Sick People at Casinos

So a few days ago I head to Twin River casino and noticed that the blackjack dealer was sniffling a lot. Last night I end up with a cold and since I've been home (except for the casino), I'm positive I got it there. I won $600 but I'm not sure a cold and sore throat are worth the $600 I won. Well, maybe it's okay.

My wife and I were scheduled to go to the casino today and I thought about staying home but I decided that since I'm not coughing I'd go. I took many medications and decongestants, washed my hands thoroughly, made sure I didn't actively cough or anything, and continually washed my hands and even blew my nose in private.

Now the chance of me spreading my own germs is probably slim but yes, it could happen.

Here's my question and debate moment:

1. Should Dealers show up sick at the casino?
2. Should Players show up sick at the casino?
3. If either a Dealer or a Player takes incredible precautions and maintains as much health safety as they can, is it okay for either to show up sick at the casino?

I won another $1,400 playing craps today so I definitely feel it was worth going (personally). But, I also didn't want to get anyone sick so I took extra precautions. When someone wanted to high five me for making my 4th set point on my first roll at the craps table, I deferred to performing a Howie Mandel fist bump.

I still think the black jack dealer got me sick. He was coughing as well and not covering his mouth.

I hate to break the news.. but it's not just the dealers you have to worry about. (by the way, it could have been allergies).

They NEVER wash the chips. So think of all the sleaze you're getting when you touch each chip.

Quote: rsactuary

I hate to break the news.. but it's not just the dealers you have to worry about. (by the way, it could have been allergies).

They NEVER wash the chips. So think of all the sleaze you're getting when you touch each chip.

It's definitely a cold and yes, I thought about the chips as well. But, the chips have to be touched by someone that is actively spreading germs. I think they should be washed. Nothing worse than trying to separate chips and they are stuck together.

Chips, Dice, Cards and the persons that prepared my food. So, maybe I should just expand this to should anyone go to the casino when sick, or if they take incredible precautions.

People show up to work sick all the time at all types of jobs / businesses. Both front of house and behind the scenes people. Singling out dealers seems unfair.

Also, there is the urban legend / old wive's tale that once you've got symptoms, you're no longer contagious.

Bottom line, shrug it off.

I've seen a boxman supply a tissue to a base dealer who slapped his hands before picking it up and after putting it down. I've seen a dealer slap her hands before throwing an errant lock of hair back from her forehead and slap them again before touching chips. I've seen dealers generally following good habits.

Chips are dirty, glassware is dirty, ashtrays are, no one likes dealing in smoke filled casinos all shift long, particularly if air change rates are rather low. The fig oil scented M resort has the most modern computer controlled air changing system: without it French Fries and Male Urine would be the primary olfactory experience in the casino. Microbes would be the least of your worries.

I find the casino atmosphere so exciting that its hard to judge health concerns. I found myself unable to learn the casino layout, unable to follow simple play rules for a new game, dealers asking me "are you there" "are you with it" etc. It wasn't until Monday when I walked into the doctor's office that the nurse told me "You look utterly terrible" and they Rx'd a ton of antibiotics for me.

Ideally neither players or dealers would show up sick. But I'm doubting casinos give tons of paid sick leave to dealers, if any at all. So expecting dealers to take off is probably unrealistic. You did have one option that sounds like you didn't exercise. You could have left the table as soon as you thought he had a cold.

I personally have avoided playing live poker due to sickness before.

Last week saw a dealer blow nose on the game, PC gave her a tissue. When dealer asked for hand sanitizer before resuming, PC refused saying she couldn't while on the game and had to wait until break. Why I have no idea.

Why on the flat earth were you playing blackjack when you have a huge edge on craps? Was the full moon's additional gravity causing more 7s? The craps gods obviously punished thee by striking thee with a cold.

One of my last trips some nasty old hag was spitting up into napkin and then putting it on the elbow rest of a VP machine. (probably from decades of chain smoking or what have you). Makes me dry heave just thinking about it. Thanks.

Quote: RogerKint

Why on the flat earth were you playing blackjack when you have a huge edge on craps? Was the full moon's additional gravity causing more 7s? The craps gods obviously punished thee by striking thee with a cold.

