In today’s Green Felt Journal, I look at whether tending bar is the new dealing:
For decades, becoming a casino dealer was a guaranteed ticket to a middle-class income, even without the benefit of a college education or long vocational training. But because of changes in technology and in the casino business itself, bartending is looking more and more like the new deal for post-recession Vegas.
The similarities run deep. Like dealers, bartenders are part of the party, watching people have the time of their lives night after night. Both jobs seem simple at first glance but actually have considerable technical, physical and psychological demands. And workers in both fields must work their way up a steep and sometimes rigid hierarchy.
This was a busy week for me: I have one other online piece and another print piece in Vegas Seven today.