by Jamie Gentner, Outpost Staff
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It's 7 p.m. Jen, 29, is one of hundreds of cocktail waitresses working in the Reno area. She works the late shift. Getting up this late has left her only a few hours to get to work on time. "They really don't like it if you're late," she explains.
I watch as the process of getting ready begins. Her bathroom is a piled mess of makeup, hair products and perfume. She tells me that good hair and makeup are as vital to her job as they would be to a performer.
"The tips are better if you look your best, and for some reason bigger is better." With a throw of her hairbrush, we're off. The backseat of her Honda has been transformed into a closet. It's a rummage sale of black shoes, nylons, trays and variations of the same tight outfit.
"Tonight should be kinda busy," she tells me shifting her car into gear. "It's Friday and there is some convention in the hotel." She reaches into the backseat for her carry bag and winces. She is a little worried because her shoulder has been hurting for a few days. "Those trays get pretty heavy when you have 20 drinks on them. A hurt shoulder can make for a long evening."
Parking has become a nuisance for casino employees. As downtown business has boomed, employees have been forced to park in the surrounding blocks branching off Virginia Street. Downtown Reno is a mess of lights, tourists, closed buildings and traffic.
Many servers have resorted to cheating the system. They'll come to work in street clothes and park in valet at another casino. They just don't like walking to the cars down dark streets at odd hours. I talked with the valets at several Reno casinos and most of them said they did not have a problem stowing the waitresses' cars.
"It works out for both of us," one explained. "They always tip good so we always make a little extra money and they feel safer."
After we drop off Jen's car, she hurries inside so she can get to the clock and punch in without being late. Behind the casino floor, she disappeared into a wall into a dark less maze of warehouse-like corridors. The passages are for employees to move throughout the casino without being detected on the floor. Employees are not allowed to loiter in public areas in uniform unless they are clocked in.
Bar managers at local casinos such as the Atlantis, Eldorado, Peppermill and Silver Legacy report that they employ an average of 50 women for cocktail waitressing specifically. While this number increases during the summer months, winter is not so slow. Casinos still receive business from travellers here to ski and gamble.
There are many women who cocktail waitress for life. They say it's a well-paid job with good benefits. Night employees call it a tough life though because like any job that relies on tips, it can be inconsistent. Every casino has its good and bad sections, much like a restaurant. Usually, the best sections to work are the tables. This is where the waitresses with the most seniority get to work. There is a pecking order among the waitresses. Most start in the less busy, deemed worse sections because of tips, or a lack thereof rather. On a good night, in a decent section, waitresses can take home more than $250. That's even after they tipped out the bartender.
posted: 3/10/98