[AMA] Ex-Casino Games Dealer and Supervisor - So Get The Questions Ready

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  currentfad on 19/02/2018 - 20:11

  Do different demographics of people (age, gender, race, wealth) have different preferences as to which games they play?

  How do you cope with people who are visibly irrational, hoping to win on a big losing streak (gambler's fallacy), who look like their pockets aren't deep enough to keep going?

  Favourite game to deal?

  • 

    pegaxs on 19/02/2018 - 20:29

    +3

    Do different demographics of people (age, gender, race, wealth) have different preferences as to which games they play?

    Definitely. There are whole departments dedicated to catering to these demographics. The casino industry spends lots of time and effort catering games to these demographics. So much so, that i could pick a persons preference for a game based on their age, sex, wealth and nationality.

    How do you cope with people who are visibly irrational

    It's hard. My main focus was to stay calm. It's hard to be angry at someone who doesn’t give a shit and who is calm. I am a big, imposing man, so I used that to my advantage when i had too. But the important part was to listen. People want to vent, and never take it personally. They are in a bad place, adding too it doesn’t help. As for the ones that were eaten up by the system, I used to do everything i could to help them out, but gambling is as addictive as any drug I know.

    Favourite game to deal?

    By far, Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo. It is one of the most mentally challenging games to deal. Only a few people could do it well, and when you could, the punters knew who you were and would request you to deal for them. That was the ultimate recognition of skill and most rewarding.

    • 

      Scrooge McDuck on 19/02/2018 - 23:33

      +1

      But the important part was to listen. People want to vent, and never take it personally. They are in a bad place, adding too it doesn’t help.

      In those situations it helps to be an active listener — often a person's words are very different to what they actually want to say.

      • 

        pegaxs on 19/02/2018 - 23:42

        +1

        Could not agree more. This is exactly the point. I have diffused many a bad situation with a customer by just listening. They are frustrated, angry, emotional and just want someone to give a shit…

        You don’t have to give in to them, but you have to give them time to get it out. People are way more reasonable if you just let them say what they need to say…

    • 

      jonnochen on 20/02/2018 - 20:04

      I'm 32, male, work as a public system doctor and a kiwi. What's my game preference?

      • 

        pegaxs on 20/02/2018 - 20:50

        +1

        At a guess and from past experience, I would have to say, low stakes, no limit hold ‘em poker. Failing that, it would be off to the blackjack table while you waited…

        While not everyone fits their demographic, it certainly does exist, even if I have gotten you wrong, it would be right for a majority. I have a friend who works in this department and she would be more accurate than I am. ;)

      • 

        jonnochen on 20/02/2018 - 20:53

        +1

        @pegaxs: Haha thanks for that. Poker is fun, I always lose so I'm better off amongst friends. Low stakes single 0 roulette is where I got the most fun for my money. People are hilarious to observe at casinos. :)

  • 

    Diji1 on 19/02/2018 - 20:30

    -2

    How do you cope with people who are visibly irrational, hoping to win

    I imagine they encourage them to keep going. :D

    • 

      pegaxs on 19/02/2018 - 20:43

      +7

      I imagine they encourage them to keep going. :D

      Quite the opposite, actually. Dealers are humans, not machines, we feel empathy/sympathy for people who are out of luck. We want people to win and have a good time, because it makes work fun. A bad table with a irrational person losing money is shit work and all you want them to do is leave or to go on your break.

      BUT! dealers are like most employees in any business, they feel under appreciated and unrewarded, so if they can get out of doing their job, they will happily tell losing players to go home.

      We were taught how to recognise problem gamblers and there was a really good proactive program to get these people help. I don’t know of any dealer that wanted a punter who was burying heaps of money and shit out of luck to stay there and keep playing.

      • 

        Scrooge McDuck on 19/02/2018 - 23:45

        +4

        Dealers are humans, not machines, we feel empathy/sympathy for people who are out of luck.

        Hence you're an ex-dealer.

      • 

        pegaxs on 20/02/2018 - 00:40

        +32

        @Scrooge McDuck:

        There is only so much human suffering and misery one can bear in a life time. The casino is a machine that chews people up and spits them out on both sides of the tables.

        It’s fun, exciting and glamorous, but strip away that polished veneer, and it’s a seething pit of despair and ugliness…

      • 

        captaincabinets on 20/02/2018 - 11:50

        +1

        @pegaxs:

        Very poetic & eloquent. You should consider writing a short story or long form journalism piece.

        Might be a bit of atonement for you for formerly supporting an industry you now actively dislike.

