I’ve never been good at betting. In Vegas, that didn’t change and neither did my luck.
Sen. Bernie Sanders swept in Nevada with a lead more than double that of the second place candidate, former VP Joe Biden. Buttigieg, whose speech at Springs Preserve in Vegas focused on unity and inclusion though with some shots at the democratic socialist, lagged well behind, coming in with 14 percent.
The First in the West caucus is without a doubt more representative of the modern day Democratic Party as opposed to states as blancos as Iowa and New Hampshire. Shortly after the Nevada Caucus results were released, former senator Harry Reid remarked on the need to make Nevada the first state to vote in primary elections and to transition toward an actual primary and to do away with the somewhat antiquated caucus system.
What made Vegas a memorable experience was the people, the ones who flip the sheets, the ones who clean the messes left by the ever rampant debauchery, the ones who have fought for ages for their rights and healthcare. The ones with whom a large number of reporters still cannot talk to because media companies still hire people who do not look or come from backgrounds like theirs.
I hate myself for not taking their pictures. Proud, con dignidad, y con la fuerza que define a nuestra gente. Making this world go round.
Vegas was frustratingly hopeful and ever plastic. The Strip, at least. The stench of body lotion and cigarettes and $14 beer bottles of the Rio hotel clung to my nostrils. Walking from one end of the hotel to the other made me wonder if the place was larger than the Vatican — and perhaps holier, too.
After reporting for two years in Connecticut, I was ecstatic to be with mi gente, con mi raza. Not that there aren’t any in the nutmeg state pero… you know what it’s like.
I missed talking to people like Ruben Manjarrez, un paisano de Iztapalapa, who has worked on the Strip for two decades. Ruben can’t vote but Sanders es su gallo, his guy.
“I like his ideas, especially on healthcare and immigration,” the part-time Lyft driver told me, gesticulating his tattooed arms as he cleaned the table next to us. “Con que no gané Trump.”
Like Ruben, Yusdenia Iglesias also works at the Caesar’s Palace and she too is a member of the Culinary Union, a massive 60,000-member strong force in Las Vegas composed of hospitality workers, the very people who run shit on the strip day in and day out.
On Caucus Day at the Bellagio, many of the workers went for Sanders and Biden. Warren had less than 10 voters while Buttigieg had none.
Culinary Union Workers members wore their red shirts to the caucus and many were split between the Sanders and Biden camps. The union did not endorse a candidate ahead of the caucus and issued flyers decrying Sanders' efforts for a "Medicare for All."
For Lombardo, a Bellagio Hotel employee, that's what led him to go with Biden.
"He's fought for us and gives me the assurance that we will keep our healthcare," said Lombardo, a union member in his 40s.
Graciela, in her 50s, and Frank Rivero, 36, both Bellagio hotel workers and also union members instead opted for Sanders.
Graciela has children and nephews, so for her education was of foremost importance.
"Sanders is making promises and I don't know if he'll deliver but I like what he says," Graciela said. "I like his ideas for free education, I think that's best for my children and family."
Rivera, who hails from Cuba, said he had voted for Clinton in 2016 but that this was the first time he had been able to participate in the caucus. Because of his work schedule four years ago, he did not cast a vote in the Nevada Caucus then but was excited that he was able to cast his ballot this time around.
"I like Sanders, everything he proposes and especially healthcare for all," Rivero said.
Que gusto es estar con mi gente de nuevo.