NicksGamingStuff's Blog
Dec 13, 2012
Day 2
So for my challenge I am going to try to consume the following per dayNo more than 1700 calories
Less than 60 g of fat
At least 150 g of protein
Less than 200g of carbs.
I know my carbs are a little high, but I do a decent amount of cardio. For my fitness I am going to stick to the 4 day muscle building thing,do cycling class two times a week and yoga class 2 times a week. I am also going to try and run at least 15 miles a week. Since I am only getting 2 days a week at work due to the holidays I will have plenty of time, but when work picks up after the holidays I will still have time since I don't start until noon or 1pm. I am using myfitnesspal to log my nutrients. I am hoping this goes well.
If I burn 1200 calories at the gym (estimated via cardio+weight lifting+ class) and consume 2000 calories, does that mean I have a net of 800 calories for the day and can consume 900 more, or do I have to stop eating since I exceeded my goal of 1700 calories, but with the 1200 burned have a net of 500 calories for the day which does not seem like a lot. Hmm....
Nov 10, 2012
Lately I have been...
Working 16 hour days. I kept my job at the locals casino I went to, and have been working day shift (which starts later than I would like, 12 or 1) then driving straight to my next job, and working until 4am. Today we were depressingly slow for a Friday night. Money is better at my new job, but I am on the 7 day pay period most part time dealers are. I make about the same in 7 days as I do in 10 days at my other job. I am going to try to do both for as long as my boss at my old job (he is awesome) will put up with me being 30 min late to work each day. It is a long drive from Las Vegas BLVD to the locals spot I work at. My new job is a lot of work, it is nonstop sometimes. Hopefully I am not stuck on the snapper there forever. Anyway thats all that is new with me. I am looking forward to a nice big payday next week when I get 2 paychecks.Comments
Good luck,,, but remember... do NOTHING that jeopardizes the new job. And just like that extra pair of black pants that you have in the trunk of your car .... have an extra cushion of cash under the mattress too so that you can function during payroll lags. Your old job will soon replace someone who is thirty minutes late even if your immediate boss is okay with it for awhile.
These things are not really optional. You must have the extra shirt and extra pair of pants, you must have that tin of black shoe polish, you must have that extra tie, and you must have that extra bit of money tucked away somewhere to deal with the unexpected ... Its what sets you head and shoulders above the vast sea of ultra-replaceable dealers. So skimp a bit on the throw rug at home and skimp a bit on the coffee percolator or whatever, but don't skimp on your "stand by work kit", physical appearance and dental visits. Its simply the job that you are in.
You are lucky that you have an understanding boss at your "old" job,,, but it won't last too long and meanwhile do not fall asleep at your new job!
Be careful not to burn yourself out. I used to work back to back 20 hours, with 4 hours sleeping on 2nd levels couch in- between, then take a vacation day. But in the end it is only money.
My boss at my old job told me I couldn't keep being 30 min late, so no more local casino job. I liked it, but the $ is better at my new job. I should average the same amount of days, or maybe one less a pay period. Day shift feels like forever though...
There is always a period of adjustment in shift work. Physical and mental. You have to be sharp when at work. The casino doesn't care when or where you sleep as long as its not at work. You have to be cheerful and attentive and on the lookout for anything unusual.
What's "the snapper?" Are you on craps yet? Congrats on the new job!
Yeah, What's the 'snapper'?
Yeah, What's the 'snapper'?
Snapper = Blackjack
Sep 09, 2012
No More D!
I am no longer employed at The D (Fitzgeralds). I will not say which Station I am at, but the difference between working at Station Casinos and The D is almost night and day. I am much happier in my new position, and like the fact I do not have to buy ear plugs anymore!Comments
Congrats on the hire!
Happier and hopefully at the same or better pay rate ?
Sweet move...congrats!
Are you at the same Station as Paigowdan?
If I do not wish to say where I work why would you ask that question?
Congrats Nick!!! Glad you have found a better place to work!
How many other games have you added to your repertoire in the intervening time period?
You been doin' solely Blackjack so far?
Onward and upward. Congrats.
FleaStiff- I deal everything but Pai Gow Tiles. I am in school working on my roulette and dice to get better.
Congratulations Nick! You deserved a lot better than the D. I hope to see you at a nice Strip casino within a year -- dealing tiles.
Congrats Nick!
I remember you stressed out about making the jump to Vegas from the Cali card rooms on your own.
