| Are you hiring? I'd love to move to Canada. | Absolutely, We are looking for several positions and if you are sincerely looking for a job, message me :) |
| Does being a Casino Manager makes you keep your distance from gambling? | AMAZING question, It actually makes it worse. I had never gambled a day in my life until I took that position. It is the same across the board. Never met another manager that doesnt gamble. |
| Will you quit this job if you had given the choice? | I could not ask for a better job. Excitement every single day. Learing to control personal demons such as gambling and alcohol is always a fighting battle given the situation. |
| You are 100% right. U of Waterloo in Ontario conducted a study and they concluded that "casino employees exhibited rates of problem gambling that were over three times greater than rates that past studies have found in Ontario’s general population." -Link to uwspace.uwaterloo.ca. | I know my stuff ;). It's a weird feeling. |
| What do you play, and wht stakes do you play ? Also.. Does your entire salary go straight back to the casino after payday? | I like to play 1$ slots and blackjack for the most part. On blackjack my average bet is probably 60-75$. My salary does go back, but a portion of it does. I am pretty good at controlling myself, gets better by the year. |
| How is your daily routine in the casino?Do you get any perks? | They pay my cell phone bill. I get paid any expenses you could imagine. I get free tickets and merchandise all the time. Golf passes dinners etc. |
| Have you ever caught someone counting in blackjack? | Several times. With the security features we use, shuffle machines and cutting off 2-3 decks from the back, it's nearly impossible. Hell we will even teach you how to do it if you'll stay a while ;) |
| How did you get into the Casino business? | I applied to become a dealer, years ago. I just worked my way up. Its an amazing business. |
| Ever had somebody die on your floor? Or at least horribly injured? | Yes 2 people have died, one from a massive stroke, and another from a heart attack. We have had at least 25 heart attacks since I have worked there. |
| Do heart attacks happen more often when people win big or lose big? | There has never been a direct correlation between winning/losing big and our patrons having heart attacks. |
| Interesting. Thanks for the response. | Anytime :) I cant believe the responses already! |
| Statistically, you have the best chance of surviving a heart attack in a casino. The average response time drops from like 15 minutes in your home to something absurd like 30 seconds. | We are very quick to react. This and we have first aid training as well as AED on site. |
| What the highest single bet you have witnessed? | Here in Alberta, the maximum per spot on blackjack is 1000. I did witness a total table wager( by one player) Of 15,000. This was after he split 6 times and doubled once. He won evry wager on that hand. |
| Whats the luckiest person/win streak you have seen? (Not just 1 win but someone winning for a while or doing something crazy and it working) | I watched someone win 24,000 on a slot machine. I reset his machine and he won 24,000 the next spin. I had the machine investigated by AGLC and all was well. He was 80 so I don't think he could cheat. Lol. |
| Do Casino's pump high levels of oxygen into the gambling areas, if so is that allowed? Have you ever caught anyone having sex or masturbating in the Casino? Do the Slot Machines ever get tampered with by cheaters? What is the penalty for tampering with slot machines? | No we do not pump oxygen into the casino, It is not allowed. I had to fire an employee for masturbating in the customer bathrooms. Slots are rarely successfully tampered with, but it does happen quite often. The penalty is a fine and up to jail time. You can get in a LOT of trouble for trying something that is nearly impossible, like cheating a slot machine No problem :) |
| How...did you catch the guy spanking it? I fear to know yet I must ask for I can't think of a logical, sane way you caught the dude. | I walked in to the washroom to check on the status of the last cleaning, and I caught him beating it with the stall door open... he forgot to lock it. was very obvious and he didnt even try to deny it. |
| Nobody forgets to lock the door when they are wanging it. | He was off shift in 45 mins too... just couldnt wait. |
| It isn't illegal, what can the casinos do? | We reserve the right to remove any patron at any time for any reason. |
| Do you still have to cash their chips if you kick them out? | If they did not steal them, then Absolutely. |
| What is the best and worst part of your job? | The best is seeing a person win big. The worst is seeing someone leaving in tears and me knowing they are broke and have kids. |
| Have you ever cut someone a break? | Several times. |
| You've seen everything, have you seen Casino with Robert DeNiro in it and how accurate is that film? | I have seen it, and I have yet to see a movie that ACTUALLY portrays a real casino whatsoever. |
| Most movies don't portray anything realistically. | Good point. Casinos seem to be reallly far off though. |
| What about Croupier with Clive Owen.. good film.. | Cant say ive seen it. Will watch. |
