LV table game dealer demeanors (Thoughts Old Timer?)
burger
Senior Member
Sorry this is not relative to any sporting event or betting strategy whatsoever....
Just something I have noticed about the US gambling mecca we know as Las Vegas, Nevada.
For the last 11 or 12 years I spend about 60-80 days annually in Las Vegas.
I love the city and always have. The mystique and nostalgia of the "good ole days" in Las Vegas has always peaked my interest...whether it be in writing or movie form.
It has been at least 3 years since I set foot on Fremont. I used to go down there at least 1 or 2 days a year just to soak up the "roots" aspect of Las Vegas and imagine what it must have been like to have comps given by face recognition instead of what a players card rating spits out, but more importantly what it must have been like to visit the city and be greeted by dealers who at least attempted to show some gratitude for your frequenting their place of employment, thus aiding them in earning a living.
Over the past decade (I can't even imagine the drastic change if I were to go back 30 years instead of a short 10) I have notice a dramatic decline in your everyday "run of the mill" table game dealer/employee.
I'm not speaking of the dregs outfits...those working the low limit blackjack and roulette wheels on the graveyard shifts at any of the dumps downtown or even out at local's joints like Green Valley Ranch....
I'm speaking of some of the best (if not the best) dealing jobs in the city...(Aria/Bellagio/Cosmo)
Most of the dealers at these joints are making really good money for the service that they provide. A friend of mine that works at the Aria told me that all the house dealers avg chopping 100k per 24 hours in players tips alone.
They have a lot of employees there but nonetheless the avg full-time Aria house game dealer is earning close to 100k per year plus benefits. Not a bad gig for a lot of people.
I don't partake in tons of -EV gambling situations although I will admit to enjoying a few hours of the occasional roll of the dice with friends or sometimes I will just tag along, have a few drinks, and be a rooting spectator.
The dealer attitudes that I have witnessed lately is simply disgusting.
At a craps game if there is more than 3 or 4 rolls of the dice without a 7-out, the dealers may as well go hold up a witty cardboard sign while standing on one of the bridges that connect many of the casinos on the strip. The panhandling and begging for dealer appreciation is horrid and embarrassing.
Over the past couple of years the begging done by craps dealers that I have witnessed at the Bellagio and Aria is absolutely mind boggling. How they get away with this and are not admonished by the pit bosses or management in some way is beyond anything I will ever understand.
The dealers talk to newbie players like they are dogs. Instead of making them feel welcome and teaching them how to play (thus adding to their customer base), time after time I see some asshole dealer or floor make some young guy or girl feel stupid and eventually sheepishly walk away.
The last time I was at a dice game I saw a dealer who was working one end of the table stop the stickman (who was running the game very slow in the first place) and said out loud "slow down until I tell you to go, these people don't know what the hell they are doing". Moments later the stickman gave an admonishment to a quiet guy who was playing larger than anyone else at the table and was just getting crushed and why.....because the guy said "fuck" to himself after about the 8th point/seven out roll in a row.
Then (while the guy was probably around 4k stuck) the same stickman gave him hell because he threw out some kind of long shot bonus bet (fire bet type of thing) a few seconds too late for the stickman's liking. It got a little heated and ended with the stickman saying "if you would ever play a two way bet you would not have any problems getting your bets in", meaning if he would tip a little more while getting his brains beat in the employees would be more congenial.
Meanwhile the floor just sat there checking his watch.
I hate smoke (pretty much allergic to it) but if I was gonna take a dealing or floor job in a casino I would damn sure know going in to expect to be around it on a daily working basis. But some of these dealers/floors reactions to a customer lighting up a cigarette just flabbergasts me. The ugly looks, the quick outbursts of "can you move that so that it isn't blowing in my face", and the sighs of resentment are almost automatic.
At blackjack a customer is lucky if the dealer even acknowledges that another human is even sitting or standing across the table from them and I can't even recall the number of times I have seen someone tip after a winning hand or put out a wager for the dealer and never even get acknowledged for doing so.
I could play devil's advocate and go thru all the reasons why the job probably beats you down, grates on a person's patience, and makes him/her cynical....but I'm not. The arrogance and pompous attitudes that these dealers show to some of these customers (myself included at times) doesn't deserve a free "get out of jail card" IMO.
It is as if somewhere along the way the customers have wilted to the prickly demeanor of these people and somehow the "fear" of causing bad karma in the dice or cards (if the customer doesn't continually tip or donate money to the Casino employees) overpowers the customer's right to enjoy themselves without feeling obligated to only tip for QUALITY customer service.
