Anthropology 281.1001: Research Assignment: University of Nevada, Reno, Spring 2023
1. Describe the linguistic and ethnographic considerations for the project
In order to get an idea of the breakdown of casino employees by demographics, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) page was examined. This is helpful not just for the particular employment of the individuals, but for backgrounds as well. Categories include but are not limited to gambling dealers (39-3011), slot mechanics, bartenders (35-3011), cocktail waitresses (35-3031) , restaurant employees, housekeeping (37-2012), security guards (33-9032), and upper management. The numbers in parentheses represent the BLS occupational codes. Apparent from this data is that close ethnographic scrutiny will be dependent on a number of factors, due to a crossover effect.
Cocktail waitresses may work in several venues of the casino such as the main floor, restaurants, showrooms, and lounges where interaction between customers and employees of each venue may be remarkably different. This could add to, but also take away from getting accurate data on the interaction. By contrast, other employees such as bartenders, barbacks, change booths, cashiers cages, gambling tables and pit bosses may have a more static assignment in the casino. Interaction between coworkers may be lessened to a greater degree than that with customers. Housekeeping, room cleaners would have a greater interaction with their own staff and less with customers. Restaurant employees would have somewhere in between an equal balance in contact with both coworkers and diners, except possibly those in the scullery, dishwashers.
The first part of the ethnographic study, then, would be to design a scenario that would maximize interaction in the target research. Since it is casino oriented, housekeeping and restaurant would not be as ideal as the gambling tables, poker rooms and sports books. A glossary of casino slang would be helpful to get a background of what to expect in the language shortcuts used by the various actors, and can be found at Casino.org “Gambling Terms and Glossary Guide.” Of course, this is more or less an official, or prescriptive approach, not necessarily descriptive where individual employees, depending on their backgrounds, have developed their own casino lingo using terms relevant to their ethnicity: “code switching.”
“Experience everything you love about Paris, right in the heart of the Strip.” What better place to create an ethnographic research project than Paris Las Vegas. This particular casino was selected for its appeal to not just foreign clientele, but to workforce diversity as well. Its exterior, with a mini-Eiffel Tower and other iconic landmarks of the capital of France, creates a cultural aura on the Vegas strip unparalleled by other establishments. It therefore offers the possibility of that very cultural diversity unique to Europe and a challenge to the ethnographer looking to research its appeal and linguistic variation not just to tourists, but to its employees.
The casino boasts 130 gaming tables and 1,700 slot machines. The tables offer blackjack, roulette and craps. The Race and Sportsbook has not just professional athletics but horse racing as well. One room offers Pai-Gow Poker. Fueling this enterprise is spirits, drinks, and the interaction between bartenders, barbacks and cocktail waitresses is rivaled only by activity in the restaurants. It is here that a great deal of ethnic and linguistic diversity, non-prescriptive grammar, signal and symbol shortcuts and shorthand will be found in quality, and quantity.
2. Generate 3 research questions:
a.) What is the most common drink that creates confusion not just between the customer and the employee, but between employees themselves?
b.) How much shorthand/invented language goes into the drink order from a large party at a gaming table? Please provide examples.
c.) What are some of the linguistic requirements for a position as cocktail waitress or bartender at Paris Las Vegas? Is fluency in a second language necessary, and if so, which one? What are the common second languages of the employees in the Food and Beverage Department?
3. What methods will you use to answer these questions? And specifically, what kind of data will you collect to analyze?
a.) Interview: The most direct method is to ask questions. In the hustle and bustle of the casino environment, employees have little time to chat about their jobs, their feelings and discourse with those in their surroundings. In addition, management may frown upon someone asking too many questions.
b.) Observation: This includes both watching and hearing what’s going on in the surroundings. An ideal method is to sit close to the cocktail station at the bar where all kinds of information in the interchange between the waitresses and bartenders can be recorded; there are also house telephones located near those stations.
c.) Data: Looking for abbreviated terms, linguistic shortcuts, unintelligible chatter among the staff will establish the indispensable bartender-busboy-waitress lexicon that keeps the drinks flowing to the customers. Comparing that to the downtime between the rushes will contribute to that particular culture and how it operates effectively under all conditions.
4. What ethical considerations with your project must you consider? How will you account for these ethical issues?
Scott Roeben gives pointers on how to take photos, videos and audios in casinos. It’s not illegal but it can certainly create problems for the ethnographer in getting accurate statements from employees. Surveillance systems and security personnel are constantly observing clientele for any and all violations of casino policy; not just for the sake of security, but Nevada gaming laws as well. Clearing the project with management might be the best approach but there’s no guarantee that it will give desired results. Spontaneity is always more desirable for a field study; prepared, rehearsed responses remove a great deal of authenticity to the results. Employees can be suspicious of interviews and observations for a number of reasons. Bartenders and cocktail waitresses might suspect that someone making inquiries about their activities is from the IRS looking to investigate unreported tips. Discretion and consideration for employees needed in the research project is the number one priority.