Poker Dealer Salary With Tips
When we hear the word 'casino', we imagine the flickering lights of Las Vegas, spinning roulette, a large number of people playing poker at a table. However, while for some, the gambling establishment is a kind of entertainment and a way to spend time, relax, for others, it is work.
- Poker Dealer Salary With Tips 1x2
- Casino Dealer Salary In United States
- Poker Dealer Jobs & Careers - Everything You Need To Know
- Casino Dealer Salary Plus Tips
Who are the casino dealers and what are their responsibilities?
The average Dealer salary in the United States is $17,436 as of November 25, 2020, but the range typically falls between $15,045 and $20,459. Salary ranges can vary widely depending on many important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession. May 10, 2017 I have worked the WSOP 3 times, but will not be going back this year. It is relatively expensive to live there temporarily and the Rio provides no compensation for travel or housing expenses while you live in Las Vegas for 7–8 weeks. The national average salary for a Poker Dealer is $20,413 in United States. Filter by location to see Poker Dealer salaries in your area. Salary estimates are based on 130 salaries submitted anonymously to Glassdoor by Poker Dealer employees.
At a gambling establishment, a casino dealer is a person who conducts diverse games such as poker, roulette, craps, blackjack, baccarat and others. The dealer is also required to maintain a conversation with the client, explain the rules of the game, and monitor the compliance with the rules of the casino by customers.
In this part, we will provide exact information on how much do poker dealers make. First of all, it should be noted that when you just begin to work, you will have the minimum wage. In some gambling establishments, you will be paid approximately seven-eight dollars per hour. When you gain some experience, you will be paid about ten dollars per hour. According to the statistics, casino dealers receive 14,700 dollars a year. However, they frequently get tips. Taking into account this, casino card dealer salary with tips might increase up to sixty thousand dollars. Below, we will provide more information regarding the casino staff:
- See full list on gamblingsites.org.
- Oct 30, 2020 In California, the average base pay for poker dealers is $10 per hour or up to $38,122 per year. Top 4 Poker Dealer Salaries in Las Vegas: Wynn Resorts $60k – $100k (including tips) Caesars Entertainment $54k – $58k.
Poker dealer salary
On average, they earn approximately twenty thousand dollars.
According to statistics, blackjack dealers’ salary is significantly higher than poker dealers’ one – it is near twenty-seven thousand dollars.
Casino host salary
The average casino hosts’ salary is twenty-one and a half thousand dollars.
Some of those who can boast of their high salaries are the card dealers working in the gambling establishments located in the US. The top three states with the highest salaries are New York (a little more than forty-three and a half thousand dollars), Massachusetts (near forty-three thousand dollars) and New Hampshire (about forty-two thousand dollars).
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What requirements must be met in order to get a job as a dealer?
Obviously, you need to evaluate your talents and skills. There is a certain set of requirements for the future dealer.
Firstly, you need to have math skills. Of course, no one will force you to calculate cube roots from a six-digit number but the ability to multiply vividly double-digit numbers in your mind will be essential.
Secondly, it would be good at least minimally to know foreign languages. True, this is more a tradition than a professional requirement. For further professional growth, a foreign language is also useful – a good dealer has a lot of chances to find a place at gambling establishments that are abroad.
Thirdly, your fingers' mobility is taken into account. A music school diploma in the piano is optional but if you had serious injuries to your hands that caused your fingers to lose mobility, you had better look at another area.
Besides, you need to have good looks and have no serious health problems. Moreover, the absence of tattoos and scars on the hands is extremely important. Good health and endurance are very useful since you must spend a lot of time at night working in a smoky room, having only a small break for lunch. Of course, do not forget that during this time, you will have to move a lot and count in the mind.
The fifth requirement is psychological stability. During the game, the dealer is in close psychological contact with the players. And when it comes to a large sum, not everyone is able to control the emotions. Therefore, the ability to maintain calm and confidence in any crisis situation is highly valued among the croupiers. Of course, skills come with experience but if you are not initially ready to withstand emotional pressure, it is better to try yourself in another field.
An additional requirement, obviously, will be artistry. Yes, the croupier’s work is akin to a theatrical performance. It depends on the dealer how the game will go, how people will feel at the playing tables, and ultimately the tip size. Despite the rather regulated dealer’s behavior at the gaming table, a real pro is able to turn a game with strict rules into a real show.
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What are the advantages of the profession of the dealer?
The first advantage is the salary of a casino dealer. This is perhaps the most basic. Whatever you say, casino workers get very good money (including tips). Almost everything is up to you here. The better you will do your job and the more responsible you will be, the faster you will be able to increase your income by raising your own category.
Secondly, this regards career prospects. The main thing here is to study. Strive to prove yourself and show that you are the best professional in this industry. In order to do this, you will need to do well in the training and apply the acquired knowledge in the process.