Pathetic.
Just something I have noticed about the US gambling mecca we know as Las Vegas, Nevada.
For the last 11 or 12 years I spend about 60-80 days annually in Las Vegas.
I love the city and always have. The mystique and nostalgia of the "good ole days" in Las Vegas has always peaked my interest...whether it be in writing or movie form.
It has been at least 3 years since I set foot on Fremont. I used to go down there at least 1 or 2 days a year just to soak up the "roots" aspect of Las Vegas and imagine what it must have been like to have comps given by face recognition instead of what a players card rating spits out, but more importantly what it must have been like to visit the city and be greeted by dealers who at least attempted to show some gratitude for your frequenting their place of employment, thus aiding them in earning a living.
Over the past decade (I can't even imagine the drastic change if I were to go back 30 years instead of a short 10) I have notice a dramatic decline in your everyday "run of the mill" table game dealer/employee.
I'm not speaking of the dregs outfits...those working the low limit blackjack and roulette wheels on the graveyard shifts at any of the dumps downtown or even out at local's joints like Green Valley Ranch....
I'm speaking of some of the best (if not the best) dealing jobs in the city...(Aria/Bellagio/Cosmo)
Most of the dealers at these joints are making really good money for the service that they provide. A friend of mine that works at the Aria told me that all the house dealers avg chopping 100k per 24 hours in players tips alone.
They have a lot of employees there but nonetheless the avg full-time Aria house game dealer is earning close to 100k per year plus benefits. Not a bad gig for a lot of people.
I don't partake in tons of -EV gambling situations although I will admit to enjoying a few hours of the occasional roll of the dice with friends or sometimes I will just tag along, have a few drinks, and be a rooting spectator.
The dealer attitudes that I have witnessed lately is simply disgusting.
At a craps game if there is more than 3 or 4 rolls of the dice without a 7-out, the dealers may as well go hold up a witty cardboard sign while standing on one of the bridges that connect many of the casinos on the strip. The panhandling and begging for dealer appreciation is horrid and embarrassing.
Over the past couple of years the begging done by craps dealers that I have witnessed at the Bellagio and Aria is absolutely mind boggling. How they get away with this and are not admonished by the pit bosses or management in some way is beyond anything I will ever understand.
The dealers talk to newbie players like they are dogs. Instead of making them feel welcome and teaching them how to play (thus adding to their customer base), time after time I see some asshole dealer or floor make some young guy or girl feel stupid and eventually sheepishly walk away.
The last time I was at a dice game I saw a dealer who was working one end of the table stop the stickman (who was running the game very slow in the first place) and said out loud "slow down until I tell you to go, these people don't know what the hell they are doing". Moments later the stickman gave an admonishment to a quiet guy who was playing larger than anyone else at the table and was just getting crushed and why.....because the guy said "fuck" to himself after about the 8th point/seven out roll in a row.
Then (while the guy was probably around 4k stuck) the same stickman gave him hell because he threw out some kind of long shot bonus bet (fire bet type of thing) a few seconds too late for the stickman's liking. It got a little heated and ended with the stickman saying "if you would ever play a two way bet you would not have any problems getting your bets in", meaning if he would tip a little more while getting his brains beat in the employees would be more congenial.
Meanwhile the floor just sat there checking his watch.
I hate smoke (pretty much allergic to it) but if I was gonna take a dealing or floor job in a casino I would damn sure know going in to expect to be around it on a daily working basis. But some of these dealers/floors reactions to a customer lighting up a cigarette just flabbergasts me. The ugly looks, the quick outbursts of "can you move that so that it isn't blowing in my face", and the sighs of resentment are almost automatic.
At blackjack a customer is lucky if the dealer even acknowledges that another human is even sitting or standing across the table from them and I can't even recall the number of times I have seen someone tip after a winning hand or put out a wager for the dealer and never even get acknowledged for doing so.
I could play devil's advocate and go thru all the reasons why the job probably beats you down, grates on a person's patience, and makes him/her cynical....but I'm not. The arrogance and pompous attitudes that these dealers show to some of these customers (myself included at times) doesn't deserve a free "get out of jail card" IMO.
It is as if somewhere along the way the customers have wilted to the prickly demeanor of these people and somehow the "fear" of causing bad karma in the dice or cards (if the customer doesn't continually tip or donate money to the Casino employees) overpowers the customer's right to enjoy themselves without feeling obligated to only tip for QUALITY customer service.
Pathetic.
