Who are Casino Dealers and Can I Become One?

Casino dealer
Who are Casino Dealers and Can I Become One?

Casino dealers are found at both online or land casinos. At land casinos they are more prominent as lots of people visit to play some real live dealer table games like Blackjack, Roulette, Craps , Sic Bo, Baccarat and many others of such kind. At online casinos also they are known as live dealers where they operate games from a live webcam and stream online to play with your as if in a real atmosphere but in a digital format.

Casino dealers main job is to operate the games, deal with cards, chips and every equipment of a table game. They are the ones that have to deal with punters in real time. But the life of a casinos dealer is not so smooth as he/she has to work for odd hours and have basic salary and to face drunk and rowdy gamblers

If you are looking to become one of the casino dealers then you need to understand few things before you jump to apply as a casino dealer.

  • You should love to play games
  • Know the rules and understand how the game is dealt
  • Able to deal with all sorts of punters
  • Ready of late nights and odd working hours
  • Be satisfied in the pay you get (though casino dealers get tips too)
  • Have an easy, cool attractive personality

You can placed in land-based casinos and cruise ships to online Live Casino Dealer studios where you as croupiers need to deal out blackjack hands or spin real roulette wheels that can be bet on via online casino sites and various other areas as well.

How much money a casino dealer can make?

Casino Dealer salary

Well that depends on location to location or country to country. Like in UK Entry-level croupiers in London usually start on around £17,000 pa, a salary that can rise to £20,000 within two years. Tips, which are legal in UK casinos, add on welcomed extra income, and it’s not uncommon for good dealers to earn an extra £4-500 a month in tips. In London, dealers can earn an extra 30 percent in the form of tips.

Outside London, in the regional casinos salaries start around £12-15,000 pa depending on experience. It is possible for a London croupier to become an Inspector within five years if they show aptitude, in which case the amount of money you can make with the job can reach around £28,000 plus tips. Outside London this will be about 30% less, but then living costs are also less.

In the US, casino dealers make around $23,000 on average, with half of dealers reporting income slightly less than that. According to 2014 figures from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, dealer salaries in Nevada averaged around $17,440 , which was $14,700 a year in 2013 with dealers in Pennsylvania earning much higher, around $26,690.

Tips are a way of income of Casinos Dealers

Tipping casino dealers in Australia

On an hourly basis, tips can help dealers bring in anywhere from a few extra dollars to $50 or more per hour; depending on how busy they are, what game they’re dealing, and how generous the players are. The biggest tips come from dealing poker; but with all of the rules (which can also vary from house to house); players, and pots to keep track of, it is also the most challenging and skill-intensive game to deal.

When a dealer first starts at a new casino, they may be forced to work at games that are slower-paced; less popular, and generate fewer tips. The demand for dealers can be somewhat seasonal as well, and when the casino doesn’t need as many tables open, there won’t be as many hours of work to go around, cutting into the earning potential of working in this field.

You might expect that dealers at upscale Vegas properties would make more in tips than their counterparts at smaller regional casinos, but this isn’t always the case. Sure, if you’re dealing for high-rollers in the VIP room, you’ll want to be at a big casino: those tips are going to be massive compared to the ones you’d see on the regular floor, and those opportunities are only available at luxury resorts.

You need to be trained professional to become a casino dealer

Casino dealer

You need to undergo extensive training; either from a casino run program itself; or through a school offering various courses about the different aspects of casino life.

In areas where casinos are prevalent, gaming programs are usually easily found and typically run for six weeks. Here, a student dealer will learn all the crucial aspects of the trade including the procedures; and rules followed for various games. They will also learn both the regulations and local laws that govern them for the particular area they are in. Bear in mind, these change from city to city and state to state; so a refresher course may be needed at some point.

Once you have completed your dealer program, you will end up auditioning for a job at a local casino. Here, not only will your technical skills be scrutinized; but your personality might play a big part in landing you a job.

Your personality plays an important role

Personality plays an important factor in the casino environment as many establishments want someone that is not only friendly and courteous; but extremely outgoing too. Don’t forget, you need to be able to do simple math very quickly as well. You need to have an ability to work well within a team; and of course previous experience of customer service is very useful. A great attitude and friendly personality is essential, along with  good grooming, hygiene and an attractive appearance are also highly valued as the job is customer-facing.

Casino dealer personality

Also you must have good communication skills. Croupiers are like entertainers – you need to keep punters involved and engaged while also handling all the action effortlessly. As a large amount of players will end up losing; it’s important for the croupier to make the experience fun for the punter.

With diplomacy skills you can handle the losers that often will blame “poor” dealers for a losing bet, and it can be easy to be thrown off concentration. Experienced punters will look out for weak dealers who can be easily confused and lose focus. Therefore, a calm approach to resolutions is important; just as it is when dealing with what may be a genuine mistake.

Also you will be under the constant and watchful eye of casino surveillance at all times; their main job is protecting their own money more than their customers’; and to that end, they watch dealers for anything that might look like cheating, collusion or out-and-out theft very carefully.

Synopsis

Keeping all the above things in mind; you can find out some short term courses or full-time training centres near your location to become a casino dealer; and get yourself trained before you approach the job. After all casino dealers’ life and work are not so easy as you may think.

About the author

Kamal Kaur