TITLES LAS VEGAS
-Dan Dotsen/ American Auctioneers
-Patrick Geary/ sergeant deputy Constable’s Office
-Ben Daseler/ office supervisor Nevada JobConnect
-Dave Hester/ buyer
-Darrell Sheets / buyer
-Alan Feldman/senior vice president public affairs MGM Resorts
-Leandro de Jesus/ assistant manager
-Bruce Jenner/ unemployed
-Joe Demarb/ manager StorageOne
SCRIPT REPORT LAS VEGAS
Quote Laura Dotsen/American Auctioneers:
‘Come on folks its auction time!’ ‘give a good look, hopefully there are treasures in here!’
Quote Laura Dotsen/American Auctioneers:
‘Keep it going folks we got another unit right here! Ooh’
‘Allright!’
‘That might work!’
Quote Dan Dotsen/American Auctioneers:
‘Alright boys and girls. Just take a look and don’t look anything about it. Please don’t
touch, please don’t scratch. Please don’t go inside the unit.’
Voice Over: 2’27
Today they all hope to get a bargain. Looking for hidden treasures in the many boxes. They’re full of furniture and other personal belongings. Abandoned by owners who can no longer afford the rent.
Quote Dave Hester/ buyer:
‘ It could be something. There are a few boxes. It’s just a gamble. A lot of times this
business is not what you see, but what you don’t see’. That you bid on.
Quote Dan Dotsen/American Auctioneers:
‘Alright if you’re ready to go we go. Are we ready to go? Cute little unit. lt has a Christmas tree and everything in there. If you’re ready we go! How much, how much money where…’
Voice Over: 2’58
Rule #1: No one is allowed to go inside the units. Rule #2: Everything must be paid in cash.
Voice Over: 3’05
Early morning, Las Vegas. The gambling city that always attracted fortune seekers from all over the world. But for a growing number of people: fortune is hard to find these days.
Quote Bruce Jenner/unemployed:
‘For me it is very humiliating, at my age after working for 42 years, to hold up a sign. They pity me or think: what a looser! Or they think I stopped trying. But at least I can survive.’
Voice Over: 3’40
Empty rooms, half-built hotels halted by lack of money. And in casinos: empty tables. Whoever claims that the crisis is over with, will be laughed at.
Quote Alan Feldman/senior vice president public affairs MGM Resorts:
‘Haha economists will tell you that the recession is over. It’s Americans who won’t say
that …if you pooled a 100 Americans, I doubt that would find 5 of them would tell
you the recession is over.’
Voice Over: 4’12
One out of six people is unemployed. In the early morning the employment agency is already full of jobseekers.
Quote Ben Daseler/ office supervisor Nevada JobConnect:
‘We get people that are desperate. It’s a tough situation being out of work. Financial
problems, family problems: it all snowballs together. So we do get people that
are very upset.’
Quote Unemployed:
‘It is extremely hard. What is the world coming to? What is the nation going to do? What
are we going to do?’
Voice Over: 4’40
Even the number of house evictions has reached record highs.
Quote Patrick Geary/ sergeant deputy Constable’s Office:
‘I’d much rather have the tenant pay the rent or be gone. I don’t get a big rise out of
putting somebody on the street. It is a tough job’
Voice Over: 5’00
But somebody has to do it! Every week sergeant deputy Patrick Geary has to do evictions. Just like today.
Quote Patrick Geary/ sergeant deputy Constable’s Office:
‘Sometimes people want to fight or get really upset. You got to have really thick skin’
(..) ‘
Now I am gonna go in your house. It’s time to go.
Oh Already?’
Voice Over: 5’23
Las Vegas has to find a way out of the crisis. But how?
Quote Dan Dotsen/American Auctioneers:
‘10, 50…last and final call. Sold it madam, you got it for 60 bucks. You were to late sir’
‘All right first unit 1072. We don´t have to go too far everyone. Let’s go.’
Voice Over: 5’51
Dan and Laura Dotsen travel along all storage companies in the state. Every day they auction dozens of units. It´s more than ever.
Quote Dan Dotsen/American Auctioneers:
´The last three years it has been more and more. It’s like the worst the economy gets. The better we do it as auctioneers the more stuff we have for sale.´
Voice Over: 6’07
And in his wake follows a growing number of buyers.
Quote Dave Hester/ buyer:
‘It could be worse it could be better. It’s medium. It would be more impressive if the room was packed. But based on the price I will determine if I bid or not’
Voice Over: 6’25
Dave Hester lives on trade. This is the way it goes: If you don’t pay the rent, you get a fine and an extra lock on your door. If within 3 months, you don’t get the money together, you lose all your belongings. The manager speaks to them every day.
