Next week there are two job fairs in Las Vegas. Each offers an excellent opportunity to meet new people and learn about the wide variety of gainful employment our little neon oasis has to offer. In the meantime, this week is the start of pre-season football!

Recent reports have our unemployment pegged at 10.6%. That’s pretty high, especially for a city once famous for having more jobs than workers. As a world-class resort destination, the hospitality and gaming industry remains the #1 employer in town. But, if you can pardon the pun, they are not the only game in town for job-seekers. There are also many employment opportunities in medical, financial, engineering, retail, education and government sectors.

The LasVegasJobs.com Job Fair is on Monday, August 17, 2009 at Texas Station from 11 am to 3 pm. It promises to have about thirty (30) employers on hand seeking to fill job openings at MGM’s City Center (slated to open in early December), Red Rock Resort, Mandalay Bay and various other casino resort properties. Also on hand will be Blue Cross Blue Shield, Federal Express, the University of Phoenix and various other companies.

If the new world economy has derailed your career path, checking out the assortment of new opportunities at some of these companies might actually be a surprising and uplifting experience. I know it was for me went I went to a job fair this past April. Oh sure, many of the jobs at the casinos will be for housekeepers, waiters and desk clerks, slot technicians and card dealers, but these are all multi-million dollar operations with an extensive backroom staff of accountants, lawyers, network administrators and sales people too. Plus, if you are interested in becoming a bartender or card dealer, there are plenty of bar tending and gaming academies in town happy to help certify you.

The other job fair is the LasVegasSun.com Career Fair (previously known as “Opportunity Boulevard”) and it is on Thursday August 20, 2009 at Green Valley Resort inside the Estancia Ballroom from 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm. Some of the same employers from Monday’s event will also be in attendance at Green Valley but with notable exceptions. For instance, MGM/Mirage (the parent company of Project City Center) and Mandalay Bay are not on the current list of participating employers. However, there are the notable additions of Vegas.com, UPN Vegas TV and several campuses of St. Rose Dominican Hospital.

For anyone considering beginning a job search in the health care industry, these kind of job fairs are a great place to find out about entry-level opportunities and get tips on necessary education or certification hurdles.

But if you are looking for a job in the gaming industry, don’t be discouraged by the assumption that all the bartenders and dealers working today have years and years of experience. I was just talking with two new dealers at Fiesta Henderson last week who’ve been dealing cards for less than six months. Both got their gaming certification from a local “dealer’s school” and picked up good, entry level jobs even in this economy. The fact is, Las Vegas’ population has a high turn-over rate. People are leaving good jobs here all the time. Someone may on the inside may get a promotion, but that still means their previous job is now on the market.

Insider Note: two curious absentees from both job fairs are:

#1) the Golden Nugget Casino. They are planning to open their new 500 room Rush Tower with additional casino floor space, retail stores and their new Chart House Aquarium restaurant in November. Their web-site is full of job listings. Check the Golden Nugget career web-site, especially if you’re an out of work marine biologist living here in the desert. and

#2) Harrah’s. According to their web-site they have 190 current job openings in Las Vegas, everything from an Asian Marketing Specialist to a VooDoo Security Host (bring your ouija board or Tarot Cards just in case they ask).

Okay. Today is the start of the 2009 NFL pre-season. Football fans love to see if their team looks capable of meeting or exceeding regular-season expectations by watching pre-season games. My advice until September 10 (when the regular season starts) is to be a fan and keep your money in your pocket. Good teams often keep their best players off the field during the pre-season and not-so good teams often play hard for the win to give hope to their hometown, ticket-buying fans. If you absolutely must bet, take the underdog or the under on the total points.

MLB bets:
Friday:
Angels (Run Line)
Cubs
Rangers
Cardinals

Saturday:
Phillies
Angels
Giants
Dodgers

Sunday:
Reds
Cardinals
Dodgers
Yankees

Last Week: 9-5
YTD: 15-9

Good Luck!