February 22, 2008

It's the dying days of the Roaring '20's all over again: Doormen in Vegas pulling in $500,000 a year (tax free)

The easy money, reckless spending and over-consumption has to end folks. One way or another, the system has to cleanse itself.

When the clubs are closed down, and the banks have failed, and the easy money has gone away, you'll remember stories like these.

Sources have been telling me that doormen at several clubs are clearing $8,000 to $10,000 a night before they share tips. So much cash is pouring in that some doormen are making $400,000 to $500,000 a year, several nightclub executives told me.

About six months ago, on a busy night at Pure, I overheard two men bitterly complaining about the cover charge. "They wanted $1,000 per person. I said the highest I'd go was $800!" one said.

Then there's bottle service, which means you have to buy a bottle to sit in the VIP section. The usual requirement is one bottle per three patrons. Two-bottle minimums are not uncommon. Bottles at most clubs are going for $350 to $650 a piece.

32 comments:

Anonymous said...

just part of the new two tier U.S. caste system.

2nd world status here we come!

Frank R said...

This is total BS. I lived in Vegas for five years and it's nothing but a bunch of blowhards who BS everyone about how much money they make on tips, but despite all the money they supposedly make, after work they get into their beat-up old pickup trucks and drive home to some sh*tty apartment in the ghetto.

Vegas is like Scottsdale, except in Vegas it's doormen and bartenders claiming to make millions, much like the realtors and fake businessmen in Scottsdale.

Anonymous said...

OT. Hey Keith, any chance of making your blog available on Amazon's Kindle?

Anonymous said...

"Vegas is like Scottsdale, except in Vegas"

Vegas has money. Scottsdale has asshole posters and posers.

F*ck everyone in Arizona.

DIE U PIG

Anonymous said...

The days of easy money are over. This is all ending. Vegas and AC has been pretty dead for the last six months (first hand observations)

Anonymous said...

It's the end of the world!

Anonymous said...

want to know about Scottadale? Look no further than DirtyScottsdale.com

Anonymous said...

Why would the republicans on this blog have a problem with elitism? Isn't that what you people live for? Keeping up with Joneses? Every republican I' ever met was obsessed with wealth and class.

Or is it that you're resentful of 100K doormen because they make more than you?

The whole IDEA of a caste system is an intense republican wet dream.

Anonymous said...

I see nothing wrong with that. If stupid people want to pay $1,000 to get in a club, that's their business.

I do doubt that they are making that kind of money though. I knew some guys who worked at high end clubs and they didn't come anywhere close to that. I say in Vegas it would be $150K max.

As far as elitism, look no further than America's royal family, the Kennedy's and their buddies the Kerry's of Assachussetts. Notice that it was the Democrat sheeple who crowned them as royalty.

Anonymous said...

Maybe I'm an idiot, but how exactly does a doorman make that kind of money?

Is this money essentially bribe money from people who want to get into a club ahead of other people that are waiting to get in?

If so, why would the owner of the club allow such a thing? It would be pretty easy to monitor this and prevent it - or to simply sell expensive tickets to get in. If you really have that kind of demand and someone is willing to pay $1000 to get into the club, just sell special tickets for that amount. Hell - even theme parks are doing that now (Universal Studios Express pass).

Why give away hundreds of thousands of dollars to some steroid-abusing retard standing at the door when you can pocket that money yourself as the owner?

Either that, or this whole story is BS. That's probably the more likely situation.

Anonymous said...

Is this money essentially bribe money from people who want to get into a club ahead of other people that are waiting to get in?

If so, why would the owner of the club allow such a thing? It would be pretty easy to monitor this and prevent it - or to simply sell expensive tickets to get in. If you really have that kind of demand and someone is willing to pay $1000 to get into the club, just sell special tickets for that amount. Hell
----------------------------------

Yea, I can't imagine it will last because once the owner catches on he is going to want a piece.

Anonymous said...

.


Some bouncers will guarantee entry for a fee,

Some wanna be will be more than willing (to impress whomever) hand over 500 to 1k to get in.