| What's the most desperate attempt to cheat in a casino you have ever seen? | A guy in the middle of a hand, did not agree with the way a dealer "flipped" their hole card so he took his bets off the table (approx 1400$) and tried to pocket them before we could count what he had bet. He then tried to replace his bets after we asked with about 800$. It was very very easy to catch the amount that was originally on there. Cameras/pit boss/dealer all agreed to the exact amount. He was later found trying to cash out $600 in chips (after losing) lol. |
| That actually sounds pretty clever. He should have just gone for a smaller amount though. | It wasnt bad. But he was on a high limit table with a lot of people watching |
| Any pranks you or your employees pulled? | Yup, I am known as the prankster. I like to send new employees looking for left handed roulette balls or polish for the blackjack shoes. After they waste an hour or so I tell them. And they are laughed at by patrons and employees. Its all in good fun. Never had a complaint. |
| What happens to a cheater once you found them out? Is it just a case of the cops getting called straight away? | I review the situation, and If I deem it cheating, a review is sent to AGLC and the patrons information gathered along with a police investigation. They will be prosecuted. |
| Do you catch cheaters? What were some cleveinvolved cheating schemes? | I have caught cheaters, almost always at blackjack and threecard poker. The most common way they cheat is called "pressing". Having a partner distract the dealer for a second while they use slight of hand to add chips. Some people are very good at this, so good its tough to see on camera even. |
| To be clear.. what they do is when they have a good hand, someone distracts the dealer and the guy with the good hand attempts to increase his bet? What do you do when you catch something like that? | We ban them Immediately. And other casinos recieve the memo an do the same. |
| Have you ever caught prostitution going on in the casino? What is the process of banning someone? Do they get put into a system? Do you have a banned wall? | Yes we catch dirty prostitutes all the time. The ban process is easy. We take what info we have on them, take a recent photo from a surveillance screenshot and then post it to the banned wall :) |
| How is the security in the casino? Edit: no i'm not planning a robbery... | The guards are pretty well trained. Also we have over 200 cameras. You are on camera within 1 KM of the casino. Also, all doors locked with special proxy cards that only have access to certain rooms, depending on position. |
| ONE KILOMETER? Are you kidding me? This is very secure, oh my. | Cant tell if sarcasm. Detector is broken. |
| No sarcasm. This blows my mind. I always thought you guys have over the top security, but such a radius around your casino is mind blowing :). Great AMA btw, thanks for your time! | I love the response im getting! This is awesome! |
| What is the process in working your way up from dealer to casino manager? How long did it take, what kind of background did you have prior to becoming a dealer? Also did you have to take any classes or anything like that either at an outside school or a company school to teach you all the ins and outs of the job? Did you ever think you'd be doing this or just sort of fall into it? What kind of responsibilities do you hold? I saw in your other posts that you mention throwing out people masturbating on the clock, helping people with gambling addictions and catching cheaters, but what is an everyday entail for you? I imagine you have to be a man with many hats (VIP guest liaison, worker ally, eyes for the bosses etc) Also last question I swear, what do you think of organized cheaters and the exposure they are getting such as Bringing Down the House/21 or the History Channel show on Breaking Vegas? | It took me 4 years to get where I am. Went from dealer to pit boss to pit supervisor to games manager. I haven't taken any special courses really. Some training sessions but that's about it. You need to have the gift they say. As for responsibilities. I am in charge of running every department when I am on shift. And I am in charge of all the money. The movies have not done anything except make us money. People come in all the time thinking they will count cards and win, and we smash them. |
| In my expeirence, the 'Summon Technician' button rarely works. Thoughts? | In my casino, it is attended to immediately. We are the only casino that I am aware of that does this. |
| Are employees allowed to gamble in the casino where they work? Or is just the manager that is allowed - I noticed you say you gamble off the clock. I live in England and am sure this is against nearly all casino policy. | Only waitresses and guest services may gamble in our casino. No gaming worker is allowed to gamble in their own casino in alberta. |
| Any moral qualms sometimes? | Never, Its a persons choice on what the wish to gamble. |
| Give it a few more years. | I've got over that a long time ago. During my dealing days. |
| a follow up, sorry for that.. How do your co-workers react to yout gambling, does this make it awkward in any way? | Actually, I tend to go to different casinos with my co-workers, awkwardness is never an issue. |
