BULLHEAD CITY, Arizona - The past seven months have not been easy for Eric Musser.
In March, Musser lost his job as a blackjack dealer for the second time in six months. The first time was in September last year, when casinos over the river from here in Laughlin, Nevada, were hurting as the economic downturn led to fewer gamblers. Musser, 27, was taken back in December, with fewer shifts and less money, before he was laid off again.
“It’s been a tough time for us,” he said. His girlfriend is studying to become a dental assistant and they have a three-year-old son, so the loss of income has been hard to come to terms with. They have had to live apart in rented rooms because they could not afford to live together.
But trying to find a job has been even harder.
“I applied everywhere for a job – Del Taco’s, K-Mart, Pizza Hut, Domino’s, Lowe’s,” he said, rattling off a list of retail and fast food establishments. “But I never got a single call back.”
“I never had trouble finding a job before,” he added, standing outside the mobile home where he rents a room with his dog Lady, a midsize brown mutt with a dusty coat and good nature. “When you keep trying like that and can’t find a job, your self-confidence and self-esteem start going down the drain.”
A week and a half ago Musser got an audition at the Riverside Casino, where staff observed him as he manned blackjack and roulette tables with real customers. He was hired on the spot at $7.55 an hour.
“It feels really good to be back at work.”
Musser said the Riverside is the best casino in town with the best tips – he made $350 in his first three days there.
“Now I’m going to save up and if everything goes well in January I’ll find my own place to rent so we can live together as a family again,” he said.
Photo of Eric Musser by Lucy Nicholson
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