      • 

        pegaxs on 20/02/2018 - 12:14

        +1

        @captaincabinets:

        Don’t get me wrong, I don’t "actively dislike" the casino or the gaming industry. I just have a very different view of it. I've seen it's underbelly. I think casinos are a great way to get people working and it supports a lot of other great things in and around the community. But it's more like eating eggs from battery farms. People love eggs, they just don’t like the truth behind how they get them. The casino is the same. It's all lights, glitter, excitement built on a bed of misery and destruction.

        I have a half written book here about my experience working in the casino industry… One day I may get around to finishing it.

        It's just a shame I cant self post an Amazon E-book deal. Anyone know a good shill?? ;)

      • 

        captaincabinets on 20/02/2018 - 14:50

        +1

        @pegaxs:

        I have read a lot of your posts on this thread, as an armchair psychologist I think you're conflicted. In your opening post you say 'I am now very anti-gambling'. That sounds like active dislike. We have psychological defence mechanisms that tell us that "I took money from a bad industry, but I'm not a bad person, therefore it's not a bad industry". I guess it sounds condescending, you seem like a highly intelligent person. I'm just saying I think you're maybe more conflicted than you realise.

        I do hope you eventually publish. Australian culture is so steeped in gambling and I think it ruins a lot of lives, particularly the elderly.

      • 

        pegaxs on 20/02/2018 - 15:06

        +10

        @captaincabinets:

        It's a razors edge I walk on. I am anti-gambling, but I am not anti-casino. But yes, it is very conflicting place to stand now, between both worlds, inside and outside the industry.

        Do I lose sleep at night thinking about all the money I took in at the casino? No. Does my soul feel destroyed every time I take money off someone I know can ill afford it, yes, I am only human, but it's their choice to be there. I have helped so many people in my career at the casino that I like to think I clawed back just enough karma to make me whole again.

        Do I agree with what casinos do? No. But like anything, there is always a clean side and a dirty side. You cant have the glamour and the glitz without someone having to pay for it.

        While I don't condone gambling, if the casino didn’t exist, it would be just driven underground and unregulated. I'm not here to play Devils advocate and certainly not here to justify the casino's existence, it just happens to be one of the almost necessary evils of society. People will gamble regardless, my only wish is that there is somewhere safe and regulated for them to do so.

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  Diji1 on 19/02/2018 - 20:29

  +1

  Do you ever catch people(s) card counting? If so what gave them away - was it just the stats or something they did that you could see?

  (Or are they using decks of cards that beat card counting now?)

  • 

    pegaxs on 19/02/2018 - 20:37

    +6

    LOL @ card counting.

    Card Counting is (almost) an urban myth, perpetuated by movie tropes. While it is doable, it is not as prevalent as people might think. It takes a great deal of time, concentration and a lot of losing to get to that perfect storm in a shoe. Casino's counteract this by having maximum table limits and by having continuous shuffling machines.

    While there are card counters out there, the casino knows who they are and surveillance usually jump on them before they get to a table. The only place a card counter could do any real damage is in the higher limit areas, but those areas are under way more scrutiny.

    It's the cheaters, cappers and past posters that are the big problem, as these are skills that are easy to learn and can reap greater benefits.

    • 

      John Kimble on 19/02/2018 - 21:12

      +3

      cheaters, cappers and past posters

      Can you elaborate on these terms?

      • 

        pegaxs on 19/02/2018 - 21:26

        +41

        Cheater: Someone who games the system to their advantage. Tries to slip in cards, steal cards, swap cards. Claiming bets that are not theirs.

        Cappers: People who try to press (add more to) their bet before or just after being paid to seem like they had more on than they did.

        Past poster: Someone who tries to sneak a bet on AFTER the result is known.

        Easter Egg spoiler: (for the lulz…)

        Seagull: someone who walks around the casino looking for chips dropped on the floor…

      • 

        Diji1 on 19/02/2018 - 21:51

        +12

        @pegaxs: >Seagull

        Lold

      • 

        Scrooge McDuck on 19/02/2018 - 23:39

        +5

        @pegaxs:

        Seagull: someone who walks around the casino looking for chips dropped on the floor…

        How is this viewed by casinos? It's one of only a few ways to come out ahead!

