When you know the dates you'll be in CO shoot me a PM

Will do TT

Winstar north of Dallas would be a great place to stop and play poker for a few days. Good luck! Will be rooting for you.

OP why not just sell your car before you go and buy another in Vegas?

Something tells me that an "old clunker" stands a good chance of breaking down before you reach Vegas. Or if it makes the trip, it may not last much longer after.

Best of luck! Hopefully we don't read that you're stuck in Oklahoma grinding in barns

First of all you are not OLD, so take that out of the title. 40 years old is young enough to do anything in the world. Second of all you are NOT a failure in relationships. Sounds like you are the big winner, as you got three human beings to spend serious time with you. That means you have things to offer to people and the world.

Now, having 4K is pretty scary, but you sound like the type who is pretty responsible and you seem to have the skills and mindset that would come in useful if you bust out (getting a job, etc.).

Do you have good credit? If you do, then I suggest that you start ordering a few credit cards. If you can get up to 20K to 30K in available credit before you bust, then you will have a decent cushion if needed.

If you end up going down in flames, then I suggest maxing the cards out with cash advances, waiting 4-5 months, then filing bankruptcy. Take your next shot at that point with whatever you do, and at least you have a nest egg.

The bankruptcy part is optional. But if you get the cards now with the intent of building a cushion, then that is all above board. Using the credit for any reason is also above board. Stashing the cash in a shoebox and filing BK is not above board, but you only live once, and if you generally play fair in life, then getting as much credit as possible from the scamming banks is not the worst thing you could do.

Wow, I'll be sure to avoid you in the marketplace.

as wacky as that idea is... it has a workable basis in reality.

I would never live my life in such a fashion, but I am sure there many many that would.

Couple of points.

My BR is 4k. I have about 3-5 months in living expenses in addition to my BR saved up.

My car is going to get checked out by a friend of mine who is a good mechanic. There are no guarantees but it will be in as a good a shape as it can be before I leave.

I'm really debating this whole dealer school option. I can spend about a month and a half and about $500 to get trained to have a decent job. I'm thinking craps and blackjack. I don't know how plentiful those jobs are but off strip I think my chances are decent. They pay minimum wage plus tips...call it 30k a year to start. That would def pay my bills and allow me to focus on poker

I would map out a plan to drive and make 3-4 stops at Casino's across the country and grind at each one for 1-2 days to pay for the travel expenses.

Why make multiple posts detailing how great that you think you are, how proud of your wealth that you are, and how much of a loser everyone else is in a thread where the OP is asking about moving out here on a limited budget at 40? It just doesn't seem remotely germane to any topic at hand, to put it nicely.

Las Vegas is an extremely superficial town and I have no doubts that you fit in well here in that regard, so I just don't understand why you would make 37 posts on an internet forum ranting about your own perceived superiority when it was never asked and has nothing to do with any relevant topic at hand. You can have di*k measuring contests with the thousands of people just like yourself in town on a continuous basis without having to log on a computer and bothering to insult those in other parts of the country that are so far beneath you.

LOL at this whole post.

OP, Vegas has one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation. Counting on getting a dealer job in a town full of unemployed and underemployed dealers is not a good idea. Probably easier to find a burger-flipper job, or retail like Target, etc that has benefits for part-timers.

On minimizing your cost driving cross-country, map out your stops, find Motel 6 (or whatever) on your route and reserve before you leave. They sometimes give discounts, and you won't have the unpleasant surprise of driving up to sold-out motels. You can probably also find official rest stops and spend every other night in one. This should be a lot cheaper than flying and shipping your car, plus you can pack a lot more crap with you than you can bring on a plane.

Do you have good credit? If you do, then I suggest that you start ordering a few credit cards. If you can get up to 20K to 30K in available credit before you bust, then you will have a decent cushion if needed.

If you end up going down in flames, then I suggest maxing the cards out with cash advances, waiting 4-5 months, then filing bankruptcy. Take your next shot at that point with whatever you do, and at least you have a nest egg.

The bankruptcy part is optional. But if you get the cards now with the intent of building a cushion, then that is all above board. Using the credit for any reason is also above board. Stashing the cash in a shoebox and filing BK is not above board, but you only live once, and if you generally play fair in life, then getting as much credit as possible from the scamming banks is not the worst thing you could do.[/QUOTE]

Thats degenin on a new level,and would not consider!!

I do have good credit and I have a few credit cards i can draw from in a pinch.

I think there are lots of employment options and I don't have to make that much from it so i am not worried. I give a killer interview and I have been a hiring manager before so I know what they want to hear

Polprof, hows the time frame looking? Do you know when you'll starting this journey?

Mid September is the latest time frame. Possibly a week or two sooner.

OP already addressed this, but just to spell it out:

Unemployment rates do generally not apply to presentable 25 - 40 year old caucasian men with advanced university degrees and reasonable work experience. No matter how high they (the UI rates) are in any given region.

Part of it is "knowing how to", part the fact that the US labor market rely heavily on self-proliferating social and racial stereotyping. Most entrepreneurs, business owners, and managers are educated middleaged caucasian men; in employment situations they tend to give preference to anybody who look, talk, and act like themself.

This. Couldn't agree more. Not saying I'll get just any job I want but I have a leg up on the 22 year old just out of college with no experience and no interview skills. Those skills are not usually learned in a classroom.

I am 45 and basically getting everything in order to do the same thing. You might look into becoming a pool cleaner. Pick up a route with say 20 pools (2 or 3 days work) and you should be able to pay all your life bills, food, etc. Here in Dallas pay is usually in $15 per pool/per week. So $1200/month for a few days work per week. Another perk is some good exercise.

Good luck to you in everything you do.

Wat? OP wants to be a dealer. Who cares what kind of degrees a dealer has? As for "being presentable" and "knowing how to interview", his competition is laid off dealers. And there are plenty of them. They are both of the above, and more, because they have work experience. OP is at a big disadvantage to people with work experience. Do you guys seriously think all the unemployed in Vegas are the tunnel people?

I'm an old guy wanting to give something like this a shot.

Maybe we should all get together and rent a nice house and go all old school on Vegas. Show the youngins how it's done.

I've been in contact with a few other old timers and have kicked around the idea of forming a study/support group for all of us. Might be fun.

I am considering a dealer as one option but it's not my only option. Yes I am aware there is high unemployment in Vegas. I would not agree I am at a disadvantage to people with work experience in all cases. It depends on the opportunity and a myriad of other factors.

OP will likely either fail or hate life after this, but I wish him good luck.

DOL's UI rates comparing 2010 and 2011 over level of ed, gender, and ethnicity.

As can be seen the 2011 national UI rate for caucasian workers with BA+ ed level is 3.9% (close to base mobility level), compared to the general population holding less than a high school diploma 14.1% and with high school diploma 9.4%.

These are national averages, but I have seen no reasons to believe the same distribution will not be reflected among Nevada residents.

A comparison of the educational level in Nevada where close to 50% of 25+ yo hold high school diplomas or less to the general US population with 43% in at same educational category could provide a part of the explanation for the high UI level in Nevada.

There's really nothing new to the idea, that higher education means higher employment and better economy on county, state, regional, and national level. And while statististics do not tell stories about individuals, they are excellent predictors of individuals' chances of faring well, no different from poker odds.