The third advantage is related to the features of this specialty. The dealer profession is good in that you can learn its basics in a few months. Compare with following: you usually need to study at least four-five years at a university to get a job, then work a few years occupying the lowest positions, gaining experience, after which, finally, you can apply for a more or less interesting job with a full salary while at the casino you will begin to work immediately after having the necessary pieces of training and passing exams. Thus, after a couple of months of work, if you do your best, you will become a professional in the gambling field!
Besides, the work itself is very interesting. You acquire a lot of new skills in games. Even if suddenly, having worked a little, you will understand that this is not your cup of tea, the skills will still remain.
Finally, your attitude to life will change. You will become more resilient and wise: learn to ignore troubles, rudeness and unjust reproaches in your address – the acquired toughness will protect your nerves and help you not to waste your time on trifles.
Read more:Baccarat: What Kind of Game Is This?
Does the profession of the dealer have any drawbacks?
From first sight, it might seem that this profession is perfect, especially this regards the casino card dealer salary. However, it is not so. Like any other profession, it also has a number of disadvantages. The most obvious ones are:
First of all, it is a crazy work schedule. You need to work approximately twelve hours, add to this the time required to put yourself and your uniform in order, open the playing tables in the evening, close them in the morning, listen to the managers’ requirements, plus the time during which you will get home. As a result, “legal twelve hours of work” turn into fourteen-fifteen. If you do not just work but also study, then the concept of “sleep” can simply be erased from your life.
The second drawback is the bad influence of the work on your health. Due to the insane schedule of work, your body begins to function only at night, and during the day, you sleep. As a result, you might face digestive problems. You also have to work mainly while standing on your feet, which leads to severe fatigue, swelling of the legs and varicose veins. Lack of lighting negatively affects your eyesight, and the constant presence of cigarette smoke around you affects your lungs.
As mentioned earlier, Adrian Mateos has become the winner of the European Poker Tour Prague.
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Do you love the casino scene?
Does being a casino dealer seem like the perfect blend of glamour, excitement, and fun?
At first glance, being a dealer at a casino might seem like the perfect job. After all, you probably already enjoy the games you’ll be playing. And you will be getting paid to play them.
You don’t even have to risk losing any money while you play. The casino is banking all the action.
As a casino dealer, the amount you win for the house has no bearing on your pay, though. You get an hourly wage plus tips.
Compared to some jobs, being a casino dealer might be a great deal. As casino gambling continues to grow across the nation, more jobs become available, and fewer potential employees are out there to fill those jobs. This means wages are climbing, too.
This post examines how much you can expect to make as a casino dealer, tips and all.
What Is the Average Wage for a Casino Dealer?
Your average wage as a casino dealer isn’t impressive at all. It’s a service industry, so when you calculate how much you’ll make, you need to take the same kind of mindset that waitresses and bartenders take:
How much money you make is based more on tips than on your hourly wage.
And the better you serve your customers, the more they’ll tip.
In other words, if you’re not a people person, becoming a casino dealer might not be a great idea.
The hourly wages for casino dealers don’t vary based on the game, either. Blackjack dealers make the same kind of money as baccarat dealers, who make the same kind of money as poker dealers or roulette dealers (or croupiers, as they’re called).
The starting pay for an average casino dealer is between $8 and $10 per hour. Some of that is based on experience, too.
If you’re able to get 40 hours a week, which is unusual, you’re looking at $16,000 to $20,000 per year. Most casino dealers, especially starting out, don’t get 40 hours a week, though.
That’s barely enough to pay the rent if you have a roommate and live in a cheap apartment.
Depending on the casino and the stakes of the games you’re dealing, you can expect to make anywhere from $15 per hour in tips to $50 per hour in tips, on average.
That $50 per hour figure, by the way, is an outlier statistic. This assumes you’re working at a high-end casino dealing the higher-limit casino games to the high rollers.
Even then, some high rollers don’t tip — or if they tip, they don’t tip well at all.
Poker dealers make the most money from tips on the most consistent basis, but a lot of this depends on people skills. In some casinos, the dealers are required to pool their tips.
I once played at a casino in Las Vegas with an older poker dealer named Boris. He got mad at me for saying the words “Carpe diem” at the table. He said that I was only allowed to speak English at the table.
Being a friendly guy, I smiled and explained to everyone at the table that the phrase is Latin for “seize the day.”
Boris didn’t think that was helpful, either. He was surly and rude.
As a result, I didn’t tip him.
I shared the story with a professional poker player friend of mine, and he told me that he would have raised hell with the cardroom manager until Boris had been fired.
And the thing is… I don’t mind a little correction. In fact, I’m a humble guy. Had he been reasonably friendly and polite about it, I would have continued to tip him. So it goes.
Also, just because you’re dealing a higher-stakes poker game doesn’t mean you’ll make more in tips. Some of the high-rolling poker players are notorious cheapskates. If you’re dealing high-roller blackjack, craps, or roulette, you’ll do a lot better than if you’re dealing high-limit hold’em.
