobs simply because they could not regularly show up to work on time/sober.

It is especially a great city to live in if one is young, yet responsible. There is a ton to do.

Yes you can find work as a bartender.

Last year my buddy who was 57 years old with no experience as a bartender went to a scammy bartending school for a few days and within a week had opportunities to take jobs off strip. Turns out he decided he didn't want the work, but the work was there. As long as you can present yourself well, I think you will find work. In your case you have experience, so unless there have been dramatic changes in the last year, I think you will find work.

What kind of a place was it? The gaming bars usually require experience with gaming payouts which i don't have.

i can't edit the post but i'm unclear as to whether or not he actually was offered a job

It's not like it used to be. You used to be able to get whatever you want 24x7 and you didn't have to look very hard, every place was open all night. Even if it's something you might eventually find, you have to hunt for it. Worst case scenario for food, you could always order room service, at just about every Strip hotel. Now, only a few hotels have room service.

I moved to Vegas something like 15 years ago. I have a bunch of posts in threads like these on why it has gone down hill. While Vegas was great to me, and a cool place to live, I was able to get the ball rolling because our first apartment was $650 for a decent 2 br.

It's not as bad as California, but a person trying to build a life here, meaning own a home or possibly start a family, is going to be fighting an uphill battle. Problems like homelessness seem to be getting worse. While I don't know the future, I don't see any reason to think these things will turn around.

A young person who isn't making big money... or even an older person, should head to the final frontiers of affordable housing in decent neighborhoods. That might mean the midwest, the south... depends on your preferences.

"Quality of life" stuff is kind of BS these days. Yeah, decades ago, only certain cities had good foreign food, or access to art films or cool record stores. It's just not the case anymore, largely because of the internet. They have pho and sushi and whatever in Cincinnati now. Yes, the food in Vegas is insanely good. But the food in like, Indianapolis, is very good. It's not worth living in someone's garage instead of owning a home to be near insanely good restaurants you can't afford, as opposed to just very good restaurants you can afford.

Also, once you are in a decent position financially, you can always travel. China has pretty good Chinese food.

While there are always poker games, they are not that great. Many cities have poker now, and my experience is that everywhere is generally softer than Vegas. I spent a bunch of time in Atlantic City recently and had a decent sample of the 2/5. Did not encounter a single player who I thought was good. The winners are just weak tight nits who play like it's 2006. And I'd guess AC is better than most places. 2/5 isn't exactly teeming with all stars in Vegas, but you do run into some decent players, at least compared to me. At 1/2, many of the games are infested with nitty retirees. 5/T in Vegas is tough enough these days that I often don't bother.

The rake and comps are pretty good in Vegas, though. Anyway, if poker is just a little side hustle, I'd just move somewhere that has it and not worry about it beyond that.

Pre-Covid you could find food options everywhere at the strip easily. Everything, or almost everything at least, was open. Good luck getting food at 4 am now, I can list a handful of places and half of those are crap and the other half you have to drive or take a taxi. That is if you don’t want to eat at Denny’s at 4 am.

Not entirely sure if this has changed recently or not but my last couple of trips even room service was closed after midnight at Aria and Park MGM. Not that I would ever order with the 200% added prices…

If you are young and single and want to tend bar, I say go for it. If it doesn't work out, you should be able to find a job somewhere else and give another state/city a try.

once you get married and have kids it messes everything up

I can't get out of ND

I'm stuck in KY. Granted, I have a good job here, but my husband has kids and his mother lives here -- otherwise we would have moved years ago! Or we'd be living in our RV already traveling the country.

Take advantage of being young and single!!!

I’m not that young unfortunately. But I am single and without attachment. But definitely over the partying phase of life.