I remember you miserable at Starbucks.
I remember you fighting your way into Gaming.
I remember you bitching about The D.
Now...smiles. You're making it. Congratz =)
Congratulations! I'm sorry to be late to the party, I'm almost always forgetting to check the blogs.
Congrats and best of luck.
FWIW, I recently cancelled my 10/4 & 10/5 reservation at the D to stay at the Fremont and save $43.
Now I don't feel so bad.
Within a year they will change the name to Nick's Station Casino
Nov 08, 2011
Moving To Las Vegas Part 4
Hello Everyone!As I said in other posts the move here was a bit more expensive than I anticipated, and getting a job did not nearly happen as soon as I would have liked it to. I can announce that I am now a blackjack dealer at a place on Fremont Street. Until I am sure I can publicly announce where I work I will keep the name of the casino private. I got hired through their dealer job fair last week. The status is on call dealer, but I was told I would be given a regular schedule. I thought oncall meant I sit by the phone and wait to be called in for work.
October was a pretty rough month for me. I would go to dealer school for 4 or 5 hours a day, but after two weeks I had learned everything there was and I did nothing more than practice. I had several job interviews in various fields and nothing became of them. I was beginning to lose hope and plan a move back to California after my lease ended.
Working tonight was wonderful. All the players were nice, and patient with me even though they did not know it was my first day. I grew a small following tonight by a set of tourists from Seattle. They came back to my table several times after doing other things (eating dinner seeing a show). After inquiring how long I had been working and learning it was my first day they became very excited and proceeded to ask me about the move here.
I killed all my players tonight it was terrible! I made the casino a lot of money. I got at least 3 bj's per double deck, every time I had an ace showing I had it (except twice). I could give all the players 20's and hit to a 21 from a 4.
I did make some mistakes though I think it was from my nervousness. I was very nervous! I expected some kind of training from the casino about their various games, casino procedure etc.. Instead I received a pamphlet and was thrown on the game cold. One of my mistakes was paying a push, taking a push, taking a winning bet, and since two cards decided to stick together I gave myself two hole cards. I had a feeling I was going to be fired soon but the floorman said they were minor mistakes that could all be fixed easily. After my first break I was feeling more confident and by the end of the evening I had a good rhythm going.
We work 80 minutes on 20 minutes off. The majority of the time my table was full so I enjoyed the breaks very much. The game is entirely hand shuffled and dealt face up. Dealing face up made the job A LOT easier since my pitch likes to go off the table. After I returned from one of my last breaks the break dealer had killed my table so for the last hour or so I gazed out the door watching the maintenance workers lift something huge with a crane on Fremont st.
I was reading the past toke rates and it ranges from $8-$10 per hour a day. I received around $100 in tips tonight. Even though I was killing my players they were having fun. They said I am the kind of dealer where they can lose all their money but still have a good time.
One interesting thing is they stuck me in the party pit with all the girls in the skimpy outfits. All the BJ in their party pit pays 3:2. Over the course of a couple hours all the dealers were regular ones in the party pit.
Now that I have a job I am much happier, and hopefully I will get lots of hours and training to move onto the next place. The only downfall to the job is they charge the employees for parking. They do provide a free meal from a cafeteria (the food did not look too good though) so I guess it evens out. I am surprised they stuck me on swing shift (there it is 6p-2am). Putting me on a table cold and at the busiest time is like jumping into the pool.
Anyway that is about all I have been up to this past month. October was really rough but I am hopeful for the future.
Comments
Congratulations.
I thought I had convinced you that you would always be thrown into a game utterly cold. Always. They assign you to tap into a certain spot at a certain time and thats all there is. You sink or swim on your own. It will always be that way. When you get assigned to Let It Ride, be sure to tell them you've never been trained on it and don't know how its played, but be sure to be at the LIR table when you are told to be there because you will be the dealer even though you've no idea what the game is like.
On-Call Board and Full Time Board are like two different lists. Full Time gets regular shifts and health benefits. On-Call means you get what you are given and you don't get benefits (usually). You are able to be called in at a moment's notice and you are able to be sent home if things go dead but "most" of the time you will indeed have a schedule. Be certain to keep your contact phone number up to date and keep your cell phone charged at all times. Usually they will keep you at your schedule but if they have sudden needs and want you to come in two hours early ... you should ALWAYS be near your cell phone. And ALWAYS have a spare set of black pants and white shirt in the trunk of your car sealed in plastic and always have a spare set at home so that on your day off if you are half way through the soak period while doing the laundry and you get a call "get to work, NOW" you can get there and be properly dressed. It doesn't mean that calls like that will be the routine, but it sure gets noticed if they phone you and can't reach you or you come up with excuses. You may work there for a year before you get your first call or you may get your first call in your first week. It makes no difference: cell phone charged and uniform at the ready at ALL times.
