Originally Posted by RS__ View Post
When I dealt (at 2 different casinos), it was pretty common for dealers to:

1. Bitch about how "little" they were getting in tips...even if someone just tipped them $15 in one hour, "it should have been $50". I've heard of a few cases where a dealer would refuse a tip because he only "accepts" higher than $1 tips or some dumb shit.
2. Hate their job and customers. Part of it due to #1, because they feel they should be getting tipped more. The other part is that a lot (certainly not all) of gamblers, at least at local casinos, are just terrible people to have to deal to. They bitch and moan about everything, get mad at dealers for losing, and are overall just disrespectful to dealers.
3. Love to sign the EO sheet as soon as possible. In some circumstances, the pit needs a certain amount of specific dealers to EO so they can close the right tables (not all dealers know roulette, pai gow, baccarat, and the different carnival games, and craps basically requires all 4 dealers to EO or none at all). So dealers may pressure other dealers to EO so they can all go home, so if one craps dealer wants to stay, they all have to stay....or if some specific dealer knows baccarat and wants to stay, then the other tables gotta stay open (because he needs a breaker).
4. Of course, come pay day, they bitch about how hard the last 2 weeks were and they 'only' made $15 or $20 or $25 per hour. A few dealers would be asking around for $20 or $40 loan frequently....sometimes even just a few days after they got their check.
5. I don't know what % of dealers would do this (IMO, about 40-50%, but for all dealers everywhere, I'd assume 25%?), would frequently go straight to the local bar, nearest casino, or if possible go to the bar at the casino they work at (some places you can play where you work, some you can't), get drunk, and play slots/keno/VP. Oh, and several would also bet on sports before/during/after their shift.


Of course, there were also dealers who would always stay and not sign the EO, unless for some rare specific reason. They wouldn't gamble before/after work. They just showed up on time, worked for 8 hours, and went home or did whatever else people do when they aren't working. They wouldn't bitch and moan about getting such small tips, because they knew at the end of the 2 weeks, they were going to get somewhere between $18-22/hr on their paycheck. And they'd thank every person who gave them a tip and actually genuinely appreciated it....at least they weren't bitching in the employee dining room.


Unfortunately, the former far outweighed the latter.
I too want to thank you for this outstanding report RS_. It matches my view of most dealers that I observe but is great to get a view from a "former".

I have always said most dealer and I think pit as well are just "working Joe's". They just want to put in their time and get through their day with as little hassle as possible, just like any other working man. A player, playing this cat and mouse game that we are forced to play, should keep that in mind, as that is a key to longevity. Don't rock the boat. Don't force either of these groups, dealers or pit to have to do extra work...if you know what I mean.