SpunGirl
09-30-2006, 01:25 PM
I'm sure many of the long-time posters here remember how excited I was when I first got interviewed, and then hired, at the Wynn. Hell, I was so proud of myself that I used the picture of the building as an avatar for like 18 months.
I'm putting in my notice on Sunday.
A lot of things have happened in the past six months to make me realize that I can't stay. In fact, I can't stay in casinos, period. My first two years in Surveillance I was over-awed by the glamour of it all, the thrills, all of that good stuff. In part, I am extremely disappointed that things at the Wynn didn't turn out to be all I hoped they would be. I realize part of this may be my fault; I tend to have sky-high expectations. With regards to working at the Wynn, I truly believed all the hype. At first, I was nothing short of thirlled and grateful to work there.
Things have changed a lot. Without going into things overly specific on a public message board, people are getting ready to retire and others are taking over. The new philosphies that are in place are nothing short of repugnant.
I like my job because I like rules, procedure, and order. I like things in black and white, I don't like a lot of gray area (I realize this last bit is a character flaw, but it is what it is). I like doing a job that maintains order and ensures uniformity of procedure. The controlling side of my personality is wholly satisfied by this. The best part is that it's to the benefit of my employers when I do my job right. These are the rules of the casino, it's up to me and my co-workers to make sure they are followed. The rules are in place for reasons I can explain in minute detail, and the consequences if they are not followed are tangible and easy to demonstrate.
Recently, this has all been thrown straight to hell. My department has gone on a witch hunt due to a million things in the casino that I can't go into, and we know that every report we write on an infraction, no matter how minor, is likely to get someone fired. My boss got into a screaming match in the room with a gaming agent who refused to arrest someone for a case of human error. This wasn't necessarily my boss' fault; she was under pressure from the higher-ups to see the arrest happen.
The bummer part of this is that it's not likely to change any time soon. This is the way things will be from now on. I no longer feel like I'm on the "right" side of things, and I can either do my job and feel like shit about it (which I've been doing) or move on. I've been casually looking for a way out for a few months now, then seriously looking, and then last week I had serveral opportunities fall into my lap. Add to that the fact that Jake and I got a great offer on our condo, the rub is that they want to close escrow in two weeks, which means we need to find a house (and fast!)
I'm not going to get a surveillance job in another casino. The Wynn was the pinnacle of that and I reached it, conquered it (I still hold the record for the biggest catch in the room) and now I've got to move on. No matter what anyone says, the casino business is dirty, ugly, and never, ever about the people. Ever. Ask the family of the terminal cancer patient who cleaned out his 401k and dropped 500k on a blackjack game in 20 minutes. Obviously I can't go into all the details of that either, but it was very nasty business.
I don't think the news stations anywhere else cared, but this year when Steve Wynn decided to give his Floor Supervisors a 30k/year raise he took it directly out of the pockets of his dealers. It was the top news story in Vegas for three weeks and there is currently a class action suit being filed by the dealers. This is supposed to be THE top employer in Vegas. I can guarantee you that if their suit gets thrown out, every company on the strip will follow the leader within three years.
Anyway, that's the long and short of it. I've realized that my job is like a bad relationship. You know you should get out because it's for shit, but you don't want to leave because you remember how good it once was.
-K
I'm putting in my notice on Sunday.
A lot of things have happened in the past six months to make me realize that I can't stay. In fact, I can't stay in casinos, period. My first two years in Surveillance I was over-awed by the glamour of it all, the thrills, all of that good stuff. In part, I am extremely disappointed that things at the Wynn didn't turn out to be all I hoped they would be. I realize part of this may be my fault; I tend to have sky-high expectations. With regards to working at the Wynn, I truly believed all the hype. At first, I was nothing short of thirlled and grateful to work there.
Things have changed a lot. Without going into things overly specific on a public message board, people are getting ready to retire and others are taking over. The new philosphies that are in place are nothing short of repugnant.
I like my job because I like rules, procedure, and order. I like things in black and white, I don't like a lot of gray area (I realize this last bit is a character flaw, but it is what it is). I like doing a job that maintains order and ensures uniformity of procedure. The controlling side of my personality is wholly satisfied by this. The best part is that it's to the benefit of my employers when I do my job right. These are the rules of the casino, it's up to me and my co-workers to make sure they are followed. The rules are in place for reasons I can explain in minute detail, and the consequences if they are not followed are tangible and easy to demonstrate.
Recently, this has all been thrown straight to hell. My department has gone on a witch hunt due to a million things in the casino that I can't go into, and we know that every report we write on an infraction, no matter how minor, is likely to get someone fired. My boss got into a screaming match in the room with a gaming agent who refused to arrest someone for a case of human error. This wasn't necessarily my boss' fault; she was under pressure from the higher-ups to see the arrest happen.
The bummer part of this is that it's not likely to change any time soon. This is the way things will be from now on. I no longer feel like I'm on the "right" side of things, and I can either do my job and feel like shit about it (which I've been doing) or move on. I've been casually looking for a way out for a few months now, then seriously looking, and then last week I had serveral opportunities fall into my lap. Add to that the fact that Jake and I got a great offer on our condo, the rub is that they want to close escrow in two weeks, which means we need to find a house (and fast!)
I'm not going to get a surveillance job in another casino. The Wynn was the pinnacle of that and I reached it, conquered it (I still hold the record for the biggest catch in the room) and now I've got to move on. No matter what anyone says, the casino business is dirty, ugly, and never, ever about the people. Ever. Ask the family of the terminal cancer patient who cleaned out his 401k and dropped 500k on a blackjack game in 20 minutes. Obviously I can't go into all the details of that either, but it was very nasty business.
I don't think the news stations anywhere else cared, but this year when Steve Wynn decided to give his Floor Supervisors a 30k/year raise he took it directly out of the pockets of his dealers. It was the top news story in Vegas for three weeks and there is currently a class action suit being filed by the dealers. This is supposed to be THE top employer in Vegas. I can guarantee you that if their suit gets thrown out, every company on the strip will follow the leader within three years.
Anyway, that's the long and short of it. I've realized that my job is like a bad relationship. You know you should get out because it's for shit, but you don't want to leave because you remember how good it once was.
-K