With his two-tone mohawk, band tattoos and crimson-red button-up, Jay Gomez’s vibe is more rude boy at a ska show than lead server assistant at Luxor’s LAX Nightclub. But those threads—and that hair—are his signature look. It’s what separates him from the pack.
The Orange County, California, native came to Las Vegas almost a decade ago, and for the past five years he’s called LAX home. “I’ve never had a job where everybody I work with, we’re all very close,” he says. “If somebody’s having a baby, everybody’s at the baby shower—birthdays, everything. Throughout the years I’ve never had such a great staff.”
Gomez’s first passion is punk rock—he’s got a tribute to Alkaline Trio inked on his forearm—but he’s also obsessed with everything Disney. It stems from years of hanging out at Disneyland as a kid. “I used to live five minutes away, and my dad, he’d be like, ‘I’m going to be working, so just go to Disneyland.’”
When he isn’t working, Gomez can be found adding to his Disney villain collection, watching cult classics like True Romance or seeing a live show. That LAX has been booking more live acts is an added bonus.
“When I first started we had a lot of hip-hop acts. Right now we’re doing our throwbacks, and it’s really cool ’cause we’re seeing a lot of performers we had before.” That roster has included Vanilla Ice and Kid ’n Play and will feature Naughty by Nature on April 28 and Coolio on May 5. “It’s nice seeing a live act, especially when it’s right up there with the crowd. When we have performers, it’s awesome.”
