AZDuffman's Blog

So you wanna become a casino dealer?

After much soul-searching I finally took the first step to becoming a full-fledged casino employee. The casino near me this week had open interviews for dealers and the best part was training is FREE. This is a big deal since in most places a dealer school will set you back $500-1,500 or even more, often without a guarantee of an audition. While employment is not for sure, an audition is. While there is no pay, I should be able to get a free meal or two in the employee dining room (EDR.)


For those out there who are thinking of a dealing career, I hope this will be a good source for you to make your decision.


STEP ONE--THE INTERVIEW


As in any job, the first thing is to get interviewed. Hard to do in many large companies, it was a snap here since my state just legalized table games and the casino needs 400+ dealers for all games. Just show up and they will interview you for casino school!


I arrived on Day 2 of the process, less than 15 minutes after the start. There were maybe 100 people ahead of me, but it went very fast. A representative from the gaming control board was there to answer questions. The company had a few very lively ladies that kept asking trivia questions and keeping everyone engaged. The wait was "deli-style" take-a-number. With 40-50 numbers ahead of me it only took 20 minutes or so to be called up.


Stage one was a very simple math test. No kidding, it was something out of second grade. It was the kind of test where you checked your answers five times because you didn't want to miss a simple one. They were seeing if you could add to 22. I didn't look but was told several people fail right here. Me, I was sent on to step 2.


Here I was sat down with a lovely lady who asked me a few very standard interview-type questions. One regarding good service I had received and one about how to handle angry customers. She seemed only mildly interested in any practical experience I had to offer, though she did write down that I deal Monte Carlo Night Parties. I got sent into yet another room for stage 3.


Into yet another room (what is this anyways?) This time I was asked about supervision and working conditions. The guy asked why I didn't want to deal poker (I like to play too much and told him so.) Then he went back to the previous interviewer to ask her something. He came back and assured me she said good stuff about me, at this point I felt much better.


Turns out they were looking for friendly people first and foremost. I passed and was given a ticket to a final room. Had to wait an hour because I missed the latest presentation. However, I was assured the next room was the last one for today!

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