Your mistakes were indeed minor. Things will get better. Its good that your players seemed to enjoy their time, even though they were losing. The house wants the game to be dealt properly and the players to be treated properly. If the players are happy thats even better.
Congratulations, Nick!
If you like the job, get decent tips, empty the players' pockets and get them to feel good about it, I'd say you have a promising future in casino gaming.
Congrats. It sounds like you did good and your customers liked you. You should be all right.
I thought I had your casino pegged, but I couldn't get all the pieces to fit. Perhaps something has changed since I was last there. It's still my #1 pick, but I don't have a great deal of confidence in it.
I love Fremont Street, but I don't play much blackjack downtown except at one casino, so I probably won't stop by your table anytime soon. But I'd like to wish you well anyway. And keep blogging; I think your stories are very interesting.
Hmmm...which casinos downtown have a party pit which includes some regular dealers and offers 3:2 games? That's a pretty short list:-)
Congrats on the job, and I hope your $100 tip nights continue.
Congrats! By the way, listen to FleaStiff! He is usually right about stuff (how does he do that?)
I think I have the casino pegged too, but I'm not sure. No need to reveal your employer, but it's fun when you drop hints.
That's a good quality to have. As long as you're being compassionate while taking the money, and never lose the quality to make it a good time, you'll do OK.Quote:They said I am the kind of dealer where they can lose all their money but still have a good time.
I've often heard people mention to me that my job as a party DJ must be a lot of fun. Quite the contrary. I make sure the guests have fun, but for me, it's hard work.
Creating "fun" is hard work.
If you can keep your table fun, even when the players are losing, you've got it made.
Congrats and keep up the good work!
Inasmuch as my class starts in a few days, I'm very interested in your blog.
Thanks for posting...it sounds like you're doing just fine.
Way to go! We're all happy for you. Sounds like Flea's advice wins the most important post award this month. Nice of him to share
that hard earned and very beneficial advice. Always nice to know another good dealer is on the lines.
Congrats, Nick. You gotta start somewhere. I wish you the best of luck in your new endeavors. Work hard, use your brain, don't do anything stupid and you'll be just fine!
Nick, great to hear of your progress! I am at the Nugget next week from Tues. - Sun. with my wife and her folks. I think I can guess where you are working but PM me if you'd like and I will stop in and play at your table. Thur. and Fri. nights my adult kids and several friends travelling with them are joining us and we could easily fill your table... And yes, my family tips well... ;-)
Congrats on making it. I do hope they at least move you from table to table during the 80 minutes as to me over 40 minutes at one table is pushing it for dealer concentration. Glad the people seem to like playing at your table. I know I have the problem that if I enforce a rule some people take it a bit rough by the way I explain why it has to be. Happened in poker this week. So whatever you are doing keep doing it.
My guess is an average dealer can expect to make 1-1.5 "mistakes" per hour. Rate-wise that isn't bad per hand on a mid-full table (60 45 hands per hour times 5 spots is 450 chances per hour to mess something up.) Just try to realize if it is the same mistake (eg: taking pushes) more than others and try to correct for it. You will improve.
One word of advice on the newbie thing. Saying "it's my first night" will play for the first few days. After that I would suggest saying more on the order of, "just got into the biz this year." Freemont St players of which I am one like the more "gambling hall" atmosphere and will give a new guy a break or two. But after some time they won't and *you* will get tired of saying it. Happpens in any business, the first month is a honeymoon. Months 2-14 are the period that break you into the routine. Making it thru changes you from the break-in guy to the expedrienced guy. Enjoy the trip.
Most casinos do not do 80 on then 20 off.
Particularly on Dice the rotations are usually far less rigorous. And usually if you start your shift as Stick your final 20 minute rotation is a break which means just that a break and then a departure from the casino. Don't get sloppy with your attendance.
The primary purpose of rotation is not alertness. It is to prevent collusion which is something that many houses imagine will take place at every opportunity for it. Sure its possible for players and dealers to collude but at least the house fears of it give the dealers some variety at different tables and often different games. It does improve alertness which is a great benefit to the bottom line.