Practicing card counting. The Asian dealer at the table was the fastest dealer I've seen in over 12 years. It was quite difficult.

Only "Cleavage BJ Dealers" may dab sticky stuff on their hands while dealing BJ otherwise its a way to mark the cards even if they are not marking good or bad,,, people can recognize cards that have smears on them.

At the Party Pits, no one really cares because the guys are not looking at the cards anyway.

Quote: rsactuary

I hate to break the news.. but it's not just the dealers you have to worry about. (by the way, it could have been allergies).

They NEVER wash the chips. So think of all the sleaze you're getting when you touch each chip.

I have seen chips washed 100 percent most casinos don't but I have seen one or two

I guarantee you more than 50% of the casino PIGS I see in the restroom walk out of there WITHOUT washing their hands. Probably greater than 50%. And it's not just taking a leak. I've seen them come out of a stall and head right back to the games, probably wiped their butt and everything, but no washing their hands. I guess they're in a hurry. I wonder if the women are just as filthy. Can't be, just can't be.

Im usually not much of a germiphobe but watching people eat food at the poker table disgusts me. I can imagine all the germs from the chips traveling to their hands traveling to their food traveling to their mouth.

Quote: JoelDeze

Practicing card counting. The Asian dealer at the table was the fastest dealer I've seen in over 12 years. It was quite difficult.

Do not allow a dealer to dictate the speed of the game. If he's gathering the cards too fast for you, ask for a recount. Do that a few times and he'll slow down to your pace. Never take a dealers word on what his hand was.

Quote: rudeboyoi

Im usually not much of a germiphobe but watching people eat food at the poker table disgusts me. I can imagine all the germs from the chips traveling to their hands traveling to their food traveling to their mouth.

I eat while playing poker, but no finger food!

If it's not something designed to be eaten with a fork and knife, I ain't ordering it.

Quote: billryan

Do not allow a dealer to dictate the speed of the game. If he's gathering the cards too fast for you, ask for a recount. Do that a few times and he'll slow down to your pace. Never take a dealers word on what his hand was.

Thanks for the tip. I was just practicing speed counting but I like your idea.

Quote: JoelDeze

Thanks for the tip. I was just practicing speed counting but I like your idea.

Wait, speed counting takes practice? I thought one just shows up drunk af, high fives everybody and raise bet if you don't notice an Ace for a while.

I'm speaking from limited experience, as I've only been to Las Vegas four times but by the third day of each trip I had a sore throat and cough that progressed to a full blown respiratory infection within a week. Now I realize that the casino environment might not bear the total blame. Air travel sticks you in a metal tube breathing recycled air shared by a bunch of people, any of whom may be germ carriers. Also, these trips were back in the mid-80s - lots of construction and therefore lots of grit and dust in the air. But I was not out power-walking Las Vegas Blvd. so I do tend to think that the vectors were likely casino chips, slot buttons (and arms - like I said, mid-80s) and less than considerate fellow patrons.

For defense in the future I would probably carry a small pack of those wipes used to clean keyboards to swab the buttons of any machine I would play. Also a little bottle of anti-bac hand rinse to get rid of nasties before they can be transferred to my mouth or eyes. An actively coughing or sneezing dealer is a harder problem. In Japan you see many people wearing those disposable surgical masks in public. I suppose that would be frowned upon in a casino, but if allowed it could even be an AP move. Just try to get a face recognition software match on a patch of white gauze!

Quote: DTRobers

I'm speaking from limited experience, as I've only been to Las Vegas four times but by the third day of each trip I had a sore throat and cough that progressed to a full blown respiratory infection within a week.

The strange thing that happens to me when I go to Vegas is I get monstrous headaches. I feel like my hair (what's left) is literally standing on end and being pulled out of my skull. Luckily, I have never gotten sick while in Vegas.

Quote: JoelDeze

1. Should Dealers show up sick at the casino?

I'm sure that with dealing, like many jobs in the service industry, if you aren't working you aren't making money.

Maybe dealers shouldn't show up to work sick, but they also have to eat.