The lines are horrendously long and you may be in it for hours and still not get in...thats where the graft comes in.

Do this everynight, multiple times a night.......you do the math!


.

Anonymous said...

Most likely the story is half BS.

If a club sees 5000 customers per month paying $20 cover that's 100K per month. Let's assume the house takes half and the other half is split between the doormen and other employees. The house (club owner) would then be taking in over half $500,000 a year (tax free).

Ed said...

Frank, I lived in LV for many years and it's not a bunch of BS. It may be a little over the top with $1000 covers, but not much.

While I didn't often pay cover charges since I usually knew a guy who knew a bouncer, I did pay sometimes. Usually it was $50 a head. Do some quick math and at $50 a head, the money adds up really fast for a doorman.

And $50 was from little old me, nobody Joe Shmoe. Get some semi-celebrity or wanna be bigshot and he will be handing $100 bills out to anyone with a pulse.

That shit adds up and fast.

I have said on numerous occasions that in LV you have to ignore the median income figures. 50% of income earned in the city is never reported as income. My ex-boss was a Sr. VP. His wife at the time was a bartender at one of the hot clubs at the time, circa 2002. She made more money than him. It may not be right, it may not be fair, but that is reality over there.

Ed said...

"Maybe I'm an idiot, but how exactly does a doorman make that kind of money?

Is this money essentially bribe money from people who want to get into a club ahead of other people that are waiting to get in?

If so, why would the owner of the club allow such a thing? It would be pretty easy to monitor this and prevent it - or to simply sell expensive tickets to get in. If you really have that kind of demand and someone is willing to pay $1000 to get into the club, just sell special tickets for that amount. Hell - even theme parks are doing that now (Universal Studios Express pass). "


Dude you cannot be serious with those questions. Why does the NFL sell SuperBowl tickets at $500 face value to scalpers who then turn around and sell the tickets for $5000?

Answer that question and you'll have answered your questions as well.

Anonymous said...

not worth 12.50 to me and will cost an average 20 bucks a year for every year left in ones life ...looks like the dollar is broken and thus will not be repaired because the insider traders profiteerings

Anonymous said...

and there are among us those who are willing to pay for being abused, sorry not me and i feel no sadness or regret to that fact..............

Anonymous said...

No, it is probably not complete bullshit. there are plenty of douchebags who like to show off and get into these noisy clubs and chase after gold diggers and whores.

Anonymous said...


If so, why would the owner of the club allow such a thing?


They're not. It's a farce. A lie. The owners are not stupid people. Management allows this to happen, then they take a 75% cut from the doormen. That's how they avoid paying taxes on selling tickets for $1,000. The Mafia started doing this in the NYC area in their disco clubs in the 1970's.

Anonymous said...

This is totally true. If you are a couple and you want to get into a "hot" club, you can usually "tip" $100 to $200 to get in. If you are a group of guys? Expect to pay in the thousands. Or you can wait in line where they let in two people every ten minutes. And what does this money get you? Not a seat in the club. Which is probably empty because they are letting people in. In order to build a line. In order to get people to pay more to get in.

Of course this makes more sense than just raising the cover. It's perfect - you extract the maximum people are willing to pay to get in, as they choose the price, not you.

And Vegas is not dead. I'm just personally tired of overpaying these doorman goons to listen to the same old tired music.

Anonymous said...

Pardon me for asking but isn't the idea to get into a club is to pick up a woman? Then why not just cut to the chase and rent a top class whore for the thousands you would pay to get in and buy some woman drinks with no guarantee of sex?

Anonymous said...

I agree I also lived in vegas in 2004 and 2005, doormen, timeshare sales people and just about everyone else are a bunch of bullshiters. it's hard to believe the money they claim to make when you see how sorry they live. most of them live in motels where rent is chareged on a weekly basis.

Anonymous said...