      • 

        pegaxs on 20/02/2018 - 09:40

        +22

        @Scrooge McDuck:

        Seagulls are just part of the overall experience. You don’t really know they are there as a player, but as a dealer, they are hilarious. You get to recognise who they are and who the regulars are. It was such a funny thing to learn that seagulling is like a mini mafia, where the casino is split up by the seagulls and straying into another man's turf can start a hobo fight…

        I once saw a seagull watch a pokie machine for an hour, getting closer and closer to it, until he pounced on it, put in his player card and transferred the left over balance to his card… It was a 2c machine. It has 2 credits left on it. Took this guy the better part of an hour to claim that 4c. :D

      • 

        Scrooge McDuck on 22/02/2018 - 00:13

        +1

        @pegaxs:

        Hey, 4c rounds up to 5c at the TITO machine mate!!

    • 

      owli on 19/02/2018 - 21:40

      +2

      The only place a card counter could do any real damage is in the higher limit areas

      IIRC you generally need a membership to even have access to those areas, which at least deterred me.

      That being said the shift managers definitely did not like us making money off them on the public floors, especially the smaller casinos.
      And I was pretty happy with the return, several months of prep but then flying to location and about a week of actual work, ended up consistently winning approx 100%+ gain 9 times out of 10. Usually made around $10,000-$20,000 per trip, Nothing crazy but it's a bunch of fun.

      I Never got caught, at times we definitely had the shift managers watching us closely = time to leave.
      Need to run a tight ship, have to trust everyone in the team since it is hard to hold people accountable for their wins and losses.
      You just need to assume they were playing by the system without deviating or making any mistakes.

      • 

        pegaxs on 19/02/2018 - 22:23

        +5

        IIRC you generally need a membership to even have access to those areas

        Meh, yes and no. A lot of money would have you buy your way into there… and before you ask how much, basically, if you need to ask, you cant afford it ;)

        shift managers definitely did not like us making money off them

        Shift manager don’t give a shit about main floor operations and how much you are winning. I was once told that the main gaming floor makes about 5% of what is made in salons and high limit members only areas. They are not on commission and have no control over the games being dealt.

        I Never got caught

        A single or small team of card counters would have almost zero impact on gaming on the main floor. That being said, they were interested if a card counter came in. Most are allowed in, but have their betting restricted to one bet, one box, table minimum…

        have to trust everyone in the team…

        Correct. REAL card counters run as teams. Typically, anyone who says they count cards and works alone is full of shit.

      • 

        owli on 19/02/2018 - 22:37

        @pegaxs:

        Shift manager don’t give a shit about main floor operations and how much you are winning. I was once told that the main gaming floor makes about 5% of what is made in salons and high limit members only areas. They are not on commission and have no control over the games being dealt.

        Maybe I got my hierarchy mixed up, but we definitely had the guys managing the pit acting very differently after a while, it went from smiles and laughs to sour faces, staring at me and others from far away… maybe paranoia on our part?

        A single or small team of card counters would have almost zero impact on gaming on the main floor. That being said, they were interested if a card counter came in. Most are allowed in, but have their betting restricted to one bet, one box, table minimum…

        By caught, I mean having my bet size restricted which essentially means game over.

      • 

        pegaxs on 19/02/2018 - 22:56

        +4

        @owli:

        it went from smiles and laughs to sour faces

        Trust me, the chance it had something to do with you was negligible at best. No one is on a budget. No one is on commission. They were probably pissed because you caused them paperwork, not for the card counting, but because they had to write in why a table lost a certain amount. "FML, the guy on table 10 is up $10k. Now I have to write a pit report…"

        Trust me when I say, it's not their money, they don't really care. For every winner, there are 10 losers.

      • 

        owli on 19/02/2018 - 23:13

        +1

        @pegaxs: > "FML, the guy on table 10 is up $10k. Now I have to write a pit report…"

        LOL, yeah Reef hotel in Cairns I can imagine this, the whole city is on island time.

      • 

        JTTheMan on 22/02/2018 - 10:59

        +1

        @pegaxs:
        This is a very interesting thread pegaxz and it makes me think about the parallels with all areas of life where the small things we make big in our head make absolutely no difference when you look at the big picture!

        To us looking at a few hundreds or thousands of dollars is such a big deal but to the casino it makes absolutely no difference!

      • 

        pegaxs on 22/02/2018 - 11:37

        +1

        @JTTheMan:

        Exactly. My favourite is always hearing the person say "Oh, I hurt the casino last night, I took $10k off Roulette. Some dealer is getting fired tomorrow!!"

        That's not hurt, and nobody is getting fired. In reality, there is probably a guy up in the salon who is dropping $10k per spot on roulette, or up to $200k per spin, so that $10k of "hurt" means very little.

        What struck me as surreal was dealing games where my years wages AND my house were being bet on a single hand and nary an eyebrow was raised when they lost…

      • 

        JTTheMan on 22/02/2018 - 12:09

        +1

        @pegaxs: Yeah to us the house and a years worth of wage is what we get up for every morning but there are people who have that in their pocket so to speak.

