Friendliest Dealers on the Strip?

In your opinion, which casino has the friendliest dealers on the Las Vegas strip? Any stories about a good experience? On the flip side, which casinos would you stay clear of based on bad service from their staff?

In the past few years, I have found a steady decrease in customer service from dealers in Las Vegas. If casinos want to increase their business from gamblers, I think they need to start with their front line staff and the people who interact with their patrons the most.

I've had only good experiences at Harrah's.

At Luxor, they wouldn't let my wife sit next to me at an empty $25 pai gow table unless she was playing.

It has been a couple of years since I was there, but at the Mandalay Bay I had a $25 dollar free play chip (if you lost you lost your chip, if you won you got to keep the chip and play again). there was no blackjack table with spots and it was beore I worked in a casino or was really interested in gambling. There was a dealer who was happy to shuffle the 6 decks on the 5 dollar minimum game so I could play this chip. I now know how much of a pain in the ass I must have seemed, so I appreciate it all the more.

If forced to say, it would be the Wynn/Encore.

In my limited Vegas experience I had one of the best dealers at NYNY. She was middle-aged and I was at her $10 table playing the minimum and placing a white chip "bribe" for her. The table was full and she was giving me 19's and 20's almost every hand and getting 17's and 18's herself, which was beating the other players more times than not. We joked and laughed a lot. She reminded me of some cool teenage kids mom. You know the fun ones. By the end of the session (five or six shoes), She had probably accumulated $40 in bribery tips and I turned my $100 buy-in into over $250.

Later that same evening I went across the street to the Trop. and signed up for their players card which included a sheet of coupons including a $15 max match-play. The place was packed with very few BJ seats available. I squeezed into third base at a table with a late twenty-something Asian woman dealing. I placed my first ever match-play coupon in the square along with 3 red chips. I was dealt A-4 and she was showing a 6. I then asked her about doubling down and whether I just double my portion of the bet or my portion and the match-play portion. Well her English was atrocious and I could not understand her answers to my question that I asked multiple times. Finally out of her frustration with my not understanding she picks up the rules placard on the opposite site of the table from third base and shoved it about a foot from my nose. On the rules I read that you could only double down on 10's and 11's (maybe 9's too, I don't remember). Needless to say I took the hit. She busted. I collected my new $30 and split to a table with an English speaking dealer and better rules.

There you have it my best and worst dealers ever were from sessions about an hour apart.

BTW I know this is the Wizard of Vegas site, but if you ever get to Southeast Indiana the dealers as a group at Belterra are better than any others I've played with in Las Vegas or elsewhere. The rules are good too, as the they stand on S17, no doubling restrictions, and DAS, but no RSA or surrender. Craps are good there also with 20X odds.

My favorite dealer is at the El Cortez. I wish I could remember her name.

She was dealing blackjack when I sat down for my first game after learning basic strategy, and every time I visit Las Vegas I make a point of stopping by and sitting at her table.

I like her because she's friendly but also a little feisty. I was so nervous that first time I sat down, but pretty soon she had me laughing with her at my mistakes.

I've also had (mostly) great experiences with the other players at the El Cortez. Last time I sat with friends next to an older woman who played without saying a word despite our cheering her on. (She kept hitting the Royal Match.) After awhile her turn to cut came, and when she took just a few off the top I said, "Thin to win!" That got a rise out of her. She looked straight at me. "Mmm hmm baby. That's right. Thin to win." We were friends after that.

I'd agree with the Wizard on Wynn/Encore. A close second would be Harrah's.

I hate to stereotype, but I find Asian dealers to be usually serious and down to business. If you're looking for a chatty dealer, your odds are better with another race. As was already mentioned, some are not fluent in English, which is always a problem if trying to get a clarification on the rules. You can imagine how frustrating it was for me in Macau.

Of course, there are exceptions. I've had plenty of good Asian dealers. The ones who deal pai gow at the Palazzo are outstanding.

The story about the dealer shoving the rules in SplittingAA's face is something I can relate to. After the eclipse last summer we were staying at a hotel in Shanghai. The fools who built the indoor pool surrounded it with a marble floor. There was a small sign that said "floor slippery when wet," a fact which was totally obvious. Despite my many warnings, my 7-year-old son slipped on the floor and hurt himself. So the attendant, who was usually sleeping, came over and shoved the sign two inches from my nose. I don't they he realized how extremely rude and insulting it was.

I think the problem on "friendly dealers" is that not enough dealers like to play the games they deal. Now, I don't blame a dealer for not wanting to go play a gam he just dealt on his feet for 8 hours or more, but if you don't like casino games look for another line of work.

A dealer who understands how great you feel when you double against a dealer 6 upcard and win will be more likely to be friendly. One who took up dealing because the tips make it pay better than delivering bread to the grocery store will hate dealing as much as driving that truck.

I also put much of the blame on surly dealers to corporate management. Not to keep saying :in the old days" when I wasn't even there, but in the old days Benny Binion walked his own floor and ran the place more by "feel." Today you can be sure they post the hands-per-hour in the breakroom and bust the dealer's chops when s/he misses the number or is on the low end.

Pit Bosses who are treated bad by casino managers will treat employees bad. Employees who are treated bad treat customers bad.

At Luxor, they wouldn't let my wife sit next to me at an empty $25 pai gow table unless she was playing.

I was at the Luxor last month and the BJ dealer I started with was beyond rude. After giving me hell for making a couple innocent mistakes, given it was my first time, she had the nerve to tell me that tipping the dealer would give me good luck. Had a horrible overall experience there before I went to the Peppermill in Reno and had the time of my life.

I agree with the comment about the Asian dealers, especially the women. There were a couple that made the game enjoyable, though as always they unfortunately trade after awhile and you end up with the wicked witch of the west who gives you the evil eye most of the time.

There was this lady at the Excalibur last year who was really friendly! I was playing the suckers 6:5 BJ single deck and she was super chatty! She made comments like "ahhhhhh" when she hit a 13 and got an 8, and advised me to stand on my 13 with her 10 showing then she busted! I gave her a good tip and she wished me a safe return home back to SF, I was playing about $5-10 a hand and was up $50 in 10 minutes or so, then my mother came and sat down and I lost $200!

I've always had a great time playing at Mirage. A lot of the "older women" who have been there since the early 90's are GREAT. My favorite, Bonnie, was moved to Aria though.

The last two times I was in Vegas I played at NYNY casino and really had a great time with great dealers. However, there was one very friendly dealer who was really too friendly. He would get involved with conversations with players at the table and sometimes would go 1 to 2 minutes between dealing blackjack hands because he was talking too much. That got to be a bit painful.