Weird, most I ever tipped a doorman was $20 at the Coyote Ugly in NYNY to get five of the biggest nerds you've ever seen into the club. Didn't even have to pay a cover after that. That was about three years ago though. Maybe he thought the 20 was a $2000 bill!

Had to leave cause one of the nerds kept trying to pick a fight with the bouncers. Stupid nerds!

Anonymous said...

Vegas is like Scottsdale, except in Vegas it's doormen and bartenders claiming to make millions, much like the realtors and fake businessmen in Scottsdale.

February 22, 2008 9:27 AM<<<

yeh it is about as hot as scottsdale. oh i forgot. it is a dry heat...

Anonymous said...

DIE U PIG said...

"Vegas is like Scottsdale, except in Vegas"

Vegas has money. Scottsdale has asshole posters and posers.

F*ck everyone in Arizona.

DIE U PIG

February 22, 2008 1:25 PM<<<

spoken like a true transplanted californian...

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...

This is totally true. If you are a couple and you want to get into a "hot" club, you can usually "tip" $100 to $200 to get in. If you are a group of guys? Expect to pay in the thousands. Or you can wait in line where they let in two people every ten minutes. And what does this money get you? Not a seat in the club. Which is probably empty because they are letting people in. In order to build a line. In order to get people to pay more to get in.

Of course this makes more sense than just raising the cover. It's perfect - you extract the maximum people are willing to pay to get in, as they choose the price, not you.

And Vegas is not dead. I'm just personally tired of overpaying these doorman goons to listen to the same old tired music.

February 22, 2008 9:35 PM<<<

what kind of moron would pay anyone this kind of money to go to some stupid club? gads, what is this insanity? heck i used to think $5.00 was too much, back in the day.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...

.


Some bouncers will guarantee entry for a fee,

Some wanna be will be more than willing (to impress whomever) hand over 500 to 1k to get in.

The lines are horrendously long and you may be in it for hours and still not get in...thats where the graft comes in.

Do this everynight, multiple times a night.......you do the math!


.

February 22, 2008 5:33 PM<<<

what is so good about these places? what is in there that makes people wait so long to try and get in?

well let's see. hmmm, oh they have cigerette smoke and rude people, loud noise, they call music....fights and drugs and drunks, pick pockets , and various blowhards postering for the dumb as a bag of rocks chicks that are also postering thinking they are going to find themselves a rich boy to take care of them. did i miss anything?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...

want to know about Scottadale? Look no further than DirtyScottsdale.com

February 22, 2008 2:47 PM<<

yeh frog got pissed because they took his picture the other night.

Anonymous said...

"Weird, most I ever tipped a doorman was $20 at the Coyote Ugly in NYNY to get five of the biggest nerds you've ever seen into the club"

Coyote Ugly? They should pay you $20 for going in there. There are more grammas in there than granddaughters.

Anonymous said...

.


....you do the math!


We are in a world filled with posers and wannabe's,

a very materialistic group comming up now!

They feel the need to be seen by others and the need to impress others they don't even know!

The 'motto' of one of these Vegas clubs called 'The Bank', is "It's all about status"!

Wild spending, wild living, Wild debt!!!!

Vanity of vanities, all is Vanity!


.

Anonymous said...

why would i want to pay any amount of money to work my way through a crowd of mostly dudes chasing after every decent looking woman in a club( whos maybe a GOLDDIGGER!) whille having to tolerate recycled crappy hip hop and lets not forget the high priced watered down drinks. WILL I GET LAID? NO, WILL I GET A MASSAGE? NO WILL I GET NOTICED? NO WILL I BLEND IN? NO.
I'll take 60 bucks to the Asian Massage Parlors here in OC and get my massage and more. Vegas is a joke for clubs

Anonymous said...

young adults from the indian-casino reservations. These guys practically live in vegas dropping 10 grand a weekend. They make anywhere from 5 to 200 grand a month for being an Indian from a gaming reservation.

The ones I know go to Vegas because they can't get a visa to go overseas. Most of them have drug and gun felonies on their records and getting a visa is too much trouble for them.