| Since you know a lot about security and cheating, do you know any loopholes in your or any other casino? | Our casino is very secure. Some of the other casinos on the other hand.. |
| For example? | That I can't really disclose. Although. It's quite funny which one is the worst. I will leave it at that. I'm sure that comment alone will help some people. |
| Many years ago my mom had a gambling addiction. We werent sure how severe it was, we just thought she would go to the casino and have some fun and risk $200 or so. The casino hooked her in with the whole VIP treatment and rewards as an incentive to come back. One weekend she lost all her life savings ($300,000) It impacted our family a lot, as we were pretty much broke after she lost all our money. Even to this day we havent recovered, i missed out on college to work instead and been on my own since. My mom whos supposed to be close to retirement age is still working to support herself. I know casinos are for entertainment, but more often than not stories like this happen. How do you feel when a family is affected deeply because of gambling problems? | Honestly that is the only hard part of the job. But after the years, I've become mostly desensitized to it. |
| Have you ever seen Ocean's Eleven? Did you just laugh and laugh and laugh? | Not a fan of those movies :( |
| Have you ever been to Montecarlo? Do you think there are many differences between the european casino scene and the US/Canadian scene? | Never been to Montecarlo, but from everything I have learned about it, It is very similar to our casinos in Canada (barring a few different table games). They have a lot of the same slot machines and their security is VERY high. |
| So, do you get hookers? | Not once in my life. |
| Is there a certain amount of time that people are allowed to gamble before some sort of intervention takes place? (e.g. can't gamble for more than 24 hours straight, etc.) | Our casino is only open for 17 hours at a time maximum. That is the law in this province. But under certain circumstances, we do offer help to people we notice becoming chronic gamblers. |
| What Kind of help do you offer out of interest? I get that the human factor is probably the reason its offered as the business side must actually like chronic gamblers. | We offer councelling (not directly, but sources) and different programs such as VSE. VSE= Voluntary Self Exclusion. You will be excluded from gaming in ALL of Alberta. If caught in gaming facilities you can be arrested. |
| Favorite Ice cream flavor? | Vanilla for the most part. Although I do like neopalitan. |
| Have you ever caught your employees stealing chips? Edit: i cant spell. | I try to hire employees that I trust with the chips so that I dont have to worry about them. It has never happened to my knowledge. |
| You mentioned that you try to hire employees that are trustworthy with the chips etc. Do you have to run any criminal history checks, bankruptcy checks etc before you hire people? Do you use continuous shuffle machines to deal blackjack or do you deal from a shoe? If from a shoe, how many decks? How do you combat card counters? What is the food chain like? Here we have Dealers < Floor managers < Pit Bosses < Duty managers < Casino manager. Where do you fit in? How do the high rollers rooms work? Can someone walk in and flash cash to get in or do you need to gamble a certain amount first? What perks do high rollers get? | Yes background checks and credit checks are run on ALL employees. We offer both continuous shuffles and shoes We use 8 decks and cut 3 off the back, as well as use a shoe cover. Very hard to count cards like that. In our casino I would be considered 2nd in line. High rollers are treated very well. Comped tabs etc. free trips to shows and all that jazz. |
| Have you ever seen a man eat his own head? | Nope! |
| Ever seen a card cheat get his hand smashed by a ballpeen hammer ? | Never had to use violence for a cheating patron. Drunk patrons on the other hand.... |
| Great AMA! You answer almost everything! | Thanks! I try to answer everything, I know i miss stuff but you guys comments lots! hard to keep up! |
| Here's my question: How do your responsibilities differ from a Pit Boss? Are you in charge of the food and alcohol people, too? How much time per shift do you spend on the floor and how much time do you spend interacting with individual guests? | I am in charge of all departments when I am on shift. Pit boss is strictly in charge of the pit. I am always on the gaming floor interacting with guests. Its the best part of my job :) |
| Any suicides? I live near Niagara Falls and we hear stories all the time of people who blow it all in the casinos and take a dive over the falls. | Yes unfortunately. :( |
| Are you from Edmonton by chance? If so care to comment why CH is still allowed to play in the poker rooms after being caught ripping off casinos with his bad beat scam? | Not from edmonton, but I do know who you are talking about. It is the discretion of the casinos. He should be banned but they have failed to file charges. |
| They are still aware of what he did and as a pretty frequent player it sort of sucks having to sit at a table with someone you know was using dealers to set up bad beats.... | You play at yellowhead? |
