Roger Arrives!

A year or so goes by, and things are changing at the credit card authorization center. Charley has resigned, although we remain good friends. When his supervisor asked him why he was quitting, Charley said that he needed more time to relax. Keep in mind that this was a 4 hour per day data-entry job. This is a trend that he would continue for some time: get a job for a few months, amass a couple thousand dollars, then quit in order to relax.

Eventually I get a small promotion to the "Security and Fraud" department of the call center. What this means is that if someone attempts to use a card that has been reported as stolen (or if they're a real deadbeat) then the call gets transferred to me. I advise the merchant to confiscate the card, cut in half, and send it in for a $50 reward. I worked the swing shift and most of the calls were from restaurants who didn't want to be so rude as to confiscate their valued customer's cards. What did I care? I was making a lousy $6 an hour! As the evening wore into night, we started getting calls from the telephone sex operators. Some of my less couth co-workers would try to get these ladies to give them a freebie, but to my knowledge, none were forthcoming.

ANYWAY, shortly after my promotion, the company was sold to a huge corporation called First Data Resources (FDR) and the security/fraud department was promptly laid off! Meanwhile the rest of the call center was moved to a smaller (cheaper) location in nearby Santa Ana. I took Charley's lead, signed up for unemployment, and relaxed! A few months later they called me back, and asked if I was interested in being a lowly operator again. It wasn't a horrible job, so I said, "Sure!" When I got back to work, I was advised by my supervisor that, "These new FDR folks are a little tight with the dollar!" I found that to be true when the schedule they offered me added up to 39.5 hours per week... a mere 30 minutes away from the coveted benefits package! I didn't care. I was still living at home, not paying rent, and half-assing my way through community college. Shortly after the re-hire, I was "Promoted" again to something called "Lead Operator". It was explained to me, that while I would have many more responsibilities, there would be no commensurate raise in pay. What the hell, anything to get off the phones 39.5 hours per week! One of my new duties was to create the ID badges for new employees. I got to take their pictures with a cool Polaroid camera, then laminate the card, etc. This is where I first met Roger, he was a year or two younger than me, built like me (XXL), and, as we soon found out, had many similar interests, including music, beer, gambling, as well as very similar senses of humor; i.e. quick, dry... well, you know, we were funny!

It didn't take long in our friendship for the topic of conversation to get to Las Vegas. I told him about Charley, and how we ventured out there the previous year. Well, from that point on, he was IN! He was introduced to Charley, and luckily, they hit it off.

Over the next two years there were several trips to the magical city in the desert, resulting in some of the best times I'd ever had. It turns out that Roger had an interest in the travel & tourism industry, and he proved to be a fine travel agent for the young VEGA$ CLUB. Instead of merely driving out there without a clue as to where to stay, Roger would actually make hotel reservations! The trips had individual themes, including "Non Stop Fun!", "The VEGA$ CLUB Salutes Red Meat!", and my favorite, "We Want Our Money Back!". In addition to sleeping and gambling, Roger made sure that there were other activities to occupy our time when the cards and dice weren't going our way. These activities included the addition of fine dining (no more visits to that garish McDonald's), "Fun Book" collecting/redeeming, attending the IMAX movie at Caesars, and an obligatory trip out to Red Rock canyon, for an enjoyable drive through the desert. We were on a exhaustive quest for the perfect casino... one that had low minimum games, yet high quality cocktail service. One evening while traversing The Strip, we found it!

In the next installment... The Perfect Casino!