26 Time May 18, 2020
GLADIS BLANCO, 40,
GUEST-ROOM ATTENDANT
Blanco’s last day of work at the
Bellagio was March 17, and she
received only two weeks of pay
from the company when she was
laid off. Since then she’s been
living on savings and taking care
of her son, 14, and daughter, 17.
“It’s good to have more time with
them,” she says, “but we have
bills to pay.”
SHAWN BEST, 38, COOK
Best loved his job as the
“breakfast guy” at the
Cosmopolitan, where he’d worked
since the hotel opened nearly a
decade ago. Now when he talks
to his parents in Buffalo, N.Y., he
says, “I feel like I’m the retired
one while my parents are still
working.” Since receiving his last
paycheck in mid-April, he’s been
using his unemployment benefits
and the stimulus check to pay his
bills and buy food.
TIERNEY ALLEN, 33,
LADY GAGA IMPERSONATOR
TRAVIS ALLEN, 42,
ELVIS IMPERSONATOR
All day long, they record happy,
reassuring video messages
for Elvis and Gaga fans, but off
camera they are terrified. On
May 1, doctors found two masses
in Tierney’s left breast. “It’s one
of those dreams where you’re
screaming for help and no one
can hear you,” she says.
CASINO
WORKERS
LAS VEGAS
As the tourism industry has
collapsed, few places have
been harder hit than this
one. Now out of work, hotel
employees and performers
alike wonder how long their
glittering city will stay dark.
COVID-19 | ECONOMY