        That's very surreal and makes you think are all humans equal and explains why maybe some people (not me) believe in a higher power that looks at all of us as being equal?

        The bottom line is we can't take it with us!

  • 

    brizzy on 21/02/2018 - 12:06

    Just about every casino has those dam shuffling machines now.
    Even with counting you lose every now and then, unless you are ballin' enough to have a big enough "spread" pretty hard to make any decent money (given the amount of time spent) which put me off.
    Also sometimes when you bet big cuz the odds are in your favour you still lose, eg dealer i suppose to pull a picture and bust, he pulls a small and gets 21

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  tsunamisurfer on 19/02/2018 - 20:39

  How does the Casino or its staff know when someone walking in or up to a counter has been self-excluded?

  • 

    pegaxs on 19/02/2018 - 20:47

    Because "surveillance"…

    Facial recognition has become a huge win for the casino industry. So, every so often, you would get an excluded player come in and surveillance would pick it up and security would be called to escort them out.

    The other thing to counter these people was educating floor staff to recognise them. Quite often, they were well known players who have just had enough, so you knew who they were. When someone like that self-excluded, a memo would let management staff (not dealers) know to keep an eye out for them.

    • 

      tsunamisurfer on 19/02/2018 - 21:26

      I see, so the movies aren't joking about facial recognition @ Casinos, it's actually reliable?

      • 

        pegaxs on 19/02/2018 - 21:28

        Can't comment on reliability because I never used or had access to the system. It must have been good enough because I know of many an excluded player being stopped well before they got to a table. I don’t know if it is anything like it is on TV, but it must work.

      • 

        JIMB0 on 19/02/2018 - 22:09

        +1

        Google photos has really good facial recognition. It can match photos of people even if they were taken many years apart ie. toddler to teenager. It's not perfect but is scaringly good.

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  djkelly69 on 19/02/2018 - 20:52

  +1

  Sickest beat/s at the poker table?

  • 

    pegaxs on 19/02/2018 - 21:09

    +4

    If I had a dollar… Bad beat stories were the bane of my life. Typically 99% of bad beat stories…. aren't. If it doesn’t involve getting quads or better smashed, it ISN'T a bad beat story.

    Here are two I personally dealt and remember that were at stakes high enough for me to give a shit about them… ($40 pots lost are NOT bad beats…)

    $10/$20 NLHE: Gutshot Royal flush over flopped straight flush. AK Hearts V's 89 Hearts. Flop 7 10 J Hearts, turn blanks, river Q Hearts… (Interesting fact: Only ever dealt 2 flopped Straight Flush and 1 flopped Royal Flush in the 6 years I dealt poker.)

    $25/$50 PLO: Flopped Quads to be runner, runner REKTY REKT!!

    Everything outside that was just a blur of "yeah, whatev's, man."

    • 

      jonnochen on 20/02/2018 - 20:12

      Haha wtf.

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  silverrat23 on 19/02/2018 - 22:11

  +1

  I'm sure you've seen celebrities wander and play while you were working. Had a mate who was also a dealer and saw Bruno Mars in-person one time. He commented was "never knew he was that short!".

  What was the most interesting celebrity sighting during your shift (if any)?

  • 

    pegaxs on 19/02/2018 - 22:47

    +6

    Oh dear! been waiting for this question… How do I answer this without dropping too many names…

    Quick story: I am NOT a fan of "football", but one night, I had some boys turn up after their "awards night". I said, "wow! you guys sure look like fans of football club" and I swear the casino went dead quiet. Nothing but crickets chirping… One of them finally said… "Um, we are football team…" and one of them I later found out was a football medal winner… I was the brunt of many a "you (profanity)" joke…

    Most interesting celebrity I would have to say was Shannon Elizabeth (Nadia from American Pie.) She was the most wonderful and unassuming person ever. So polite and exactly how anyone would imagine her. She used to come down each year to play the big poker tournaments and just blend in. Sat around a lot on night shift just chatting with her and she is just a normal person…

    Most other celebrities I have met are arseholes, and I have met a lot! Sports stars are the worst. Except Merv Hughes, who was possibly one of the funniest people I have ever had the fortune to deal poker too.

    I cant mention to many more, but there are some very big Hollywood actors in there. Some big TV actors… Mostly, they just wanted to be treated like everyone else, and I'm the type to not give a shit and I don’t treat anyone as special.