| How does the casino decide what background music to play? do you hate those songs now? | I ususally pick it. I pick it depending on the majority of the crowd. (old people = classic rock, young people = new music.) We have lots of playlists it doesnt really get too bad. |
| I notice a lot of times my favorite slot machines are removed from the floor and never to be seen again. Do you guys store them in a basement or sell them to other casinos? Recycle them for parts? | Machines are regulated by AGLC, they send us new ones and take old every week. |
| How long does training for croupier last? Are there opportunities for college students? | Training is usually a month long. Its easier to get a job as a dealer if you are young. Young people seem to learn a lot easier. |
| What is the longest you've seen a customer play a machine? Any 24-hour slot machine marathons? | Open to close 4 days in a row. (17 hours a day) |
| What is your coin-in on an average Saturday night? Biggest New Year's Eve coin-in you can remember? What's the average toke rate? | Over 1.5 million. Best tip rate for a week was 30 ish. |
| How much do you make? What's your educational background? Edit: saw that you can't answer how much you make. So how'd you get into the job? | I walked in an applied for dealer. They loved my attitude and hired me on the spot. |
| So you were hired as a dealer and then moved up in the ranks? Sounds like a sweet job and a managerial position involving actual job duties. | Absolutely. |
| Just curious (and maybe you don't know)-- how exactly is the software sold for the newer digital games? Order "Three of Game A, three of game B" and remain stuck with it? Order them configured one way, but the software can be replaced for a token sum? If so, is it an in-house operation, or a "vendor service has to be called? They can load any firmware specced as compatible with the box? I notice there's always one or two machines in a bank of (physically) equivalent units which have an unpopular game (like the one which starts belting out Dean Martin songs at 600 decibels in attract mode) so they sit relatively unused, but they never change them. Is it laziness, cost, or technical limits? | I dont deal with the digital games sorry! |
| The Ontario Lottery Corporation is in the process of rolling out an online casino. From an industry persepective, what are your views on online casinos? Is the software designed to give you gains but take back once you win-loss ratio is too high? | Online casinos (legit ones) Run by pretty much the same stats as a real casino. Same odds of winning almost exactly. |
| Can you see why kids love Cinnamon Toast Crunch? | Its magically delicious, or wait.. damn lucky charms |
| What's a good starting job to get at a casino that will eventually get you into a managing position? | Dealer is the absolute best. |
| Thanks for the swift response. | No problem. |
| Just in case you are still answering at all...what's te stupidest/seemingly impossible thing you've seen/heard of a dealer doing? Most awesome/badass? | I had a dealer deal a full table of blackjack entirely fucking backwards. I almost pissed myself no joke. |
| If some patron is winning a lot of money, would you kick them out? Say for instance a guy is playing Blackjack and went from 1000 dollars to 100000 dollars and wants to continue playing. He is literally just owning the table winning 9/10 hands. Would you kick this guy out or let him keep playing? | Nope, its good in house advertising to have big winners :) |
| Not sure if this was asked already, but is there really oxygen pumped into the casinos like people say there is? Or is it just the shiny lights and excitement that will keep you going all night? | No oxygen pumped in. Its the lights and atmosphere. |
| What was the most someone won in one night? | 1.1 million dollars. |
| If I were looking to move to Vegas, how difficult do you think it'd be to get a decent paying job working in the casinos? I have a friend who moved there and is looking for a roommate, but I'm nervous about taking the step without a job lined up. | As long as you have a good head on your shoulders and the motivation, its pretty easy to get into the business. |
| What''s your salary roughly? | Thats actually the only thing im not willing to disclose. Sorry pal. |
| Who is your favorite porn star? | Hootie McBoob. |
| Do casinos usually offer part-time jobs as croupiers? | Always have part time positions open. Especially for weekends. |
| I saw that you didn't like Ocean's Eleven, but how did the guys get all those hooker flyers into the vault? | Lol your guess is as good as mine ;) |
| 1) How's the pay? 2) You already mentioned that you worked your way up from a dealer. Is there much higher that you can go? 3) How has the economic downturn affected business? | The pay is great You can go to managing a whole casino, given time Business has actually gone up. Alberta isnt very effected by it. |
| How often do you feel like De Niro? | Every day. |
| Are there or have there been times when you know someone is cheating or doing something "unethical" but you just can't get the evidence? If so, do they still frequent the casino? do you feel like they do it on purpose to piss you (the casino) off because they know that you know? | I dont need evidence, if someone is suspected of cheating they are gone. AGLC backs us 100% |
