Guess where we won't be going next week.
Posted on 12/13/2005 6:02:13 PM PST by radar101
Employee's at the Lady Luck Casino and Hotel have run out of luck. From front desk clerks, to card dealers, 125 employees were terminated from their jobs on Monday and hundreds more will lose their jobs in the coming weeks.
The Lady Luck casino says the terminations are necessary because of a massive remodeling and renovation project that will close the entire hotel and casino for at least one year.
Dozens of employees were called together Monday morning to attend a mandatory meeting. Many of them left with their walking papers. At the meeting, 125 employees were told they were fired effective immediately.
Many received letters warning them of the terminations, but never anticipated it happening so fast.
Debbie McKinney was one of the Lady Luck employees who received her pink slip. She fought back tears after learning she no longer had a job.
"I walked in for the 10 a.m. meeting and they said 'sorry everyone here is terminated immediately' and I got my walking papers," McKinney said.
Emotional after the news, McKinney thought she would have been given more notice. "I feel sick to my stomach. I had no idea this was going to happen. The only thing I thought I was going to get at least two months to look for something, but no it was bam."
The Lady Luck Hotel and Casino says the firings needed to happen, to comply with the downtown revitalization project.
In a written statement, Andrew Donner, CEO for the Henry Brent Company, which is the owner of the property, said the substantial closure of the property was a difficult yet necessary business decision. "We looked at every scenario possible to keep the property fully open during the renovation, but in reality it would be difficult to provide quests with a good experience or attract the number of visitors we'd need to maintain our staff during the renovation."
Mayor Oscar Goodman is a longtime supporter of downtown growing to bigger and better, but is sorry to hear about people losing their jobs.
"I really feel terrible if they feel the downtown revitalization cost them their job, that's not our intent." The Mayor says, if the Lady Luck Hotel and Casino needs help in finding these former employees jobs, he's willing to make some phone calls to other casinos and see if some of those fired workers can apply for jobs there.
A total of 689 employees at the Lady Luck will be laid off by February. A number of local venues next to the Lady Luck casino and owned by the same company will remain open. The Lady Luck was bought by The Henry Brent Company in April of this year.
Did the company lobby for the project?
I imagine that that they will be able to find temp or permanent jobs at another casino if they aren't totally incompetent.
Seems like I heard that there are a few other casinos and hotels in Las Vegas. ;-)
And it isn't really the most unexpected time of year to do lay offs ... A lot of the casinos cut back this time of year for a few weeks anyway.... At least they used to do it that way back when I lived there.
As usual, the rich get richer and just to show their lack of empathy they do it in December.
Guess where we won't be going next week.
Yahh, no $hit. Talk about being a total scrooge.
At least wait till new year to make an annoucement like this.
Sheeesh.....
Aside from the Golden Nugget, I don't know if there is a place that I would comfortably stay at near Freemont.
Lady Luck is a dive, but it's my kind of dive!
Jobs are easy to get in LV, though. These guys weren't fired for cause, can get some unemployment, and start looking for new jobs after new years. Best of luck to them!
All of the really sucky things that have happened to me in my life have ended up concealing blessings. Here's to a quick blessing for these folks!
Yep, sounds like a classic case of "Let them eat cake."
My employer (a Fortune 500 company which has had a terrific year, not a casino or even remotely related to the casino business) just laid off a bunch of people 2 weeks ago, also. I wasn't one of them, but I feel terrible for those who were.
And to add double insult to injury, guess how many days notice they gave them? One!
Pretty dumb move. Wynn has been so successful not because he has a billion bucks to blow on infrastructure, but because he has an army of employees who know how to make a bed and deal a hand of blackjack...
Christmas is a slow-business time in Vegas. They could have a new job the following week for New Years'.
I don't go there for New Year's. People tend to screw up otherwise good table games, whether it's counting numbers in blackjack or attempting to throw dice in a straight line.
WAAAAAA! Employers owe NOTHING to their employees except a safe working environment and a paycheck for their services.
Not "empathy" or any other touchy-feely thing you want them to give.
Your lucky. See Post #9. The Lady Luck was a worn out hotel
that needed a major rehab. Also will help the Downtown area. The Unions will have these employees find jobs in days.
We need more people like you around here! I know I'd want someone like you around me if Lady Luck gave me the pink slip.
I see you haven't been to Vegas during the Christmas Holiday season lately. This place is packed right now and more are coming.
There is a huge new casino, South Coast Casino, opening Jan 1st. I wonder if any of the Lady Luck people wound up there.
If your talking about personal safety, you are right on...
I would venture to say the reason for that is to prevent disgruntled employees access to computer, etc, to prevent sabatoge.
From what I understand Vegas is not a hard town in which to find a job. Are you saying that the owners of the casino are obligated to change their renovation plans in order to keep people working through December? While it is true the whole thing sucks massively, thats capitalism for ya, deal with it.
You got it! Employees owe NOTHING to their employers! Cheat, steal, whatever you can get away with, that's my philosophy!
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