Quote Joe Demarb/ beheerder Storage One:
‘Most of them lose their house. They don’t have a place to go and cannot afford storage anyhow. So they just let their stuff go.’
Quote Laura Dotsen/American Auctioneers:
‘We got a ten by twenty here folks. It is not totally packed but it is stacked. So everybody has hopefully a good chance here.’
Quote Joe Demarb/ beheerder Storage One:
‘My wife is the money collector. She calls them every day. Gets them to go out to pay the rent so they don’t go to auction.’
Quote Dan Dotsen/American Auctioneers:
‘700 now, 750? …..’
Quote Joe Demarb/ beheerder Storage One:
‘It is sad, real sad. We don’t like to see it. Nobody does. Bt it’s a business like anything else.’
Quote Dan Dotsen/American Auctioneers:
‘Last and final call. Sold it to Darrell for 1100 big bucks!’
Quote Dan Dotsen/American Auctioneers:
‘The folks that lost these units have till the very last minute to come up any time before the auctioneer announces sold. They can come up with a fist full of money. And pay for their unit. We always keep people out of the units. We don’t want anyone going stealing anything. And the folks that lost it can pick it up any time.’
Voice over: 7’42
But for this tenant it’s too late. Buyer Darrell Sheets is the new owner.
Quote Darrell Sheets/ buyer:
‘I had no idea what was in this locker but then I turn around and saw this picture and I was really excited to get a real signed Deion Sanders a Dallas cowboy. I know I double my money on this locker. I can’t say big money right now until I go through it, but I hope it is big money.’
Quote Patrick Geary/ sergeant deputy Constable’s Office:
‘Alright dude lets go’
‘You walked this stuff across the room like three times’
Quote Patrick Geary/ sergeant deputy Constable’s Office:
‘Let’s go’
Voice Over: (..)8’12 + 8’16
The tenant has had several warnings to leave. Yet he is anything but prepared.
Quote Leandro de Jesus/ assistant manager:
‘It is just business. We cannot have people living in the apartment and no payments. The owner has to pay the mortgage, the supervisor also. In times like this…we know it is hard for them to move out. But we cannot help it.’
Voice Over: 8’50
If there is a court order that the eviction can take place, sergeant deputy Geary has to carry it out (SB thank you) Within 15 minutes the tenant has to leave.
Quote Patrick Geary/ sergeant deputy Constable’s Office:
‘I would say in this town probably 40 to 50% of the evictions I am doing have to do with someone who lost his job and cannot afford where they living now.’
Quote Tenant:
‘It’s hard in Vegas right now. What did you do before for a job? Landscaping. I was a licensed landscaper. I don’t have much to say...’
Quote Patrick Geary/ sergeant deputy Constable’s Office:
‘It is really tough. The hardest evictions that are to do for me, is when there is children there. So…hit it to the next one? Cool.’
Voice Over: 9’40
Everyone is looking for work. While less than two years ago jobs in Las Vegas were up for grabs. Now, people can only apply by computer.
Quote Ben Daseler/ office supervisor Nevada JobConnect
‘It’s extremely busy. There are hundreds of applicants for just one position. It is highly competitive. That’s why a lot of companies have online applications. It’s easier to manage than to have a stack of hundreds applications and keep it in a database.’
Quote Bruce Jenner/unemployed:
‘I’ve been in food and beverage for 42 years in restaurants as a manager, a chef, a bartender and a waiter.’
Voice Over: 10’14
One of the people looking for a job is Bruce Jenner. 60 years old and unemployed.
Quote Bruce Jenner/unemployed:
‘The last two years I have applied on 150 jobs. But with everything online nowadays you can’t get your resume to people, because you don’t get a face to face contact. Unless they call you..’
Voice Over: 10’36
But Bruce has not been called for two years now.
Quote Bruce Jenner/unemployed:
‘I was always single and had a good time. I always went out with my friends and
co-workers after work. I never thought I would run out of money or not to be employed.
I feel like I have wasted my life. To be in this kind of financial desperation.’
Voice Over: 10’57
Here in the gigantic hotels on the famous strip is where Bruce worked. The gambling city was always recession-proof. In good times there is more money for entertainment and in bad times desperate people gamble more. That’s how vice president of MGM resorts , Alan Feldman, thought for 20 years.
(MGM-resorts owns ten casino’s on the strip)
Quote Alan Feldman/senior vice president public affairs MGM Resorts
‘We’ ve gotten very accustomed to opening a new resort every 6 months. You know someone was opening a million dollars here, a 2 billion dollars there. Like it was nothing. That ability to weather the storm has been proven out historically until these last two years’
‘We are the largest employer in Nevada we have 50.000 people who are employed here. We have seen layoffs in 8.000 people. Our room rates have fallen dramatically over the last couple of years. Down to as much as 40%.’