Comments
I do have a really funny story from the trip however. It's 4 a.m., my friend and I stumble down to the floor to play some roulette. The spinner (not sure if that's the correct term) is a Filipino woman, probably in her early 50s. My buddy is a smooth talker so he tries to get her loosened up early. No luck whatsoever. She's as cold as ice. Spinning, spinning, taking our money. Finally, he asks if she's married. She replies, "Five time." A little shocking but it's Vegas so not totally floored by her answer, just maybe the manner in which she delivered it. We find out she has a boyfriend that may be lucky number six. My buddy starts prying into what happened with the previous hubby, he asks, "You cheated on them didn't you?" She laughs it off, "No, no, no." She's starting to loosen up a bit, he keeps greasing the wheels. A half hour goes by and he comes back to the topic we are most interested in. "Come on babe, you cheated on him, right." Out of the blue, no fluff, no explanation, no nothing, her response, "Two Mexican."
I literally fell out of my chair laughing.
adding.... cocktail waitresses are also catching on to the pushy rudeness. If I wanna pay for looking at fake tits there are plenty of strip clubs available. No thanks.
Not making an excuse for the shitty behavior-- just guessing why it's happened.
Do another survey There's 3 things a dealer is required to do. This is required even if your don't speak English. Don't get me wrong but they stress guest service and then hire people who can't speak English. They should make Learning English mandatory. Please understand sometimes players just want to play and aren't interested in talking so if you see a table with very little talking it may not be the dealers fault especially in a High Limit Pit. Getting back to the three things a dealer must do. First when you sit down is Welcome to the Aria (or Whatever Casino your in) The second think is after you buy-in it's Good Luck Sir and after your finished playing is Thank You for playing Sir. If you beat a player you still say Thank You for Playing and Better Luck (The key words are Better Luck not good luck)
The dealers today are terrible most of them anyway. Now I'll tell you two things that stand out why the big difference when I dealt and the dealers today is because we all gambled and knew how it felt to lose and how a dealer should act. We also dealt in dumps and banged on doors for years before making any kind of real money. Now they work 6 months and make 70k They really don't have a clue how to treat a guest that has so many places to go. My buddy is from Encore made 82k this past year. Cosmo is a great job maybe 80k the Bellagio another great job. MGM and Harrahs are very poorly run casinos but the casino business is like no other business they all make money but how much more can they really make. Believe it or not if they could get rid of table games they would but who's going to go to there shows there very High Dollar Restaurants
Burger I'm going to stop right here because I know many people in this town and what you say is true. They feel they are entitled to get tokes from you regardless of the lack of service they give. Personally I don't play much and haven't for years but once in a while I sit down at a BJ game if I could find a good one. If I don't get any kind of service I'll stiff you I don't give a shit I want something for my money. Last night me and the wife went out for dinner and we had a waitress that was one of the best. The wife was paying this one tip and all so she gave her 20% but we were so impressed in the little details that she did I slipped her another 10 now I'll never stiff a waitress but I won't tip nearly what I would have and I'll tell him/her the service needs improving but a dealer I'll still stiff that sour puss that's rude and snatches my money when I lose like she's happy about it and then all of a sudden I go on a run and now she/He is my buddy. I'll say it again it's gaming not Gambling now.
I have much more to tell you but sometimes you need to bite your tongue never know who's listening.
Stop making excuse's there's an entitlement in this town that's disgusting. I worked in the casino business did you work or were you just a player
" but a dealer I'll still stiff that sour puss that's rude and snatches my money when I lose like she's happy about it and then all of a sudden I go on a run and now she/He is my buddy. I'll say it again it's gaming not Gambling now."
Reminds me of a time @Harrahs, Laughlin when our craptable was on a monster roll. Boxes limit and Come Bets limit "off and on". Anyway, one of the dice is stuck between 2 chips and it was a borderline 7 out or another #. I know you guys have something to measure the angle. This bitch sticklady slaps at the dice and YELLS 7 out line away. I told her I'd throw my chips in the Colorado River before I'd ever toke her and her crew again.
That's interesting because it's always the high side for those that don't understand it's the side that if there were no chips in the way that would be the number. It interesting because depending where the die was the stick person more times not not can't see the high side especially in a jam game. The best part is most of the time upstairs can't tell especially if it's in the corners where the shadows are. That why your good crap dealers will always check to much sure there's enough space between bets but it happens. Dealers will take a hand called personal when on the stick like they had something to do it because they catch heat and get the rep the singer. We use to say get ready boys here comes Frankie.
Just a player who hung out at the sportsbook (but quit table games years ago for the reasons discussed) Also, drove a cab for 20 years on the strip.