Casino Women: Courage in Unexpected Places
"For all of the popular culture that's been based in and around the casino industry—Casino Royale,21, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,and many others—few have ever taken into account the stories of women working to keep the industry going. . . . Susan Chandler and Jill B. Jones penned this book with the desire to not only fill the void, but also to provide inspiration for others. . . .The emphasis is most certainly on the harsh working conditions and uncertainty that many of Nevada’s women face.Casino Womenunashamedly offers this view in an attempt to make more people aware of the conditions faced, and in the longer term, to improve these women’s’ lives. . . .  Many of the tales included are certainly fascinating and provide an intriguing insight to an area hardly ever spoken about."—CasinoOnline.co.uk"Casino Womenilluminates the often overlooked contributions of women both to the gaming industry and to the labor movement. Relying on the voices of women who have built the union and the industry in Nevada, Susan Chandler and Jill B. Jones have crafted an important account of work on the struggle for democracy in postindustrial America."—John W. Wilhelm, President, UNITE HERE(John W. Wilhelm, President, UNITE HERE)"Casino Womenis an absorbing journey into the heart of Nevada's gaming empire and a triumphant tale of how women on the front lines of service work took on some of the world's largest corporations and won. Anyone who cares about the indignities and injustices faced by working people today and wants to know how we can change the casino capitalist world in which we all live should read this inspiring book."—Dorothy Sue Cobble, author ofThe Sex of ClassandThe Other Women's Movement(Dorothy Sue Cobble, author of The Sex of Class and The Other Women's Movement)"Casino Womenis profound and revealing. Susan Chandler and Jill B. Jones offer fresh and vivid insights into the daily lives of women in the casino industry, giving readers a multilayered sense of their motivations, thought processes, feelings, frailties, and addictions. It is somewhat of a stereotype—the world-weary-but-wise bartender, blackjack dealer, croupier. And yet, the people in this book do seem to have a remarkable degree of self-awareness, a keen ability to analyze their situations in larger context, recognition of the joys and traps in the work they do—jobs that are sometimes exciting and sometimes relatively well paid, but often physically battering and soul-sapping. This book contains both haunting and inspiring characterizations that humanize by digging beneath the glossy, clamorous, smoky surface of commercial gambling establishments to the complex, often tragic effects of that environment on people's lives."—Annelise Orleck, Dartmouth College, author ofStorming Caesar's Palace: How Black Mothers Fought Their Own War on Poverty(Annelise Orleck, Dartmouth College, author of Storming Caesar's Palace: How Black Mothers Fought Their Own War on Poverty)