Alex Stabler transitioned from a lead in Le Reve at Wynn Las Vegas to a partner in an interior design firm, Frederic Alexander. He’s now putting his artistic side to use in a brand new way.
"We were finally furloughed in August. We had a Zoom meeting of over 200 people and we were informed the show was permanently closing. For me, it really caught me off guard."
Vanessa Doleshal worked for eight years in digital media and advertising at Vegas.com before deciding to follow her passion when she needed a career pivot. She made her hobby of interior design her new career.
“As soon as Covid hit, we knew there would be an impact but we didn’t know how quickly it would come."
Michelle Derstine made the transition from being a performer in Le Reve at Wynn Las Vegas to teaching others how to become aerialists. After her show closed, the dancer became a fitness coach and aerial instructor.
"When the casino reopened and entertainment wasn’t allowed to open, that’s when they put us on furlough. Then we had a team meeting and we were told the show would be ending"
Andrew Young is a rare native Las Vegan who has been entrenched in the entertainment scene since he was a child studying about the performing arts. Despite the heartbreak of losing his long-time rigging position in a major production on the Strip, he used his skills acquired there to pivot into the world of leather crafting.
“Heartbreaking is the best word I can use. We all become a family, whether you’re a performer, a technician, a designer, usher. We really trust each other."
Moody Elragaal went from over a decade in the hospitality industry as a nightclub host to a new profession that itself grew out of the pandemic. He transitioned into the world of cleaning and sterilizing buildings.
"The last place I worked was with MGM nightlife at Off The Record at Park MGM. We didn’t know in advance. That Friday they just decided we weren’t going to open and then it went south from there."
After 12 years as a well-respected DJ in popular daylife and nightlife venues, Sean Baker, aka DJ Kid Conrad, was faced with a challenge when all his normal work venues were forced to close as COVID-19 tightened its stranglehold on the Vegas entertainment industry. He took a temporary job at Costco and started helping out at his wife’s family’s dessert store, Fluff Ice.
“I ended up doing one gig for Liquid and then the lockdown happened right after that. I went from DJing full time and hanging out at Fluff Ice a little bit to being able to work the store full time."