An on-break dealer should be standing behind and just to the side of the retiring dealer and should take a few moments to familiarize himself with the layout, cards/chips and players before tapping in from the side as the retiring dealer clears hands, bids farewell and in some casinos introduces the incoming dealer. An on-break dealer about to return to duty should know where he is supposed to be and should in fact BE THERE before his break officially ends. A one or two minute delay returning from break is a major "no no". It gets noticed because it tends to ripple and "The Pencil" notices it.
Dead games, boredom and personal errands may prompt people to ask to be put on the Early Out list. This means that IF "The Pencil" sends anyone home early you are volunteering for it, but do NOT put your name on the Early Out list if you can really avoid it. Frequent use of the EO list gets noticed and they don't like that. If you are scheduled for a shift, work it. They may send you home early but don't appear anxious for it to happen and don't grumble about it when it does happen. And do not EVER let a player realize that any individual dealer or any entire dice crew WANT an early out. If you are on duty you are attentive to the players and do not let them know that you are chaffing at the bit.
Oct 14, 2011
Moving To Las Vegas Part 3
So it has been about two weeks since I moved to Las Vegas. The drive was not too terrible, I left around 5pm and arrived at 2am. I visited PaiGowDan at his casino and stayed that night at Sunset Station, they got me with a $17 resort fee even though I was only there for about 7 hours. After spending the week at G2E talking to all the executives trying to find some job leads I ended up with nothing more than a look online and apply there, I enrolled in the dealer school (The learntodeal.com one). I should not be surprised that I did not find any job leads since the exhibition hall was only for the companies to sell their products/services, I just thought I would find a person who would give me some good advice on what to do. The move ended up costing a little more than I expected. Things I had never paid for before such as car insurance, car registration, renters insurance, internet, and a shopping spree at Target to stock my apartment with basic home essentials really took a hit on my wallet.The dealer school is okay. It is not as structured as I would like it to be. Basically one can start whenever they want, there are no formal organized classes. The building is in the commercial shopping center off of sahara near Paradise. It is a large room with about six blackjack tables, two roulette tables, a craps table, and three poker tables. There are usually one or two instructors that walk around and show the student a thing or two then leave them alone to practice it. They first taught me how to shuffle, then chip cut, then to shoe deal, and finally I am on pitch dealing. I am not receiving as much attention as I would like but for the price of the BJ course ($300) I guess I should not have expected to receive a lot of attention. There are many students, many who I suspect are not from the area as the instructors have to teach them exactly what the game of blackjack is. Many also cannot do the simple math of adding the cards or figuring out the 3:2 BJ payout on simple bets such as $20 or $100. The one good thing is all the students who pass are getting jobs, but unfortunately they are all part time jobs. From what I have been told this is what is happening now with the dealers. Most of them are getting jobs at places like Arizona Charlies, O'Shea's, or the downtown spots. Hopefully I can start at O'Sheas, I think the tourist atmosphere will be more exciting than a sweat locals place. One girl said she has gone to audition at Arizona Charlie's twice and was made to wait for two hours since no players ever showed up for her to audition.
I have been applying to other jobs at the different casino groups such as security or managing the food and beverage outlets (something my past employment experience will support). I had really been hoping to be working by now. Although I am not broke, my bank account is about 30% lower than I expected it to be now. For those who are wondering I pretty much met my objective about not gambling before I got a job. I did a small project for The Wiz. I have maybe put $10 total into some penny video poker machines just to kill some time. One nice thing I discovered was free show tickets for locals. Unlike House Seats or Fill A Seat showtickets4locals.com is free to sign up. They do not have the big name shows, but I have enjoyed everything I have seen through them except for American Storm. It truly is free, no drinks are required or ticket fees are charged.
I am hoping I can begin working soon, I have not worked in 18 days and am finding myself somewhat bored. Anyway that is the status of where I am in my move. I am glad I moved, my life in San Francisco was in a rut. I am hopeful that I can audition after next week at a break in house or find another job. If I can find a full time job, I will hold off on dealing. Although I paid for the course I would be much happier in an office 9-5 type of job. My spouse is in Detroit visiting his grandfather. His cousin told him about "Partylite candles" and how you can make lots of money. I told him it is no good, but he was sold on her sales pitch. He was telling me how a woman made $30,000 one week selling them and how the kit is free. Unfortunately he is a sucker for things like that so I had to email him all the information on how those kinds of jobs are no good. Some people do make a lot of money, but I told him he would be better off selling Tupperwear, Cutco Knifes, Mary Kay, Avon, or Kirby Vacuums. With these scams the kit may be free but the sales person is usually required to buy a demo set and the company likely makes the bulk of their money on the suckers trying to make a lousy commission. He still seems to think I am wrong about the job being no good but he understands I would prefer him to get a regular job.
