A Career Move

When I first arrived at the panel plant, I was put to work on the panels for the Circus Circus hotel tower. My panels for the Money Tree could wait for a little while; at least until the concrete was poured on the decks.

So, Circus Circus. The schedule called for Solari to complete the casino first and then work on the high-rise hotel would begin later in the summer. Phil, the project foreman, would line up the work for us and then go down to the casino worksite and spend most of the day there.

The panels that had been designed for the hotel were quite large, 8’ wide and 24’ long. They would cover a section that was three floors tall, all in one lift from the crane.

And for us, in the plant, it was also a ‘lift’. We had no crane and so we would gather a crowd around the panel and lift it together (hopefully) as we moved it from station to station in the manufacturing process. 4 people could lift it when it was only a metal frame, but it required twice that number when the drywall sheathing and EPS foam had been added to it. And that was where we had to move it to the finisher’s room. A warm haven! The EIFS system required a minimum of 50 degrees and we welcomed a chance to warm up, even if it did mean we had to haul that heavy panel with us.

At this time, it was also revealed to me that I would complete the Money Tree casino project and then I was slated to be the foreman for the interior framing and drywall on the Circus Circus hotel. It looked like I had begun a career.