The answer to why cocktail waitresses are getting uglier

Inflation


I really thought about this my last trip.  What was the standard tip for a drink 10-15 years ago?  $1  What is the standard tip today?  $1  What will the standard tip be 10 years from now? Probably still $1. 

Back in the day, these cocktail waitresses could make a lot of money rounding up dollars for drinks.  That was basically the best paying job in Vegas a hot girl could get (except stripper).

These days, those dollars do not go as far.  The real good looking girls have moved on to more well paying jobs such as Club or pool hostesses.  Now the cocktail waitresses are usually older and much more plain looking. 

This trend is going to continue until people start tipping more, but I do not see that happening as $1 is such a good standard and easy amount to tip.  Pretty soon cocktail waitresses are going to be fat women and retirees supplementing their social security. 

Not inflation. It's the union that won't let them get fired. People age.

With the massive Casino growth over the past 10 years, there has been plenty of opportunities to bring in new talent.  Fact is that the job is no longer attractive to young good looking girls.  They can make much more money now doing other things in Vegas. 

Bling,  couldn't agree more.  Out of Connecticut,  AC, and LV,  The Borgata has the BEST looking waitresses in the entire industry,  by far.  Last couple times in the craps pit at Caesars in LV,  the waitresses had knee braces on and the avg age was 55,  no bullshitting....

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

I'd say it's more in the eye of the "beer-holder"

I have found nothing wrong with the majority of the waitresses at the Red Rock. Well, except yesterday when I asked the girl for a drink and she said they were in the middle of a shift change and the new girl will be right over. 45 minutes later and still no waitress. Seriously? I asked my casino host what the deal was and she said the shift change wasn't for another 10 minutes and the other girl had to leave. My host went and got us some drinks, good service there.

When the new girl (hot) started her shift she came over immediately and apologized for lack of service and took our drink order. Not her fault the other girl lied (she was hot too but not as much after lying).

Those girls must be pushing 35-40 drinks an hour, at $1 a drink, plus their wage, must be making 70+K a year...not too shabby for that job, no doubt!

Been going to Vegas regularly for 25 years.  I was NEVER impressed with cocktail talent at Caesars.

I've seen some really gorgeous talent at Orleans, even at 8 a.m. Saturday.   I'm told the Palms ain't bad either... 

Even in the old days, the cocktail talent in the grindhouses like the Sahara or ElRanchero use to "work" after their shift and they had to have a minimum of appeal. Today it's strictly 9-5 and they only hustle tips.Better looking talent have gone to the yellow pages or strip porn handouts as escorts.

union gigs 1st prob   blings  theory 2nd

Exactly and the 35-40 drinks an hour is conservative. The union jobs they get an hourly above 10 on top of their tips with full benefits. This city is an unskilled workers utopia. 

I've been to pretty much every casino, and club for that matter.  Finding a hot cocktail waitress is like trying to find a white elephant.  Few and far between.  10 years ago, they were all over the place.  Tips are still a dollar, and the money these girls make is exactly the same as it was 10 years ago, yet inflation has risen.  They money, even though the same, does not go as far as it did before.  35 - 40 drinks an hour?  I doubt it, maybe on a very busy shift and only then if all the customers are confined to a tight space.  But when you factor ordering, making the drinks, dropping them off, and the walking distances involved, the average numbers probably come to much less than that. 

Also, it is nowhere as glamorous of a job as it was back in the day.  Those jobs have moved on to working the big clubs or the hot pool scenes.  Those things really didn't exist 15 years ago, meaning there was less places for employment for the really hot young girls (except strip clubs).  Now they have many places and jobs to work, many of which are much more attractive and higher paying than being a cocktail waitress.

I stay at the Mirage, usually pretty decent waitresses all the really hot girls are hanging around the convention rooms and elevators looking to make a quick 500 and hour slinging the sheets  instead of 40 an hour slinging drinks....

Caesars and Mirage are the worst waistresses.

 

Hey Bud, You are obviously 15 years older. So the waitress is probably thinking to herself,... These old beer belly slobs are going to tip me he same old dollar, when the tip should be 3.00 bucks. .

Look in mirror, you're not getting better looking !

naw son, now ya trippin

waitresses are UNION???? sounds like the BART workers out here in the sf bay area!! if the hotties are getting a crap shift maybe u could chk out a different shift...avg. 35 drinks a hr..plus tips..hell they sound like they're making upwards of $80k or more a yr.. assuming $12 p/hr. plus $30+ on tips...hell that's over $40 p/hr...low $80k a yr. by my calculations...hell i'm in the wrong profession....

those waitresses are pulling probably at least $15 every 15 minutes if they are moving their fools! And the Bartender is busting his! $60 cash per hour is conservative... They are doing just fine. But you're right, they aren't hot... or even warm.. most of the time. 

Everything owned by the casino is. You have dishwashers making 15/hr with full benefits. 

I am a bartender at an airport bar. I am unionized. Full medical, eye, dental, rrsp matching etc. Most of the people I work with are 40+, and they aren't leaving anytime soon. When I travel, I usually hit the other airport bars and chat with the guys and girl that work there.. Last guy was 56 and had been working the detroit wood for over 35 years. And he was fifth in seniority for the airport.

A union cocktail waitress probably was hot at one time, but now is just plain old. She's in her 50's or mid 40's and has long since given up on any other career paths. And why would she? I don't see any reason why a waitress couldn't average $30/hr on a non graveyard shift, and remember we are talking union here. Seniority is king. So the old 50yr old grumpy server is the one you're mostly going to get during peek hours.. say 6pm-2am. So say $30/hr tax free tips, plus the $15 an hr wage, and now we're talking decent cheddar. Would you leave?

There are exceptions to the rule. I was hung over as garbage once at the Wynn, and was sitting on that awesome outdoor patio in the back. The one beside that club, forget it's name, but it overlooks this man made lake, with a stone background, it's one of my favorite places on the strip to get away for an hour. Anyhow, I order a smoothy because I knew I could keep it down, and the girl that brought it to me was a 10. And I don't mean she was really hot, I mean she was perfect. She was slinging drinks in this low cut silk dress and probably $500 dollar heels. My smoothly was $7 and I left her $15 because any girl that hot, willing to sling the tray in that getup deserved it. Now lets say you sit down with your boys and start drinking those $14 dollar Hienekens, and your bill is $150, she is probably getting $180 total. I assume this girl came to Vegas with hopes of being a dancer, and not a titty bar dancer, a show dancer and just couldn't cut it. This is the next best thing for her. I guarantee this girl is pulling in $100k a year, probably working 30hrs a week.

You're just schleppin' a beer. Here's your dollar, I'm not tipping $3 when I could get up and buy it for $2.50. If you want to make sure you get noticed and are going to be there for a while, tip $10 and tell her not to forget you...............

Mirage waitresses look like rung out wet towels. Half of them wear sketchers shape ups.