 Newsletter Signup
Stay informed with the
NEW Casino City Times newsletter! Barney Vinson Archives
More Strategy Experts
|
Barney Vinson Gaming Guru - Page 4  The Mint1 September 2004
It was my first day as a student dealer at the Mint Hotel in downtown Vegas. I never even actually worked that day, but instead got a pep talk from some woman in a red suit, then trouped through the casino with a bunch of other new hires doing something called our "indoctrination." The nice thing about ... (read more)
Indoctrination Day12 June 2004
I was working at the Pioneer Club in Vegas, shilling my life away for $11 a day. Things weren't really as bad as they seemed, though. I had a "student dealer" job all lined up at the big beautiful Mint Hotel, but I didn't start working there until the following Monday. So I spent the rest of the week at the Pioneer, crying on the outside, crying on the inside. ... (read more)
The Big Time16 May 2004
I was walking on air. I'd just landed a dealing job at the Mint Hotel in downtown Las Vegas! It wasn't the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, even I knew that, but it sure beat shilling on a dice table at the Pioneer Club for $11 a day. I'd been hired by a pit boss named Sonny, who told me to go to Personnel and fill out an application. ... (read more)
Moving up the Corporate Ladder10 April 2004
I'd been working as a shill at the Pioneer Club in Vegas for
almost a week, and now I had two beautiful days off staring me in the face. I
should've been walking on air, but I wasn't.
For one thing, I was only making $11 a day and didn't even get
free meals like casino employees everywhere else. ... (read more)
Home Sweet Home15 March 2004
I was an official resident of Las Vegas. Three weeks after hitting town, I landed a job shilling at the Pioneer Club and now I was moving into a studio apartment in the sticks with another shill from work named Diane. The apartment was a real dump, everything piled in one big room, along with a tiny bathroom ... (read more)
Barney Vinson's World: Diane22 February 2004
I was working as a shill at the Pioneer Club in Vegas, making $11 a day and spending twice that much just trying to stay alive. That's when I met Diane. She was working in the same joint, making the same two-bit salary I was. But for some reason she took pity on me – I'm sure that's what it was – and the ... (read more)
Barney Vinson's World: Radio KENO10 January 2004
Here I was in Las Vegas, the entertainment capital of the world, making $11 a day shilling at the Pioneer Club. All I could do was watch helplessly as my life savings slowly dribbled away, a dollar at a pop. There was only one thing left to do. With enough money to last maybe until payday (that is, if I checked out of the motel and started sleeping in my car), I needed to work two jobs. ... (read more)
My First Job in Vegas20 December 2003
I'd been in Las Vegas for less than three weeks. In that time, I spent $175 to enroll in dealers school, another $20 a night sleeping in a motel room that didn't even have a private bathroom, and gone through most of my remaining bankroll learning how not to play blackjack.
That's when Arnold, the owner of the dealers school, called me into his office. ... (read more)
Barney Vinson's World: Boxmen Get the Boot8 November 2003
Vegas casinos are at it again, chopping down trees to plant a forest. This time, it isn't change personnel who are getting the boot, but the boxmen at the crap tables. For those who don't know what a boxman is, let alone how to shoot craps, the boxman is the casino supervisor who oversees payoffs, signs ... (read more)
Barney Vinson's World: Global Gaming Expo6 October 2003
I just got home from the Global Gaming Expo. What
a blast!
It started with a cocktail party at the Las Vegas Hilton, up on
top of the hotel in the Conrad Villa Sky Suite. The party was hosted by
gaming writers Jeffrey Compton (who was actually wearing a suit) and Bob
Dancer. I've always loved ... (read more)
< Previous 10 Articles | Next 10 Articles > Barney Vinson |
Barney Vinson |