    • 

      humdogg on 20/02/2018 - 18:36

      +2

      I cant mention to many more

      why?
      what harm do you think you are exposed to by name dropping on such a topic. They aren't doing anything illegal?

      • 

        pegaxs on 20/02/2018 - 21:15

        +12

        Because it's not in my nature to do it. And some celebrities were there for reasons outside of PR duties. Some had gambling and other issues and just wanted to be left alone.

        I have always had a "I don’t give a shit who you are, you'll get treated the same as everyone else." mentality, and a lot of celebs and high profile people appreciated that and respected that I treated them just like any other punter. They also respected the fact I didn’t use it as an opportunity to sell my story and respected their privacy as a human being.

        Even years later, I guess I still hold that respect for these people, that in some of their worst moments, I stand fast in keeping my mouth shut.

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  Godric on 19/02/2018 - 22:20

  How many decks are used in games like black jack etc

  • 

    pegaxs on 19/02/2018 - 22:28

    +1

    Depends on the casino, but typically in a manually dealt shoe, it is 8 decks of cards. In a continuous shuffler, such as the "Shuffle Master: One2Six", it can be anywhere from 1 (for poker type games) and up to 6 decks (for BJ and Pontoon type games.), not that that is important, because, in theory, the continuous shuffler makes it an "infinite" amount of decks, as played cards are always returned to the shuffler to be shuffled right back in…

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  Ronerrlaw on 19/02/2018 - 23:08

  +1

  With all your knowledge of the inner workings of the casino and odds, what game would you spend $500 on?

  • 

    pegaxs on 19/02/2018 - 23:29

    +10

    The bar/restaurant…

    Guaranteed returns, know you’re going to have a good time. Make new friends… Can be a bitch tomorrow though… :D

    Seriously though… in order…

    Poker. It’s a game that requires some skill. Also, you’re playing against other players, not the house.

    If you really want to play the house, learn to play Craps. It’s exciting, it’s fun, it’s different and has some of the lowest house edge bets in the casino. And who doesn’t like throwing dice around a huge bathtub and yelling? Annnnd 7 out… sad-face.jpg

    Single zero roulette. Traditional Blackjack. Baccarat. Play these if you want that “casino feeling”.

    Do NOT play side games, stupid games like Casino War and the like. The house edge on these are terrible. They are low priced to appeal to new players or to drain your last few remaining $$’s as you are leaving…

    • 

      apptrack on 20/02/2018 - 12:17

      What do you think of Baccarat?

      • 

        pegaxs on 20/02/2018 - 13:05

        +3

        I never got over the whole superstition thing on Baccarat. It was hilarious to say the least. As a big white guy, I always go to Baccarat at other casinos and put a bet on whatever everyone else isn't playing, just to watch the shennaigans that go on.

        It's a boring as batshit game if you subtract all the Asians doing their weird card folding and table scratching rituals. Playing it on your own? May as well flip coins in the carpark…

      • 

        apptrack on 20/02/2018 - 13:17

        +1

        @pegaxs: Fair enough, I used to do it on the weekends for extra cash, was the only white bloke constantly. Was a good laugh.

      • 

        Excelsior on 20/02/2018 - 16:23

        +2

        @pegaxs:
        Hahaha "picture, picture!!!!"

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  ToTheMoon on 19/02/2018 - 23:39

  Where to get trained to be a dealer? Any requirement except for the background check?

  • 

    Scrooge McDuck on 19/02/2018 - 23:53

    +16

    Where to get trained to be a dealer?

    Cabramatta would be a good bet…

  • 

    pegaxs on 19/02/2018 - 23:55

    +2

    Get on your local casino’s website and have a look. There will be a “contact us” part and maybe even a recruitment page there. Give them a call and find out more. I never regretted one moment of my time at the casino. I loved working there and some days I really miss the excitement and the atmosphere… Driving trucks and fixing cars just isn’t the same…

    As for what you need, it’s pretty basic.
    First up, be over 18. You can’t go onto the gaming floor if your under 18. No exceptions.
    Make sure you at least listened in maths class. A dealers job revolves heavily around basic maths and LOTS of it.
    You will need a very clean police check history. Speeding tickets don’t matter, but being arrested in the past could hurt. Also, check with family that they are clean. One girl in my group was denied the job because she found out her father (that she never knew) had spent years in prison for armed robbery… so check the closet for skeletons…

    Outside that, it’s really just turn up for 4 to 6 weeks of training. As far as I know, all training is done in-house. There is no TAFE course to teach you how to be a dealer…

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  MagicOZ on 19/02/2018 - 23:48

  +1

  Are you gambler yourself?