‘It was very scary. There was a lot of anxiety. I did not weigh as much and did not have as much grey hair as a couple of years ago.’
Voice Over: 12’07
Las Vegas was always booming. The city was America’s proof that the economy of always wanting more and more worked. Now the city shows that without a job and social safety you’re hopelessly lost.
Quote Patrick Geary/ sergeant deputy Constable’s Office:
‘There is stuff in here’
‘There is no carpet on the floor’
‘Hello?’
‘What’s this? I already talked to them.’
‘Just make sure that they not proceed with that. Make your phone cal.’
‘ Oh ok.’
Voice Over: 12’46
Many Americans have lived beyond their means ... House prices are only a third of what they once were. And now people have lost their jobs, it effects the whole city.
Quote Patrick Geary/ sergeant deputy Constable’s Office:
‘That’s the 24 hour notice that I am posting for an eviction for tomorrow. It tells them that the eviction takes place tomorrow. ‘
‘That’s it’
Voice Over: 13’13 (SB that’s it)
30.000 houses are empty. Sergeant deputy Geary has a full-time job handling all the notices and evictions.
Quote Patrick Geary/ sergeant deputy Constable’s Office:
‘She sees me coming and she just locked the door.’
‘It’s time to go’
Quote tenant:
‘I already went to the court and they let me gonna stay’
‘Move, go.’
‘I have a paper they gave me. They would say they give me something on the mail or over the phone.’
Quote Patrick Geary/ sergeant deputy Constable’s Office:
‘It was denied on the 6th. So if you don’t leave I have to take you to jail. Alright?
So get some stuff for your kids. You need to get your baby to get some clothes. And you guys have to leave.’
Voice Over: 14’00
As long as the locksmith is busy, she has time to pack her stuff.
Quote tenant:
‘Where are you going now?’
‘The street. Or going to the church for help’
Quote Patrick Geary/ sergeant deputy Constable’s Office:
‘We are done. Did you get everything you needed madam?
Yeah’
Voice Over: 14’35
Anyone who cannot afford to take care of their family, is lost.
Quote Patrick Geary/ sergeant deputy Constable’s Office:
‘This is what I do to make my living. Is putting people out on the street. I mean it s sad but that is what I do.’
Quote Dan Dotsen/American Auctioneers:
‘..…what? 300!’
‘A lot of people say: yeah, you’re making money on the backs of people that are hurting. I understand that, but there is a lot of hurting people out there.
Although it is unfortunate that these people are losing their stuff, it is helping somebody else. It all spreads around. Also what’s really bad for this person, might be good for ten people over here. So that’s the way I look at it. So I am doing my job. If I was not selling these units, somebody else would be. I don’t take a great glee in selling peoples stuff. I don’t take comfort in that, but that is my job and I don’t have a problem with that.’
Voice Over: 15’28
Dan and Laura Dotsen get a 20% commission. And they have their own real-life tv-show ‘Storage Wars’ that each week attracts more than 2.5 million viewers.
Quote Dan Dotsen/American Auctioneers:
‘Oh, he beat you.’
Quote Darrell Sheets/ buyer:
‘This is a gold heart. It has the date April 8th. And is marked 14 carat on the back.’
Voice Over: 15’43
In the meanwhile Darrell has unpacked his unit and wants to show what he found in one of the boxes:
Quote Darrell Sheets/buyer:
‘And these are fresh water pearls and there is an English hunting scene on it. I got 150 pieces of stuff like this. I make my fortune on somebody else’s misfortune. Somebody is going to be upset they lost this, but today it is a happy day for me. I came here and I wanted to make the first hit and I think I did that’
Quote Bruce Jenner/unemployed:
‘They auction off all your possessions and you’re not allowed to bid on it yourself. So all my books, videotapes and stereo equipment… I lost everything because I could not keep my personal possessions. I barely have more then what’s in this bag at my feet.
Homeless, at my age, after working 42 years. It never occurred to me that I would be in this position. ‘
Voice Over: 16’33
Also today, Bruce did not find employment. He will have to survive, until better times come, in Las Vegas.
Quote Bruce Jenner/unemployed:
‘I don’t have a financial income and if I need a haircut, which I did two weeks ago, or if I need a bus pass for tomorrow, then I have to panhandle. I keep applying for work. There is nothing else I can do. I don’t get my retirement until two more years. But at least I can survive.’