One company I used to work for in the jewelry business employed 12 jewelers; I was shop manager, every Monday morning I would bring in a couple dozen doughnuts. The money came from the company cash register as the boss wouldn't have it any other way. The owner and I were great friends and I was always invited to the house. Every couple of months, the owner would take us out to dinner after work to show his appreciation. He had box seats at Wrigley Field for all Cubs home games and would often take one or two jewelers who did an especially difficult job or sold a big job. On our birthdays it was always dinner for two. During vacation time if you were a little short, he was always willing to advance whatever money you needed to enjoy the vacation. And the other jewelers would always be willing to pitch in money whenever we knew there was a baby coming or hard times on the way. And the employees all genuinely liked each other due in large part to the congenial working conditions. And the boss's door was always open.

One time one of the girls who worked at making waxes and making the castings was called home when her daughter was involved in a rollover accident. She was rushed to the hospital. The owner was the first to pitch in followed by all the employees. This wasn't an act of humanity, this was the owner of the company believing in the philosophy that good will towards hard-working workers receives ten-fold in loyalty and out-put in the workshop. Whenever overtime was needed, no one ever asked, I would just say that there were a couple more jobs to get done tonight before I go home and everyone gladly would pitch in to get the job done. We were loyal to the management because they earned and deserved our trust and stealing was never a problem, which in the jewelry business, is the biggest problem. We cared because we knew they cared for us, and the profits followed.

The customers were treated with genuine friendliness and professionalism and our following was word-of-mouth and we often couldn't keep up with sales. This was a positive and successful business practice and would reflect into our personal lives, since the workers were happy; their satisfaction in the work place seemed to bring satisfaction in their personal lives.

The other way to run a company is through fear and intimidation. To manage by threatening memos with the name of the president of the company on the letterhead and a couple other big shot names to make it sound like this is mob rule. Each memo taking just a little more dignity away from the worker which in their warped minds is supposed to endear the worker to the boss, or rather, keep the worker in line just dependent enough that they can't quite quit the job, and when the boss knows that, it's like a shark smelling blood in the water, they WILL eat you alive.

This comes from the old slave rule mentality that if you keep the slaves in fear then feed them just enough to keep them and their families alive, they'll have to keep working for the master so they will have food for tomorrow. They gave you a 401k with matching funds, of course it's a huge tax cut for the company for doing this. They gave you the cheapest health insurance plan they could find. I can tell you that the casino business is a goldmine for the health industry. From everything from bad backs to Carpel-tunnel Syndrome. From bad feet to sleep disorders, depression, second-hand smoke problems. Catching every foreign disease from over 30 different countries, even the bugs don't speak English, and they just love to attack dealers. So once they make you sick enough, you'll need that health insurance so badly that you'll need to work to pay the doctors and pharmacists.

The constant reminder is the "part-time" dealers list with names and phone numbers next to the sign-in sheet as a constant reminder that your job is just a phone call away. And the shift boss just takes the list and calls the top name if one of his regulars doesn't show up. And is sure to say, during the "call-in-sick-call" "don't worry, you stay out as long as you want, we already have another dealer taking your place as we speak. Just call before you come back so I know if I have a full schedule for you." Which means you have 24 hours to finish the open-heart surgery, hook it up to a couple 9 volt batteries, sew it up, grab a cab, and get your ass on the game or Kung Pow will take your job…if we can figure out how to explain insurance to him in Korean, then figure out how to get him to say "change one-hundred" so it doesn't sound like the chef's special at Mongolian Barbeque. Thus the reason the work base in the casino business is well over 60% Asian dealers.

It's not just the fact that they show up to work everyday and they don't complain. Coming from their Asian socialist countries where work is mandatory and the repercussions from under performing, not producing what's demanded, or staying home sick, or talking back to the boss, or to try to stand up for yourself and your rights is out of the question.

You'll hear this when dealers are put on the games after a break and the Asian dealers usually say "thank you" to the floor man who dispersed the dealers to the games. You may think it's out of respect, but I can tell you, it's out of fear. As a dealer, every customer you deal to has one thing in common, they're all off of work, off on the weekend or on vacation and they're all out to enjoy themselves and have a good time. Therefore the dealers, who do enjoy a relaxed working atmosphere, usually respond in kind by treating the customers with the same friendliness they experience in the workplace on and off the games. The same holds true to the dealers that are treated with contempt, they reflect the contemptuous workplace into the games. How can you have the boss threaten your job on your break, then go on the game and smile and have fun with the players?

Now the dealers, rather than spend their breaks gabbing in the break rooms about their family and friends or their night out, now they talk about calling labor relation boards and union organizers, lawyers and gaming control boards. Welcome to the new Las Vegas.

What follows in my Felt Top Table column (BEFORE AND AFTER for 3/1/02), is a true story of one dealer that won his freedom, escaped the casino, and lived to tell about it.

-Ken Pearlman