Hopefully I will find a job soon, it is the only thing I am missing in my life right now. Other than that I am happy to be on my own and enjoyed meeting some of the forum members at G2E.
Comments
ALL those Multi Level Marketing programs are scams. All of them. Nobody makes money from the junk, they make money by roping other suckers into the scheme. I just put partylite and scam into google and got ten pages of hits.
Sorry the course is not as structured. Be sure to get as much as you can out of it. Do they hire non-Asian females as dealers? Part time? Definitely. Full time dealer jobs are a thing of the past. You get a year or two years on the Extra Board before you get offered full time work.
Have you been getting local players club cards? Getting locals events? Locals buffets, etc?
Security? Wouldn't that lock you into a career path since security people can't mingle with other employees and surveillance people can't even use the same doorway.
It isnt surveillance security, rather the security that roams the floors and do the table fills. It isnt what I want to do forever but I need to start making some money and im taking what I can get right now. Ill wait another couple of weeks before I try Starbucks, or a mini mart.
You guys seem to be willing to go after some weird jobs... avoid mini marts & MLM . Dealer school sounds lacking but if you can get on someplace it seems like a small investment. Learn craps...I had some shitty dealers at Binions in March, I'd hit them up. Maybe they like dealers who are entertaining, go play there and entertain the box man and tell him what you are trying to do. Effort goes a long way.
good luck
I was the first to tell my spouse that multi level marketing is a bad idea, but he does not believe me oh well. I will just have to put my foot down. Of course I don't want to do a crappy job forever, but right now I need to start making some money so I am lowering my standards as I continue with my job search.
Good god, run as fast as you can from
MLM jobs. They're all scams. My niece
graduated from college last May and
all she could find were MLM's. She
tried one and for a summer's worth
of work, she made exactly enough
to cover her gas money. DON'T EVEN
THINK ABOUT IT! And from what I
read on the dealer forums, there
isn't a full time dealer job opening in
the whole city. In fact, a lot of former
full timers have two or three part time
dealing jobs now. Just be happy when
you get one..
I agree MLMs are bad I will never waste my time with one, or allow my spouse to waste his. I will take what I can get dealer job wise, or any job right now. I just hope some of the corporate type jobs I applied to work out but I will take what ever I can get as long as it is a job job, not some BS sales commission only based job. I should have told him after he said one lady made 30,000 one week that one person won 20 million on a slot that may have put things into better perspective for him.
I just got my first electric bill $18 electric usage and a $15 connection fee, not bad my bills after should be around $20 until summer when I have to run the a/c 24/7!
MLMs: I agree they are scams. The worst thing is how most of them are prepared to screw you even after you do the nearly impossible. Read the fine print. Having said all that, I have run into one person who did well with Tupperware. A very bossy woman who nonetheless had some redeeming social graces, to be precise. I have concluded that for a certain personality with the better companies there is some possibility it could "be for you" [and that ain't me]
Good luck!
If I had known that's why you were at G2E, I would have told you to not waste your time. The only reason the vendors were there, paying the big bucks for booths, was to show their new games to casino execs. I went to G2E to hand out literature for Poker For Roulette, but never expected to take more than a minute or two of any vendor's time - just enough time to introduce it, and exchange contact info.
You were looking for a job? That wasn't gonna happen.
>> or figuring out the 3:2 BJ payout on simple bets such as $20 or $100.
Man, that's scary! But it makes sense. Kids these days can't do simple math.
Have you talked to AZDuffman or read his blogs? He took dealer training, sponsored by the casino, prior to casinos opening in Pensylvania. It was interesting reading.
Comments
The brain and the body each need a tad more fats that but you can make adjustments as you proceed. Fluid intake will be critical for you. Its good to make use of your "off work" time but keep your phone handy just in case someone calls you in on short notice.
Good health helps you stand there and pay attention to the players.
Try Whey protein if you havent. If you drink it 30min after a workout it will help build and repair muscle. Its slow to digest and works well as a meal replacement. Lots of great amino acids too!