Blackjack Dealer Salary in PA or WV??

My wife is thinking of changing careers and was wondering what the average dealer salary is for blackjack in the PA and WV area. It is easy to find info for Vegas and AC but not so much here. Thanks!

in WV, the poker dealers get paid the same as waitresses... $2.xx/hr.
they make their $ off tips.
~20hands per hour and players usually tip a minimum of $1/hand. more if it's a big pot.
so minimum $20/hr. thats mostly take home $. u dont see any of the $2.xx/hr. thats completely used for taxes.

out of curiousity, what is the avg dealer salary for vegas and AC?

Dealers in NE PA make between $30k and $40k, most of them closer to $30k.

Quote: 100xOdds

out of curiousity, what is the avg dealer salary for vegas and AC?

Thanks for the info. From what I can tell the LV dealers make a wide range from 35k to 75k depending on the casino. I'm thinking that the upper end was more before the downturn several years ago.

Dice dealing at the Venetian is more profitable than at some break in joint with newbies on the entire crew and shot-taking five dollar bettors who tip once a week.

Its tips, its constant surveillance, its on your feet all day long and if you make a mistake, you can easily lose your job.

Your wife wants that?

Quote: wrongway

My wife is thinking of changing careers and was wondering what the average dealer salary is for blackjack in the PA and WV area. It is easy to find info for Vegas and AC but not so much here. Thanks!

In Wheeling a Pit Boss told me (in 2008) that they were getting $12-18 in tokes per hour. Add that to the "waitress minimum" for your total.

At Rivers in PA the management said they would target a $20/hr toke rate. When I last was getting the daily toke emails they were close but not there--$14-18. This was two years ago, right after they got table games. Again, add the waitress minimum, with maybe a $.50 per hour bump if you have experience they need.

I would expect Meadows to be just a little lower, given that it already has the reputation as more of a grind joint than Rivers, which is a "fancy locals" joint.

Rivers seems to be running free schools 1-2 times per year, so look into that before you pay.

Quote: AZDuffman

In Wheeling a Pit Boss told me (in 2008) that they were getting $12-18 in tokes per hour. Add that to the "waitress minimum" for your total.

Wheeling is your break-in joint now. I can't imagine them bringing in those kinds of toke rates when their players are traveling from Ohio now. They lost a lot of their market with the PA casinos opening...

Do these jobs come with benefits? health insurance? sick days? vacation days? pension contribution? 401k match? If you are on 'vacation' do you only get your below minimum wage pay? If you work for a major casino (bellagio, Venetian, etc..) are the benefits different than at a small local casino? For relatively low paying jobs the benefit package can make up a significant part of the overall value of the job.
Personally, I'm not sure how much more they would have to pay me to work in an enclosed area where smoking was allowed.....

I just became a BJ/ Table games dealer at Mohegan Sun in PA.. The dealers make $4.00 an hour plus thier tokes(tips) Everything but poker is pooled together on a 24 hour period so it doesnt matter which shift you work the pay will be the same. The toke rate averages about $16.00 an hour during the week and $21.00 on the weekends giving you $20.00 and $25.00 respectively. They are hiring atm only part time help(but you do get plenty of hours) which dont offer health benefits. Full time does however and they are known for promoting within so it happens quite frequently as this is considered the "entertainment" industry which has a very high turnover when it comes to employment. 401k is available to everyone. They used to match but then the economy turned sour they stopped matching...

Someone mentioned smoking and a higher rate of pay.... Not to sound rude or insensitive but that has to be a joke.... Please keep in mind its you who are looking for employment. Pennsylvania is an at will state. If you do not want to subject yourself to cigarrette smoke then don't apply there period. All casinos in Pa allow smoking so all will have that same rule. You have no choice in picking a non smoking pit vs a smoking pit....

At Mohegan they have a no fault call off policy meaning they dont care what you need the day off for... You can be extremely hungover and dont want to work or sick and dont feel like it...... Or just are lazy and dont feel like working. They give you 10 "points" a year and it costs one to call off(2 during high volume(holidays, weekends, etc). I was told now if you are extremly sick just go in and of course management will just send you home and in those rare cases you wont accrue points. I personally love this... not worrying about having to get a doctors note etc....

Each day you work you also accrue PTO or paid time off which you can cash in at given times for vacations etc I think the most you can accrue is 3 weeks before they make you use up some of your PTO.

In addition to theese benefits You are given free meals in the Employee dining room buffet style. They offer cell phone discounts, plan discounts, computer discounts etc etc. Since I have only worked two shifts I cant tell you much more about this particular casino though

Quote: Tiltpoul

Wheeling is your break-in joint now. I can't imagine them bringing in those kinds of toke rates when their players are traveling from Ohio now. They lost a lot of their market with the PA casinos opening...

The word I have gotten, and it is just 1-2 "reports" from people that work or know workers in WV, state that the toke rate has remained constant. The number of dealers has fallen, but the fall has intentionally or unintentionally mirrored the fall in raw tokes, keeping the hourly rates close.

Wheeling can do bigger shows than PA and has the track and OTB if that is your thing. Other than that I don't see how they can survive. But then again I am always amazed that casinos is so-called "distressed" markets do so well. Lots of roughnecks and roustabouts in Wheeling with time on their hands now, that may be helping.

Quote: Squeaks9225

Since I have only worked two shifts I cant tell you much more about this particular casino though

You've told us plenty.
And considering this was your first post, let me say Thanks, and Welcome Aboard!

Quote: DJTeddyBear

You've told us plenty.
And considering this was your first post, let me say Thanks, and Welcome Aboard!

Definitely, welcome. I believe we only have two other dealers on the board (PaigowDan and NicksGamingStuff), as well as a few others in the casino industry (Face, PopCan, marksolberg).

Thank you. I would also like to say if anyone is planning on becoming a dealer DON'T waste your money on classes etc. Now that PA has table games many different schools and colleges charge you for the required hours of learning. Go directly to the casino. Morgan for instance gives you the training for free. Its a 6 week non paid training course Mon to Friday for 4 hours each day. Once completed and you pass your audition they even pay for your gaming license and uniforms provided you stay employed. with them for 90 days... That beats paying. to learn. They usually offer these classes 3-5 times a year depending on employees needed.

I have a friend who dealt at Moheagan a few years ago...he said it was a great place to work...unfortunately hes Filipino, and it was too cold in the northeast for him...

I live about ten minutes from the casino so its the perfect job for me!