  • 

    pegaxs on 20/02/2018 - 00:04

    +7

    sigh… yes. :(

    I wasn’t before I went to work for the casino, (lots of other dealers are ex-players though) but I would say I am now. I guess the big difference is that I know what my limits are and I know what to realistically expect. To quote a song I once heard, “I know when to hold ‘em, when to fold ‘em, know when to walk away, know when to run…”

    For example, my last visit to a casino, I spent $300 and lasted for over 4 hours. Time before that, $200 in, $600 out and 5 hours of play time. I play for the excitement and because I know what to expect. I go in fully expecting to lose my money, but I milk every last minute out of it.

    If you go in expecting to win and/or you start chasing losses, you’re gonna have a bad time…

    • 

      od810 on 20/02/2018 - 17:34

      Are you playing table games or Poker?

      • 

        pegaxs on 20/02/2018 - 18:33

        +3

        Mostly poker. It's easier to play against players then to try and beat the house.

        No poker, I will play Craps or Roulette.

• 

  Dr Cheapo on 19/02/2018 - 23:59

  Thanks op

  What ever happened to that game casino wars? Use to love losing cash at that table haha

  • 

    pegaxs on 20/02/2018 - 00:06

    +1

    You’re welcome, and thanks for asking a question.

    As for Casino War… Dead and buried, I hope. That game was cancer. :D

    • 

      Godric on 20/02/2018 - 09:53

      Casino Wars is still played at Crown, I play it some times haha.

      In the red/poker room

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  OneJay on 20/02/2018 - 00:04

  +6

  Does every bathroom have a secret door that can be used to remove people who top themselves in the toilets so they don't have to bring the deceased through the gaming floor?

  • 

    pegaxs on 20/02/2018 - 00:20

    +35

    Hahahaha… no.

    These are the types of questions I love. Trust me, I have seen my share of dead people on the gaming floor. They just bring out the “horse curtain” to shield off the area. There is a massive labyrinth of connecting corridors (back of house) that they can move people through without interruption to the gaming floor.

    Trigger warning

    Suicides are very rare (if ever) at the casino. It’s usually after people leave and the realisation of what their situation has become that they are at their greatest risk.

    And please, anyone who is reading this who has gambling problems and think this is their only solution, it’s not. Please, seek help. I am by no means a councillor, but if you feel you need help, I am all too happy to talk in private with you and help point you in the right direction to get the help you need.

    Gambling Help Online

    • 

      ColonialBoy on 20/02/2018 - 10:01

      +1

      So its more like 60yo Uncle Dave who had too much chips & cheese cake, all the fat exploded his arteries.

  • 

    bobbified on 20/02/2018 - 00:48

    That's an interesting one! I've heard this too - directly from the people who work at the emergency call centre. But haven't been able to verify or find any proof of it!

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  [Deactivated] on 20/02/2018 - 00:57

  Did you ever see people peeing in glasses/bottles because they didn't want to leave their table or machine?

  If so, any ladies?

  • 

    pegaxs on 20/02/2018 - 08:55

    +5

    Hahaha. Not personally, but I know that it happened when the casino first opened. It was too small and not enough tables, so if you got to a table, you didn’t leave. People would piss in the floor under the tables.

    On a sort of related note, poker was a place where we had to observe people a little more closely for the whole staying there too long. One guy arrived 6pm Friday after work in his suit and was still in the same suit playing when I arrived back to work on Sunday at 2pm. When i spoke to him to see if everything was ok, he honestly didn’t know that it was Sunday and he had been at the same table in the same seat for some 40+ hours…

    • 

      PleasureMe on 20/02/2018 - 10:52

      +2

      Wow! If you're not a poker player, this might sound hard to fathom, but i can relate to this and I can see how it wouldn't be hard to do. One night I arrived at the casino and sat down at the poker table at 9pm and I left at 7am the next morning. I wasn't even ready to leave, the only reason I left was because I get a text from my wife who had woken up and was wondering where the heck I was and why I hadn't come home. If I was single and had no one to tell me off, I easily would have stayed for many hours more. When you're in there playing poker, you lose total track of time. There are no windows so you never get a sense of day or night.

    • 

      od810 on 20/02/2018 - 17:40

      +1

      My record on a poker table was 36 hours :(, but those days thankfully had been long gone. I haven't been back to Crown for years.

      • 

        Scrooge McDuck on 20/02/2018 - 22:44

        What (sustenance) did you consume over that period?

