Dealing opportunities in Vegas

[Big Business]

I am sure there is good money in it. I see those bartending places advertising all the time and they make tons of money. I would think it would be hard to start up, but once you put graduates in good jobs and get some good numbers to back up your services I think you would be golden.

[bigfishead]

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They have a dealer school in vegas that if you attend/graduate you will have a big leg up on getting a job. It does not take long to do.

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Big leg up? Not hardly. I think I made it clear. There are Maybe 5 places in LV to deal.(I didnt include Bellagio since they are way overstaffed right now) The rest are junk. At least, in comparison. Wanna learn bad habits? Go to all the other casinos. Wanna get a bad dealer attitude? Go to the other places in town. Wanna learn incorrect dealing/poker principles? Go to the other poker rooms.

The schools, to a man, take your money and give you simple simple basics which you already know if you play live. And they give you a place to prctice shuffling and pitching. Thats it. I have never seen a "dealer" come out of a school.
They are nothing more than "break-ins".

My suggestion: Get close to 1-2 good dealers in your local card barn. Get close to 1-2 floor people. Get to know the poker room manager or owner if it's a small establishment.(What I did in 1984). Get them to give ya a couple used but decent setups. Go home, fold a towel in quarters and practice shuffling. Sit on your couch cushion at the kitchen table or get your computer chair to where your knees touch the underside of the desk. Practice practice practice the mechanics. And when playing, whatch the action, understand how or why a ruling is made. Never ever give a dealer or floor or player a hard time. No matter how bad a beat it is or how bad your running. let your personality shine. These things will allow you to become a real dealer.

Then go deal in a poker room that spreads 3-6 limit up to 20-40 or so. NOT just a low limit room. That is very very bad. You must go to a room that spreads mid limits if at all possible. For very important reasons, I am of the belief that low limit only rooms will teach you all the wrong things.

I work at Bellagio. I didnt have to audition. I am in the top 10% of dealers(I hate to sound egotistical, but I learned well so give them credit not me). Bellagio is very good when it's good and not so bad when it's bad as far as the $$ goes. Tho during those rough times it aint fun. There are many other places around the country where one will consistently earn more nite in and nite out. You may not have the once or twice a year $400-600 nite, that happens at Bellagio. But you will consistently make more.


LV aint an easy place to live. If you want to just party and get laid for a year or two, and dont care about the time, then go for it. Or if your planning on going to school at UNLV for a good degree, then come on out and deal in just about any room for enough income to survive.

Hope this helps. Best wishes.

[Randy_Refeld]

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I work at Bellagio. I didnt have to audition. I am in the top 10% of dealers(I hate to sound egotistical, but I learned well so give them credit not me)

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Heh, I can verify this is true.

There are two people i would trust to teach poker dealing that have taught at the schools and I have no idea if they are currently teaching. One of them works at the Palms and one of them authored a dealing book with Mason.

[bigfishead]

or you could go to Mississippi and pay Randy $1000 and learn from another top notch dealer. Then in January go deal the tournament at the Gold Strike for 3 weeks. It's possible I may be going there as DC(dealer coordinator). Just possible, nothing for sure. And if you toked me a few black chips(just joking)....who knows, I might put in a good word for ya with the tournament director whom is a very well known man in the industry with a steady position in LV.

ps, Randy you owe me 10% commission! [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[EWillers]

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If you have experience I would suggest in order, Palms (graveyard shift), Cannery (swing), MGM(swing or Grave), Sunset Staion (grave or swing), Boulder station(swing).

Of all these listed, none regularly spread anything higher than 2-5 nl or 10-20 limit.

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Last i heard the palms still got a 5/10 NL game going most days during the week and every weekend.

MGM also spreads 5/10, but verily, it is far from "regularly".

[bigfishead]

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[ QUOTE ]
If you have experience I would suggest in order, Palms (graveyard shift), Cannery (swing), MGM(swing or Grave), Sunset Staion (grave or swing), Boulder station(swing).

Of all these listed, none regularly spread anything higher than 2-5 nl or 10-20 limit.

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Last i heard the palms still got a 5/10 NL game going most days during the week and every weekend.

MGM also spreads 5/10, but verily, it is far from "regularly".

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Well I havent been in the Palms poker room hardly at all in the last 2 months so I suppose thats certainly possible.

My best friend just moved to LV to deal and play and he was talking about getting a job at the Golden Nugget. So these card rooms arent worth going to? I mean, we have solid dealing skills, so I dont think bad habits would be a problem, but would the pay be nominal compared to the top 5? And are contacts important in landing a good dealing job? That's what I'm most worried about, I really have no options as far as making contact with managers right now as I live on the East Coast. Any suggestions?

[Randy_Refeld]

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I mean, we have solid dealing skills, so I dont think bad habits would be a problem

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If this is really true you shoudln't have a problem. I know a lot of places have had to lower their standards with the poker boom. I know when I used to audition delaers in Vegas (I left Vegas in 2001) less than half of the dealers with expeience in AC (that auditioned) were up to speed. We would hite breakin dealers, but there were certain bad habits that dealers pick up that if we saw them in the audition we woudlnt' hire the dealer (carrying the card across the box before dealing it to the 1 seat was the most common error I saw that disqualified the dealer from gettting hired, but there are others).

[bigfishead]

Dont argue. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Just go to those places I listed...maybe Ceasars since they are opening a room soon...but they are a harrahs property which mean dont expect shlt for proper management or customer satisfaction. Can you see how these things would be paramount to your income? Seeya when you get here!

[Chipr777]

Hey stranger! How's the big city treating ya?