During my 10 years of work as a part-time casino dealer, I earned enough money to pay off my first mortgage. I worked at the Leelanau Sands Casino in northern Michigan, dealing blackjack, roulette and some forms of poker.

Most of my co-workers loved their jobs. Some have even moved to management positions.

Top Ten Reasons to Be a Casino Dealer

Have you considered choosing a career in casino dealing? Do you have what it takes? It helps to be friendly, but you also have to be able to politely handle rude customers.

How much does a table games dealer at a typical casino make

Is your body ready for work as a dealer? You also need at least a normal amount of manual dexterity to deal blackjack, poker, roulette or craps.

Including tips, how much per year do Las Vegas poker dealers make? | Yahoo Answers

Other dealing positions often require more skill. Poker, for example, involves keeping track of many players and several rounds of betting.

Craps is such a fast-paced, high-energy and high-stress game that I quit before I even finished training. The American Casino Guide lists casinos in 42 states, and there are in Canada, according to the listings in the World Casino Directory. As a casino dealer, then, the odds are good that wherever you choose to live, there will be a place to work nearby.

Perhaps you would prefer a small casino in the north woods like the place I worked , rather than a big place in Vegas. Or you might want to work on cruise ships. Their cruises last six hours, and you only deal when out in international waters, which is less than five hours of each trip.

Dealers - What do they make? - Las Vegas Forum - TripAdvisor

Where I was employed, the craps dealers in particular loved their jobs, perhaps in part because they work as a team. As with most industries, pay varies quite a bit.

The Casino Institute says:. That may be a biased source, since they are selling training. Here are some of the factors that determine how much you make:.

Since the bulk of your pay comes from tips, a busy casino means better paychecks. Some casinos let dealers keep their own tips; you can learn about these on a casino employee forum. This policy sounds good, but your paychecks will go up and down dramatically from week to week. I once made thousands of dollars in tips in a single shift dealing high-stakes blackjack — I wish I could have kept that for myself! And the empty table in the corner?

You can see why most casinos now have a tip-sharing policy. Of course, in any tipped position, how you treat customers is crucial, so be good to them! But no matter how good you are, their luck will affect their tipping habits: You might also earn more through advancement opportunities.

But depending on how good your tips are as a dealer, that promotion could mean a pay cut. I was trained onsite for two weeks before starting, for free. For example, facing a shortage of dealers a couple years ago, the Horseshoe Casino in Cleveland trained dealers.

The cost and time to complete training varies from school to school. Of course, the biggest cost might be getting to the school, so check a list of gaming schools to find those within commuting distance. All of the schools offer job placement help, but none can promise you employment. Unless you already have a strong preference as to which games you want to deal, start with blackjack training.

In the casino where I worked, there were two roulette tables, two craps tables and twenty-four blackjack tables. Of course, if you paid good money for training, ask for job placement help. Other marks contained on this website are the property of their respective owners. Please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.