Dealer Training in Advance of Table Games Opening in Pennsylvania

Being a dealer at a casino looks like an easy job, but for a group of new recruits in Pennsylvania, the reality is hitting home. It’s turning out to be more difficult than they anticipated. For 55 potential dealers at the SugarHouse Casino, the tricks of splitting a pile of clay chips are a challenge to be conquered. There will be a total of 300 dealers at the SugarHouse casinos, but 260 of those dealers will be veterans. Just forty of those plum positions will be given to newcomers. The casino is offering a free course for 215 candidates. The course takes eight weeks, with classes running a grueling twelve hours a day. The course is offered on weekends for those who can’t make it on weekends.

The group is evenly split between and women, with a wide range of ages represented. Some are new high school graduates looking for a challenge, while some are single mothers looking for a job with flexible hours that allows them to spend afternoons home with their children. Trainees are being taught to run blackjack, three card poker, and four card poker. Some will be taught to run roulette tables. Craps is considered a much more complex game to be croupier for, so the new group won’t be working the craps tables.

Across the state, casinos are preparing their dealers for the introduction of table games. The state’s Gaming Control Board has hired a former casino cheater to brief dealers, casino guards, and police on common attempts at fraud. George Joseph is an expert on spotting casino cheaters. He’s explained to casino staff about common problems including illegal bets, bottom dealing, and dice changing. According to Joseph, cheating is most prevalent at the craps table, where mainly seasoned dealers will be operating, but it doesn’t hurt to go over the tricks with them again before the table games go into operation.

All of Pennsylvania’s casinos will be performing a dry-run before they open for business. The croupiers and dealers will open a limited number of tables, and a limited number of guests, mostly family members of staff, will be allowed in to play for fake money. They’ll run through the games, using chips, exchanging them for fake money, and seeing that all of the processes run smoothly. If all is well, then the casinos will know that the dealers have been well-trained and that the casinos are ready to operate.