        I can't go more than 3 hours without protein and so bring my own snacks and cocoa for the hot water dispenser. The Star is so tight with perks! 😒

      • 

        od810 on 20/02/2018 - 22:56

        +1

        @Scrooge McDuck: oh i could bring take away to the poker table.

      • 

        pegaxs on 20/02/2018 - 23:07

        +1

        @od810:

        "OMFG! Can you please keep your chicken greasy fingers off the cards!"

        Bane of my LIFE! :P

      • 

        od810 on 20/02/2018 - 23:10

        @pegaxs: oh i know how you guys can be arses when it comes to the cards. I remember multiple time the floor supervisors scolded at people on bending the cards :D

      • 

        pegaxs on 20/02/2018 - 23:23

        +1

        @od810:

        God damn it! Your posts should come with a trigger warning… My PTSD is acting up now.

        Piss off back to Baccarat if you want to bend cards!

        Lol. :D

      • 

        Scrooge McDuck on 20/02/2018 - 23:35

        +1

        @pegaxs:

        That's only one side of the coin. Imagine what has touched the fingers of all the players at the table who then touch the cards!

        People who eat with their fingers at the table get (more than) their just des(s)erts.

      • 

        pegaxs on 20/02/2018 - 23:44

        @Scrooge McDuck:

        I lump them in with the idiots that kiss their chips or dip them in their drink “for luck”

        For hepatitis more like it…

      • 

        doweyy on 22/02/2018 - 09:13

        +1

        @pegaxs:

        Haha this gave me a good chuckle pegaxs, could imagine how the grease would get in the way. Absolutely awesome thread, thank you for making it and answering all these questions! Definitely the best one I’ve seen.

      • 

        pegaxs on 22/02/2018 - 10:14

        @doweyy:

        Cheers! Trust me, it has been just as much fun answering as it has been reading it.

      • 

        lysp on 22/02/2018 - 12:47

        @pegaxs:

        Do or would some people intentionally mark cards by bending or staining with food to get an advantage?

        Pretend they are just being a slob, but secretly mark all the aces for example.

      • 

        pegaxs on 22/02/2018 - 13:06

        @lysp:

        100%, Yes. Anything to gain an edge.

        In poker and on Caribbean Stud, the cards were rotate out and checked very frequently. It was not weird to find marks, nicks, goop and other things on the cards to give an edge to a player.

        Baccarat cards do one round through a shoe and they are REKT!! Players rip them, tear them, fold them, bend them, scratch them along the table, all in the name of "LUCKEEEE, COME 4 SIDE! 4 SIDE!!!… Troi Oi!! No goot!…" throw_card.gif. This is called "squeezing". Watch it in action.

• 

  Powershopz on 20/02/2018 - 02:36

  What was your favorite pit and why wasn't it pit 4?

  What's your longest string of graveyards?

  Picture!?

  • 

    pegaxs on 20/02/2018 - 09:06

    +2

    This might give away where I worked…

    Pit 33. Because Poker. As for Pit 4, no problem. I liked the lower limit areas because the people were there generally to have fun and shifts went pretty quick. 10, because Roulette is a "real" dealers game. And 16 on a Friday evening next to the bar. Piano and well dressed ladies. Very "Casino Royale"…

    Longest string of night shifts were during a large poker tournament where I worked over 100 hours in 2 weeks. It went something like 7 on, 1 off, 7 on. Almost killed me.

    Picture! PICTURE!! Trời ơi! No Goot…

    • 

      Powershopz on 20/02/2018 - 16:46

      +1

      I'm fairly sure our paths would of crossed at one time or another. I worked at redacted for 10 years.

      • 

        pegaxs on 20/02/2018 - 17:27

        I have no doubt. :)

    • 

      MelbBargainChaser77 on 22/02/2018 - 04:05

      +1

      Im ex Crown to. Hated Pit 16- had to wear those wanky ties. Loved the old Pontoon in 4!

      • 

        pegaxs on 22/02/2018 - 10:23

        Pit 3 Pontoon! Best experience EVER! Closely followed by Pit 22 on a Friday/Saturday night.

        I mean, who doesn’t like drunk 20 something Aussie males emulating Lleyton Hwwitt's "COME ON!!!" every hand, or yelling "winner winner, chicken dinner!!" after watching "21" and thinking they were card counters…

• 

  zooboy on 20/02/2018 - 02:42

  How did you deal with having to work mostly nights and weekends ?

  • 

    pegaxs on 20/02/2018 - 09:21

    +3

    I liked sleeping in :D Every day was a sleep in day!

