I'm posting this under an anonymous account. If you can figure out who I am based on what I'm about to talk about, that's OK. Send me a "hi" message
I lived in Seattle for 20 years, during which I had a 15 year career in software. I became burned out and wanted to find something completely different. While in Seattle, I played poker recreationally, 3-6 Omaha H/L, 2-5 NLH, and some 5-5 PLO. Also, all my family is concentrated in an area far away. So a move made sense. I decided to pursue something related to poker in a city close to family.
I didn't want to commit to becoming a dealer by taking poker classes. I just wanted to get my feet wet and a feel of what it's like to work at a casino. The local casino was hiring a clerk so I applied online. A week later I just showed up and talked to the main floor manager. Since I have an unusual work history for someone wanting to become a poker clerk, I felt best to discuss my reasons in person. We had a productive conversation, we clicked and I was hired right there and then.
BTW, I left Seattle about 3 years ago, and it seems that ALL of the poker rooms have closed. The Indian (Muck, Tulalip, etc) casino's have closed their poker rooms. Diamond Lil's (where I cut my teeth on 4-8) is gone, Shoreline replaced its poker tables with casino table games. I'm sure there's a thread on 2+2 talking about this.
Back to me. At the end of my 4th day of work, I reconciled my bank and came back with a -$800 variance. My previous days were: in balance, in balance, and +$5. My manager said $800 is a LOT. We only had a best guess that two high hands at $400 each were paid out of my bank. The next day, Security/Surveillance had the tape.
A customer had given me $200 and asked for two racks and I gave him two racks of red instead of white, and carried on to the next person or distraction. I have no recollection of doing this, we were obviously busy and it was just another transaction for me. Nothing seemed odd. The now theif either played a 2-5 NLH game or left the poker room (not sure if he cashed out, played craps, or what, security would know). His $200 in whites were intended for a 3-6 limit game. What he did with the chips is irrelevant. But the casino wanted it's money back!
It is casino policy that a $300 variance is an instant termination. Surveillance ID'd the thief who had a "players card", so we had all that info and his time logs. The guy comes in a few times a week. My manager, who runs the poker room, was able to get some extra time to try and confront the thief and recover the money. Most likely scenario: money is paid back at the first opportunity or I lose my job.
The thief came in maybe a week later and played in a tournament for 1.5 hours. Buy in was $260. Nothing was done in terms of recognizing him at the security desk entry or poker room.
Last night, after my shift, he was identified and confronted. He refused to return the $800. He was escorted off the property and banned from all associated casinos.
Today when I started my shift, I was told about the attempt to recover. I knew what was going to happen and I was terminated.
Even though the job was entry-level, this short experience has encouraged me to pursue becoming a dealer sooner. An now that "sooner" is "very soon". I have my gaming license and here I come.
I'll leave you with that.
To any dealers, etc., I sincerely enjoyed my time there and I appreciated all the "good job", "keep it up", and all the other praise (and tips) that helped my confidence.