Every time you walk in a casino, it is full of flashy lights, cheering sounds, bright colors, and seemingly happy people. For the most part, people working in a casino are dressed nicely, will smile at you at all times, and, in general, look happy. Their job is to play your host and make you feel welcome and comfortable.
But, there is the other side to that coin as well.
Although I’ve never worked in a casino myself, I’ve been around casinos and people in the industry for a well over a decade and I know that all the glitz and glamour is for the show. Behind the scenes, things look much differently, and not everything is as smooth and shiny as it appears on the surface.
At the end of the day, a casino is just another business venue, and a demanding one at that. They have to keep an eye out on so many things: keeping players happy, making money, not getting cheated, all the while maintaining a balance and a healthy working environment in the midst of all the stress and often very high expectations put before them by the players and those running the show alike.
So, what is it really like to work in a casino?
Dealers and Croupiers
Dealers and croupiers are what makes every casino tick. They are by the most numerous group employed by a casino and they are the ones dealing with the players practically every minute they spend on the floor. Dealers have a lot to deal with (no pun intended) as they don’t just need to be good at their job but also need to have the capacity to make the players happy and entertained.
Although it can be a lot of fun, I’d say that working as a dealer is one of the most stressful “ordinary” jobs out there. There is just so much they have to handle every day, from staying focused on not making any mistakes to taking on rude players and managing them in a way that doesn’t offend them. And, they’re the ones often witnessing breakdowns of people who lost the money they weren’t supposed to; even if these people aren’t blaming them directly, these things are hard to digest.
I know many casino dealers and almost all of them take something to help them reduce the stress and get them through the day. You may think that it’s such an easy job, throwing out the cards and having breaks every 40 minutes, but it is worth sometimes putting yourself in their shoes and looking at things from their perspective.
You Can’t Make Everyone Happy
How often have you seen a player curse the dealer, blaming him or her for all the bad luck? Of course, it doesn’t matter other people are winning (some always are), this dealer is such a source of bad luck for this particular individual that he just must let the world know about it and throw an angry fit because his numbers aren’t coming in at the roulette table.
And it’s not just one. There are dozens of players like this every day.
Experienced dealers get used to this and good casinos usually have a well-rehearsed system where they simply switch the dealers if they realize things are getting too heated up. But, for those new to the gig or simply more emotional, things like this are very stressful.
Furthermore, many players seem convinced that dealers are somehow in cahoots with the house and they want everyone to lose as much money as possible. In most cases, though, the truth is quite the opposite.
Dealers want players to win!
Winning players leave tips and tips are usually a significant portion of a dealer’s monthly income. Casinos don’t care about individual wins or losses; they know they’ll win in the long run either way. So, dealers root for you to win every single time, you can trust me on that!
The First Line of Fire
In a way, dealers are the ones on the first line of fire and they probably have the hardest job in a casino when compared to their earnings. They have to deal with the players on a day-to-day basis, they have to take insults with a smile, and they have to do it all while staying focused on their job.
Because we don’t tolerate dealers’ mistakes.
They only have one job and they might as well do it right, right? God forbid they make a mistake; it must be them trying to cheat you somehow.
This isn’t me trying to defend casino dealers. I’ve also known some very rude ones who hate their jobs and shouldn’t be in the industry at all. But, for the most part, dealers are regular people trying to make a living and we, the players, don’t actually make their jobs any easier.
Floor People
I have to be honest, in my experience with the casinos, floor people do seem to have one of the best jobs. Sure, they’ll occasionally need to explain to a player why they didn’t win any money across an imaginary payline on a slot machine or help them to get started, but, for the most part, they get do to all the fun stuff.
They’re usually the ones distributing hand pays, which is the high moment for most people visiting the casino. You’ll rarely hear complaints from someone who just won big; they’ll usually be all smiles and they’ll often tip nicely as well.
Of course, this isn’t to say the floor people don’t have an important role as well. They are the ones who keep an eye out on the players in the casino and make sure everyone is treated well. It is their job to discreetly pay attention to what everyone’s doing and either reward them accordingly or have the security escort them out.
So, they do have a lot of responsibility in the well-oiled casino machinery, but their jobs aren’t nearly as stressful. They usually have closer connections with regular players as well, so they often regard them as friends almost, so they don’t suffer the same kind of abuse the dealer do.
Casino Higher-Ups
There is a whole segment of every casino that stays away from the players’ eyes for the most part: the management. Like in every other business, it’s the casino higher-ups who make sure everything runs smoothly and the business continues to bring in the money.
To achieve this, the management is divided into various parts, depending on the size of the casino. There are:
- Day-to-day operations
- Players’ relations
- Security
- Business development, etc.
All these segments need to work together to make sure the casino achieves the goals set forward by the owners or shareholders. So, the management is the one responsible for everything that does or doesn’t happen on the floor at the end of the day. Dealers won’t get fired if there isn’t enough money coming in from the blackjack tables – those in charge of day to day operations and the business development might.
But, naturally, with more responsibility come better rewards, so those in the management are usually paid well for their services. They are the corporate side of things and, while they might not have to deal with the players, they do have to deal with frustrated dealers and help them keep their cool.
The Waiting Staff
Finally, in most casinos, there are people in charge of making sure players are kept happy with food and drinks. These men and women are a part of the hospitality segment and don’t have that much to do with the gambling side of things.
Of course, working as a server in a casino can be more stressful than working in a nice restaurant but, luckily, they don’t have to stick around to hear the players’ complaints – it’s not their job. On the other hand, since there is always someone winning at the casino, tips can be quite nice, so that can balance a few rude comments.
Expectations are quite high, though, so those working as servers in the casino industry must always look their best and keep the smile on their faces. In that regard, they are the same as everybody else inside a casino; players can get frustrated, the staff must never show their frustration.
It Looks Much Better from Outside
When all is said and done, working at a casino may seem much better looking from the outside. From a player’s perspective, everything is so nice and smooth and everyone’s happy; but that’s just smoke and mirrors.
The reality of it is, people working in a casino are just that – people. For most of them, their job is what helps them pay their bills and support your family, just like we all do. This is something to always keep in mind. Those casino employees you have a direct contact with aren’t the ones making millions from the business, so there is absolutely no reason to be rude to them at any time (except if they’re being rude to you for no reason).
And, remember, dealers and floor people do cheer for you most of the time, even if they aren’t allowed to say it out loud!
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