    Put it this way, going to work was like going to the casino to play games. Just like the punters, you don’t get a sense of time, so you don’t know if it is day/night/week days or weekends. It was almost fun going to work some nights. Saturday night shift was super busy, and before you knew it, it was time to go home. Monday day shift… OMFG! talk about 8 hours feeling like 12…

    Would I work these shifts in any other industry? No. Part of the reason I left was because rotating shifts ends up taking its toll on your body. I started having health problems related to working night shifts. Would I do it again to work in a casino, probably, because YOLO!!! :D

• 

  onetwothreefour on 20/02/2018 - 07:45

  +1

  What's the biggest tip you received?

  • 

    pegaxs on 20/02/2018 - 09:14

    +9

    Common misconception. Dealers are not allowed to accept tips. This is reinforced all the time. You lose your job over it if you are caught. Not working losing good job over a few shitty casino chips. The only way i would have taken a tip was if it was in the hundreds of thousands. And lets face it, that was never going to happen :)

    The two biggest "tips" I received were, a Chinese gentleman caned me at Blackjack one night to the tune of $100K+. When he left, he insisted that i have a $100 chip and was offended when I had to give it back. He stood his ground, pushed it back to me and walked off… It had to be put in the float and if he didn’t take it back, it went to charity.

    The second tip was from a horse breeder/trainer that was there during Big Horse Race. He told me to put some money on a horse and that it was a certain to win because it was in a race with donkeys and was under rated. That was one of the very very few times I ever bet on horses. Let's just say, it made me a tidy profit ;)

    • 

      [Deactivated] on 20/02/2018 - 11:02

      horse breeder/trainer

      Were the trainers initials DW and did said horse have "prince" in the title?

      • 

        pegaxs on 20/02/2018 - 11:10

        +1

        It was a long time ago. All I remember was everyone laughing at the guy because at that time of year everyone had "hot tips" for winning horses…

    • 

      wheretobuychocettes on 20/02/2018 - 11:08

      +2

      Apparently the not accepting tips thing is an Australian (or at least just Crown?) thing. My uncle has been to Vegas many times, and tipping the dealer is common. My uncle was also left confused and offended when the tip was refused at Crown.

      BTW OP, thanks for this AMA. By far one of the most interesting and not stupid threads that's reached the front page this year.

      • 

        pegaxs on 20/02/2018 - 11:17

        +10

        BTW OP, thanks for this AMA.

        Cheers! I’m just glad that people think it interesting enough to ask questions about it.

        not accepting tips thing is an Australian thing.

        Correct. It is very indicative of Australian casinos to not allow tipping (For memory is Government legislation to not accept tips, not the casino's choice.). Ill try and keep this short, but it is to deter cheating/bias/bribes/favours towards players that tip. It helps level the playing field for all patrons. The other major factor in this is that in Australia, we have a much high base wage than dealers do in the US. A Dealer there may typically make between $6 and $8 per hour where as in Australia, it can be up around the $30/h mark. I didn’t need to rely on tips to survive and I hated everyone equally, so it was no problem for me :D

      • 

        strat on 20/02/2018 - 18:10

        +2

        yep i tried to tip once never again.. was refused and looked like an idiot. lol

        In vegas the dealers were giving me hi-fives and saying thanks.

  • 

    lysp on 20/02/2018 - 09:23

    I went for a interview when I was younger at a casino and it was one of the things they brought up in the first group interview - no tips.

    Basically even if you were given a handkerchief, you were not allowed to accept it.

    Any cash/chip tips you had to refuse and if they insisted to tip after you refused, the tip would go into the dealer's pool of chips.

• 

  DEvok on 20/02/2018 - 08:09

  +2

  He cannot receive tips with government gold casino license, if so he will lbe terminated. People related within, host, VIP host, domestic host, dealers, gaming attendants, facilities and security can not take tips. Only Butlers, F&B, Public area cleaners, house keeping, porters, HR, scheduling, marketing etc may receive tips.
  There’s been cases were a lot of shonky stuff happens at casinos anyway.

  • 

    MelbBargainChaser77 on 22/02/2018 - 04:09

    -1

    As an ex casino employee, wheres theres a will theres a way to receive your tips ;) im talking the 5 figure variety

    • 

      pegaxs on 22/02/2018 - 10:29

      Rubbish. Player's don't tip dealers "5 figure" tips. If a player is trying to give you a tip that large, it's not a tip, it's a bribe.

      Like any wealthy gambler is going to meet you outside of work in the staff car park just to hand it off to you. Once you leave that table, you are all but forgotten. They might say "I'll get it to you." But once they are in the gambling groove, their memory of you doesn't last long.

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