DAZED and CONFUSED

First off a little about me. I am currently 50 years old and have lived in Las Vegas the past 20 years (originally from chicago area). I worked for a small company when I got here flying tours over the Grand Canyon (I hold a commercial pilots license). I got married to a woman who had kids and the pay from that job was not enough to support us.
So I got into the casino industry as a dealer and worked my way up the ranks and was able to work as a floorman (pit boss). Was doing that job the last 12 years until Feb of this year. Got laid off because casino I worked for only made 700 million dollars as opposed to 900 million the previous year. So they started downsizing (greedy ########). Have been unemployed since february as most casinos are cutting back due to the fact people arent gambling as much due to the economy. So it was obvious I needed to find something new to do (tired of the casinos anyway).
A friend of my dad is an O/O the last 12 years and he suggested I look into trucking as a new career that I could start out at my age. Im currently single, have no bills to speak of and basically free to travel without having to worry about anything. I love to drive and thought it might be a good idea. My dads friend said if I could fly a plane that I should be able to learn to drive a truck. The more I thought about it the more excited I got.
So I started trolling this site about a month ago and wanted to learn all I could about the industry. And I must say I was amazed at all the info here(maybe to much tho). I have decided that I'm going to do this and I will make it work for me.
First thing I've learned is that I will go to school here in Las Vegas at AIT driving school or at SAGE school in Kingman Arizona. I already visited AIT, and will visit SAGE tomorrow and the decide which one to go to. From info I gathered here it seems better to go to school on own rather than a "company sponsored" training class( I dont want to owe anybody once I get my CDL and have to sign a contract).
Now comes the part where I'm "confused". Once I get my CDL I realize I'm limited to who will hire a new driver out of school. These are the companies that hire newbies in the Las Vegas area.
1. Schneider 2. Werner 3. Covenant 4. Swift 5. Prime 6. CR England 7. Stevens 8. Knight Seems like a lot of choices, but the general consensus here is that ALL of these companies suck. How can that be? Everyone says they suck but no one ever mentions a company that would be a good alternative. Ive also learned that most of these people that complain about a company have never actually worked for them. They just "heard" they are bad or "knew" someone who worked there.
I know what its like to start at the bottom.. As a dealer you start out at the small places making very little in tips(dealers main income is tips) for about 6 months , then you can move to better casinos. Seems to be the same in the trucking industry ( you start out at what you all call "bottom feeders") I have no problem with that. I will take whatever offer I get out of school with one of the above companies. It dont matter which one because according to all of you they ALL suck so I guess it dont really make a difference.
I will not refuse loads if I can help it and I wont complain about miles or home time or anything. Ill keep my head down and knock out 1 year with who ever hires me. It seems like there are some better opportunities out there after 1 year. I guess if all newbies listened to all the bad stuff on here about these companies there would be no new drivers ever.
One last thing, you experienced drivers, if you say a company sucks, dont leave it at that, how about give an alternative. Ive also noticed there are a lot of cry babies and people that will NEVER be happy where they are at. These people should just keep quiet. Ive read good things about all the above companies and bad things. I guess you just have to turn a lemon situation into lemonade
Im going to start school in a couple of weeks and then the fun will begin! I'm looking forward to this as much as I did when I first got my pilots license. Wish me luck. Cuz according to you all I'm going to need it...

 

Thanks for info... AIT cost is $4400 here and SAGE cost is $4900 But SAGE has 1 on 1 instruction when you are in the truck which is a strong selling point. No observing other drivers for 4 hours of the day.

 

Thanks.. If I end up going there, Ill have to spend an extra$500 for a room while in school. Which would up the price to $5400 Plus the cost of all my meals for a month. Something to think about I guess. Im going down there tomorrow 10-14 and check it out. Then Ill decide. I really like the idea of 1on1 training. The extra money may be well worth it in the long run.