| I live in vegas and recently a guy robbed a casino and stole like 100k of chips, whats the process of making sure he isnt able to cash those chips in. (He was wearing a mask) So does the casinos like remake all new chips or what? | We track our 100$ chips very carefully. when people cashout 100 or more, we know about it. If we dont see them playing, we watch that person closely. |
| What is the best way to get a room comped for a weekend (I always seem to get Sun-Thur offers)? What is the average bet / hours required of play (assuming black jack)? Is it true you should expect 30% of your losses returned in the form of comps? | I wouldnt count on getting 30%, maybe 5-10%. Average bet should be about 50-60$ |
| Lots of questions have come up about players cheating, but what about the house? I know people who have seen casinos get busted for rigging games. I have certainly played at blackjack tables where the dealers seemed to have an uncanny ability to predict hands, I even once had a dealer reveal a blackjack without using the little peek thing. Dealt, asked for insurance (with great intensity), told us we should have taken the hint and flipper her card. Have you seen any cheating by the house or have any reason to think it happens? | Never have I seen cheating by the house. I guarantee it doesnt happen in any legit casino in Canada. There are inspectors at all times. I truly believe that it doesnt happen. As a dealer myself I could "predict" my handsquite often. Because you do it so many times in one day you are bound to get it right. |
| How many bones have you witnessed being broken? or families ruined because of gambling everything away? a lot or a ton? | Maybe 5 broken bones, probably 50 families :( |
| Have you ever felt the need to tell some poor old folks: "Take your welfare checks home." ? | Nope, they usually play small just to pass the time. They are very nice. |
| How prevalent is patron on patron theft? For example, leaning over and grabbing a few of someone else's chips while they're not looking, or tapping their stack with a drink (which happens to have tape on the bottom) or things like that? | Doesn't happen very often chip wise. But it does happen if people leave credits in a machine, drop money on the ground, or leave money in an ATM. We will hunt the patron down and force them to pay back the money. |
| Why do Asians gamble so much and where the hell do they get all of that money? | I dont want to speculate where they get it.. |
| What would be the best way to go about robbing a casino? | Not trying ;). No one gets away. |
| What do you do with underage kids or kids with fake IDs? do they ever show up? | Kick them out and file a report. If they have fake ID, file it with the police. |
| I went to the casino for my first time last week. Slots are boring as shit. Do you recommend a black jack guide to get the hang of things? Thanks. | Always good to go in knowing basic strategy. check out wizardofodds.com. |
| How much do you earn on average yearly? | Cant disclose that :( |
| What's your take on Scorsese's 1995 "Casino"? :D:D. | Would watch again. |
| Did you read the novels by Mario Puzo about the inner workings of a casino? Would you say that they are accurate? | Not yet, in process. |
| What's your favorite Canadian province besides Alberta? | Ontario. |
| My question is why did you use a combination of Photoshop and real-life obfuscation for your badge? Carefully torn and placed pieces of pink and black tape, then some kind of 1990s-era Photoshop airbrushing around the perimeter... | I was looking for something quick. And I never really used a site like this. I know, I suck. |
| What are your thoughts on the Martingale method of gambling on Red/Black in Roulette? I have had moderate success waiting for a run of 4 of one colour, then betting $25 on the opposite colour, then doubling each time until I win. | Its a very bad system for the most part. you risk a lot to win a little. |
| How often do customers claim the dealer misheard/misinterpreted what they said to do? E.g.. the customer was playing blackjack, didn't want to hit, but the dealer misheard them and dealed them a card, which caused them to bust. | 5 times a day at least. I usually give them the benefit of the doubt. |
| Are there any games that people can beat long run other than bj? | You can't beat BJ in the long run. There is no way to make money. |
| Since Counting cards isn't illegal, if you catch someone do you still black ball them and tell all the other casinos? | No. Unless they actually cheat, they aren't black balled. |
| What is the craziest thing you've seen? | I answered this a little further down bud. |
| Have you ever seen a guy eat his own head? | Hasn't happened to date.. |
| Have you seen a live unicorn? | Nope, it was dead. |
| What's the largest sum of money you've seen someone lose in one day? | 100K on blackjack. |
| So you admit that you are a liar? EDIT: I do believe this means you have to forfeit your casino to me. | Rules are rules I guess :( |
| Have you ever seen a queen in her damned undies, as the feller says? | Once back in 06. |
