Quote:
Originally Posted by Dealer-Guy
The best thing I had going for me was timing. It was early 2006, the casino was about to go 24/7 and they were hiring a lot of dealers.
Honestly, timing and (like in Real Estate) location seem to be the real thing that separates good dealers from full-time employment in good rooms. And allows less-than-good dealers and/or novices opportunities.
I always loved poker and was in an industry that was in bad shape (the music biz). When I got a job in the Philly area I almost decided to live in New Jersey so I would be able to get a gaming license (the first rule to get one is you have to be a NJ resident) but decided the extra commute and tolls would make the possibility of getting Part Time dealer work in an area that was doing more contracting than expanding was not a wise gamble.
I bided my time and did casino parties. I started this before I moved to Philly, actually, but in Ohio everyone was amateurish, whereas I actually worked for people who worked in casinos once I got to Philly.
I still remember the first event I did here. Dude stuck me on roulette which was my least favorite game. I was barely tolerable by Ohio standards but when setting up the 20-year roulette dealer showed me how it is really done and I felt dead inside. I felt lost. When I got home I told my wife I would never be hired again, it was a disaster!
But I did my best and was good with the customers and the guy who hired me realized that in more cases than not, being good with customers (who themselves did not have a lot of real casino experience as players more often than not) was a lot better than being proficient but a stiff. So he gave me more work and I got to learn how to do poker better as well as blackjack and roulette (still my least-favorite game!)
Things were getting strange at my day job - people being let go, my job duties were shrinking, writing was starting to materialize on the wall - when the Pennsylvania budget crisis forced Gov. Rendell to agree on approving table games a lot sooner than he would have preferred. As a result, what was going to be a two-three year wait suddenly happened NOW!
I was lucky in that I already had a background and a love for the game plus some knowledge of casinos. When I went to an open job fair at a casino that was only 25 minutes from my house, they didn't care about my dealing experience (of the fact I took a training class as well the summer before), they wanted to see my personality. Well, for whatever faults I have, I always had personality! And I stood out among literally thousands of people who applied - many of whom had never been in a casino before, believe it or not.
I passed that test, passed a group-setting test (also about personality and customer service) and then went back for math and a written personality test. I was approved to do craps, which meant that I had aced the math part, but I didn't want to!
Being a craps dealer would have meant more job security - a good craps dealer will always have a job - but less pay and a lot more physical work than poker plus poker was my love so I asked the casino if I could do that and they said okay.
I had to take class as per PA state law. The casino provided the classes, free of charge. I was one of the better students because of my background but I also had a lot to learn as well, just less than many of my classmates.
When things finished up I was able to step into a full-time swing position with benefits (paid for by me), something a lot of people with a lot more experience wish they could have in places that are not suddenly adding thoudands of dealers. In that respect, I was very lucky.
My advice for those looking to break in is to be willing to move. Being in Pennsylvania at the right time was what allowed me to change industries. I had the advantage of my previous experiences and my love for the game but none of that mattered for getting a job in Atlantic City even though I had moved just 90 minutes away.
Find areas that are approving table games or are close and go there. That may be easier said than done but you have to go where the jobs are and if it's a lot easier to get a job in Philly than in Vegas, that's what you do.