--I'm ready to let go of the steerin' wheel...
I'm back at the Man Cave, having survived another pretty good evening in the poker room. There was a new crew of bosses there tonight, none of which I'd met before, but they all seemed to like me a lot. And yeah, I overtipped their chip bucket every time I cashed out, too, just so they knew how much I liked it there--But again, they were very helpful to me and very accommodating whenever I had questions about procedures or whatnot, so I was happy to do it.
And even though I've only worked six hours per night each night this week, my money has been very good--way better than I would've made in the pit. But the party ended last night at 1:00 am--I have to go back to the pit tonight and deal Pai Gow and/or blackjack.
On my first break from the poker room, I went to talk to my boss (the assistant who sent me over to the poker room in the first place back on Monday night), but then she took me to go see the HNIC Shift Boss. The three of us sat down to discuss my situation, and tonight, they can't spare me--apparently they fired three dealers last night, all three of which I am not the least bit saddened to see go. They were all costing us money. So the pit is shorthanded for the weekend, and I have to go back and do my 'official' job. However, I was told that if the poker room needed me, and if the pit wasn't as busy as they predict, then I can go back over there. But I'm not holding my breath--this is a holiday weekend. I'm sure we'll be slammed.
However, by the time I got back to the break room, they had posted three openings for poker dealers on the internal website. So I tried to figure out how to do the transfer paperwork, but I have to go to H.R. during office hours to do it. And I think I have to have the poker room manager and my boss both approve it.
I really like my chances, but here is the thing--I'd have to go back to the Extra Board. I'd lose all my benefits, and I couldn't work more than 32 hours a week. And there are a couple of dealers in the poker room who have been on extra board for over two years.
As much as I'd love to do it, this opportunity truly couldn't have come at a worse time. I've got to come up with moving expenses at the end of next month, and while my initial comparison of numbers says that I'll be making just as much in the poker room part time as working in the pit full time, well, there's always a chance of a slowdown and I'll be starving. It wasn't so bad when I didn't have a truck payment, and like I mentioned earlier, my student loan payments would go down (all I'd have to do was show my new paystubs), but I just know there will be difficult months ahead. More likely sooner than later.
But dealing poker is what I want to do, and if I want to be happy (happier) with my chosen profession, I guess that sacrifices will have to be made.
The extra-board poker dealers all tell me that they're getting four nights a week, and they seem to be keeping them around for at least six hours--and it's fairly easy to make $150 or more in tokes in six hours on weeknights--even better on weekends. So it's very doable. But with change come uncertainty, and with uncertainty comes stress. And lord knows I've got enough stress in my life right now.
But you know what? I'm gonna do it. It's what I wanna do. I've always said that my biggest regret since coming to Vegas was listening to all those idiots at dealer school that said I should learn to deal dice first because You'll always have a job in Vegas... Well, had I done poker first, I would more than likely have been part of the first group of guys they hired at the MGM poker room when it opened in late spring of 2005, and I would be living LARGE right now. I've always kicked myself for missing that opportunity. It was right there in front of me and I let it pass me by. Never again will I let that happen.
So today, my eighth day of work in a row, I've got to go down to the human resources department during the day and do paperwork. Then go back in again later for work. The odds of Mikey making it the entire eight-hour shift? Not very high at all, I'm afraid. I've got that tired ache behind my eyes, and once those games in Chinatown go dead, I'll be yawning and head-bobbing and begging to get sent home. Although, I guess I could get some sleep at some point between now and then. But here's the rub--I've already worked nineteen hours this week. In the timeclock-punching world, that leaves me just 21 more hours of work available until I hit overtime during this pay period. And I'm scheduled for 32 more hours. Something's gotta give. And I don't want do give up any time on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday, because we should make decent money. So yeah, as soon as my tables go dead tonight, my ass is heading for the door. Besides--and I can't discount this point at all--Kimmy is off tonight, meaning that the crotchety old waitress with the shrill voice who talks out of her nose will be working in my section all night. Ugh. No Kimmy, no Michelle, and Beth is in the bowling alley all shift. None of my favorite ladies will be around the next two nights, so life in the pit is gonna suck a little more than usual.
But who knows? Maybe I'll just play dumb and stick around and let the bosses figure out the hard way on Sunday night that I'm working overtime.
Anyhow.
Speaking of Kimmy, I was fortunate enough that both of our 'long' breaks overlapped and we were able to spend about a half hour chillin' together, alone, back in the 'quiet' room. (We actually have two dining rooms connected to each other, and one is designated as a relaxation area). We had a fun, somewhat innuendo-filled, conversation, just like we always used to, and I'm happy to say that things between us seem to be back to 'normal'. Truly, it feels like the last three weeks of drama never happened. I still dig her, of course, (I can't switch it off, as much as I'd like to), and she still loves the attention I give her. And we've always got something to talk about whenever we get together--even as badly as I want her, it's nice that she's still a pretty good friend to have, too.
So that's the news from the casino this Thursday morning. Things seem to be working out for me, but as is my lot in life, they can never be easy.
Apparently, I've got a lot of Karma to burn off...
Mikey
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