Pro Football Spotlight : L.A. BENCHED / WEEK 1 : Raiders Win, She Loses

On a good day, Claudia Montoya said, she could earn $200 in tips working the Raider crowd as a waitress at Margarita Jones down Figueroa across from the Coliseum. “On a bad day, you’d still make $80,” she said.

Sunday, however, was a really bad day. The Raiders were at home in Oakland, Margarita Jones was closed and living paycheck to paycheck is no longer so easy for Montoya.

“I didn’t have to worry each month when the Raiders were here; that’s a big chunk of money--it hurts not having that extra money,” she said. “Raider fans were good tippers. If the team lost, the fans might not come back, but when the team won we would work another seven hours. That’s seven hours--a chance to make that much more money.

“Biggest tip I ever got was from a Raider fan--one hundred dollars. They won and he was happy. That just doesn’t happen with the USC crowd; many of their fans are really young.”

The Raiders weren’t in the Coliseum on Sunday, but they were on TV, and Montoya had plans to watch.

“I want them to lose,” she said. “Yeah, I want them to lose.”