Comments on: Who Needs Skill?

By: Jimbo

Jimbo — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 07:45:11 +0000

Rex

I stayed in the Strat, one word of warning, I like to play the 1c machines usually prop betting a few friends, the hot hot penny machines pay short on feature payouts. get the feature 3 bonuses up for 15 free spins win x amount of money and when it transfers to your play meter it always pays short. This was witnessed on several machines so we stopped playing.

Love your posts and have explored more locations away from the strip than ever, keep up the good work

By: FoolsGold

FoolsGold — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 22:27:29 +0000

We know that the dealer on a dead table is mainly bored but may also be under some pressure from the floor/other-dealers. Sometimes the dealer accepts his fate and sometimes he makes a valiant effort to snag passersby. A little animation helps, but we are there to gamble and expect a dealer not a frustrated stand-up comic. I don’t want a craps dealer telling me they are out of chips when I’m trying to buy in and have not yet had my morning coffee but some conversation is fine. Ever have a craps crew that wanted an early out but didn’t just tell the player that? They know how to make a player feel unwelcome but don’t always know how to make him feel welcome.

By: alberta

alberta — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:24:25 +0000

Damn….I always forget…Nice writing/pics Rex….Thanks again.

By: alberta

alberta — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:15:40 +0000

Back when I went through a week of “training” errr….”brainwashing” to work for a major casino here in Vegas. They had all kinds of human relations exercises. Some were pretty flat out stupid. But it was always pounded into us to….”Engage the guest” and if they were a high tier player they stopped short of saying rip your clothes off and bend over for the player. They always stressed you must smile and make eye contact. Impart the feeling of winning and good luck to the player. ( and boy do they have slogans for this) Someday I might try and find the training manuals they issued. It would be worthy of some laughs.

Now when I walk into a casino I am the guest. I know what I can get away with and the how and the why. But I have to admit there are nights where I want to choke the shit out of some of these wise ass sarcastic dealers. Esp the craps crews! Gotta love em…
Paul

By: jinx

jinx — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 13:50:22 +0000

Great post Rex, I have to admire your recognition of this dealer for how he approached things. In so many ways it’s what you’ve talked about before, good service is the key to Vegas survival. Not high end/low end or whatever. Give them service on any level and it would do wonders for the town.

In thinking about this I realized that there is another reason I don’t play table games quite as much anymore, I’ve had a bad run of dealers. As a matter of fact I almost exclusively play at IP now if I do play at the tables. At the very least the dealertainers are trying to enjoy themselves (mileage may vary) and for rapid roulette, I can get a number of drinks and have the same house edge as standard roulette.

Craps dealers at the IP have always been my favorite as most are pretty fun, although I’ve definitely seen a change in attitude (much more jaded) since HET took over.

Just wanted to pipe in with some of my experiences and I’ll definitely have to check out the strat next week I think when Im in town.

By: Huddler

Huddler — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:49:10 +0000

It looks like that dealer wore his pajamas to work…

By: ExiledinMaine

ExiledinMaine — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 00:10:32 +0000

That Roulette dealer reminded me of the Chinese high roller in The Hangover. lol

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:20:20 +0000

As a response to Tom,

It amazes me that casinos would have that kind of attitude toward dealers talking to players. Last time I checked, dealers at Circus Circus in Reno were also discouraged from talking to players. I just thought they were surly until I spoke to 2 former dealers (who were then dealing at other casinos) who were apparently let go by Circus Circus for consistently talking to players.

It makes no sense to me. I realize that a good poker dealer is generally expected to shut up and deal in most places, but table games are a little different. I know plenty of people who have avoided Circus Circus in Reno because the place is unfriendly and not a lot of fun.

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:21:01 +0000

You would have loved Vegas in the late 70′s and early 80′s when one BJ dealer actually told me, “We aren’t supposed to talk to the players.” That attitude was common along the strip perhaps a result of the big corporations taking over and caring only about the bottom line.

By: keith

keith — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:58:18 +0000

i ran into that exact scenario that Huddler mentioned in connecticut. Foxwoods dealers are hoorendous – playing craps, $5 min, and doing poorly at best. They decided to raise the mins to $10 and made one call to the players, which my friend didn’t hear. He dropped $5 on the pass line, and the stickman told him “It’s a $10 table now – i just told you.” My friend replied that “i didn’t hear you say that”, which the stickman replied “yeah you did – i was looking right at you”.
We proptly picked up our bets and went back to Mohegan Sun, where the dealers are much more friendly and outgoing. It was night and day how fun the dealers at MS made it.

On another trip to Mohegan, the boss raised the table min from $5 to $10, so my friends and i raised our bets to the new minimums. The dealer said “You guys can keep playing at $5 – this isn’t Foxwoods”.