According to Glassdoor, the average wages for dealers and related jobs are all over the place. They suggest that the average dealer makes $40,000 a year. They also suggest that an average poker dealer only makes $20,000 a year.
Other related jobs include the floor supervisor, with an average salary of $53,000 a year, a casino host, with an average salary of $35,000 a year, and a casino shift manager, with an average salary of $27,000 a year.
The site also lists salaries by company, and it looks like Caesars is the best place to be a dealer, with a salary of $42,000.
Indeed.com has more survey results and suggests an average of $15/hour, which equates to $30,000 a year. They had a listing for a dealer position in Black Hawk, Colorado, where the starting pay was $38/hour. That’s $76,000 a year.
ZipRecruiter suggests that top dealers make $400,000 a year, but I can’t imagine that’s accurate. The rest of their averages are in line with what I saw on the other sites mentioned.
The Perks and Drawbacks of Being a Casino Dealer as a Career
If you know anything about the service business, you probably know that dealing with the customers can be the biggest perk and the biggest drawback to your job. This is especially true in the casino business, though, because emotions tend to be amped up when money is on the line.
You’ll probably spend a lot of time on your feet if you’re dealing table games in the casino. If you’re dealing poker in the cardroom, you’ll probably need to bring a pillow for some extra cushioning at your chair.
One of the other drawbacks of being a casino dealer is that it turns what used to be a leisure activity into a work activity. Playing blackjack is great when you get to do it a couple of times a year for a few hours at a time.
But after dealing blackjack for 30 hours a week for six weeks straight, it becomes drudgery.
In most casinos, smoking is still allowed. That might or might not bother you. I’ve spent enough time in bars and AA meetings that cigarette smoke doesn’t bother me at all, but I’m not like most people.
One of the perks of dealing casino games is that it doesn’t require a degree. You can go to a vocational school to become a dealer, though, but the time and financial commitments are smaller than with other careers. You can usually be qualified to be a casino dealer after a couple of months and an investment of $1,000.
If you’re a night owl, or if you’re looking for a second job — we used to call it “moonlighting” — casino dealing might be perfect for you. After all, most casinos are open 24/7. And guess which shifts are the hardest ones for the managers to cover.
Most casinos are owned by large companies with human resources departments. This means that you’ll probably be eligible for a benefits package. These can include health insurance and retirement benefits, as well as paid time off.
Breaks are longer for casino dealers than you’ll see at other jobs. At most casinos, you work for 90 minutes and then take a 30-minute break. During an eight-hour shift, you get a total of two hours of break time.
If you like having stories to tell, being a casino dealer puts you in a position to have lots of anecdotes. Heck, I have quite a reputation as a raconteur just from the stories I have to tell by being a player. And believe me, I haven’t spent THAT much time gambling in casinos — not compared to someone who deals for a living, anyway.
What Are Your Job Responsibilities as a Casino Dealer?
Think of the dealer as the host for a specific game. The dealer shuffles and deals the cards, or spins the roulette wheel, or directs the action at the craps table. The dealer also trades chips for money.
If you’re a poker dealer, you’re responsible for collecting the rake. It’s your job to make sure the players post their blinds.
If you’re dealing a casino game, you collect the players’ losses and pay out their winnings in chips.
It’s traditional to start your career dealing blackjack because that’s the most popular table game.
But in Europe, it’s more likely that you’ll start as a croupier — that’s the fancy name for the dealer running the roulette game.
The dice table is the toughest table game to be a dealer. Even after writing about craps for years, I still have to look things up. The action is fast, there are lots of bets on the table, and there’s just a lot to keep up with. Craps is the last game most dealers learn.
You’re responsible for maintaining your own gambling license, too. It’s similar to having a driver’s license if you’re going to drive for a company or a food handler’s permit if you’re going to cook for people.
If you have lousy credit and/or a criminal record, you might run into trouble getting your license.
By the way, I have a lady friend who dealt blackjack for years. She’s clueless when it comes to basic strategy. You’re not required to learn the correct strategies for the games you deal.
Poker Dealer Salary With Tips 1x2
My advice to prospective dealers is to avoid giving advice to players. That’s a no-win situation because the players are going to lose their money in the long run because of the nature of the games. If they followed your advice, they’ll just blame you for this.
Who needs that kind of headache?
Conclusion
Casino Dealer Salary In United States
If you like people, enjoy casino games, and don’t mind cigarette smoke, becoming a casino dealer might be the career for you. You don’t get to keep the money the players lose, but they’ll often tip you when they’re winning, so you’ll get to root for them.
Poker Dealer Jobs & Careers - Everything You Need To Know
You’ll make at least $15,000 a year dealing casino games, but you might make as much as $100,000 a year. I’ve seen reports of dealers who made more, but I’m skeptical, and you should be, too.