Industry Insiders: Jodi Myers, Sin City Bank Teller

Jodi Myers, managing partner of The Bank nightclub at the Bellagio, on where her industry pals hang out in Vegas, her love of local poker legends, and how she climbed up the Sin City nightlife ladder.

Where do you go out? Honestly, I travel for my work, so I'm definitely always going to the new places and checking out the newest things. I went to the opening of Atlantis, and it was crazy! By far, Dubai is the most liberal place in the Middle East where they can go and relax a little bit, a kind of Vegas-by-the-sea.

What are you doing tonight? Tonight I’m going out with old friends in town, and we’ll probably hit up some of the local hot spots—as every place has their “industry night,” starting off at Caramel lounge in the Bellagio, and just hop around to the rest. I’ll go to a rock bar called like Wasted Space and then to Hard Rock and the Rocks Lounge. Maybe New York, New York and then to Nori, which is just a little lounge.

How did you get your start? I started out in Minnesota where I grew up before I went to college where I actually got my start in the nightclub industry; I paid my way through school working the bar in night clubs. Right after 9/11, I graduated from school and went to Vegas—where nobody was hiring. I finally got a job as a cocktail waitress in a club and worked my way up to marketing and was a nightclub host. I opened up Jet nightclub in the Mirage, and from there, I kind of moved higher, trained doing managing and different things. They made a me a partner in the Bank nightclub in the Bellagio, so I saw everything from hiring to everything else that’s involved in opening and running a successful club. Now, because I want to be involved in all of our entities, I’m also the president of customer development.

What made you stay in the game? I’ve always loved the hospitality industry and meeting new people, so for me it was just a natural thing that I got into. I didn’t realize you could make a career out of it until I moved to Vegas. The nightclub scene out here is crazy! I just enjoy what I do. I saw the potential in the industry, so I just kept working hard and trading up.

Do you have any non-industry projects in the works? As far as charity goes, I haven’t been involved in just one cause, but in a number of them. For instance, we’ve done different events—and just did one last Sunday and donated food goods for the holidays to a number of local charities. Every week, I have arts and crafts day, something silly I do ... I make pieces of art into clothing. I always think I can do it myself, but I’d say about one in ten of my attempts turn out. But it’s fun and therapeutic ... it’s anything from creating clothing from works of art to painting them, and I have a whole room devoted to it.

Who are your industry icons? I would say [poker legend] Bobby Baldwin. He is an amazing story. where he came from to where he is now, and he’s such a giving, amazing person.

Who do you bounce around with? One thing about working in this industry is that I’ve been fortunate enough to meet lots of people. One night I’ll be hanging with celebrities who come to Vegas or who I meet at one of my new hotspots around the world, another night with some powerful executive, the next night I’m with friends. They’re all completely different people every night.

What’s in the future? I plan on growing with the company as I have in the past ... the Light group is expanding into the hotel portion of things, and it’s growing fast.