Guest 3 is a Commerce student at USYD, majoring in Marketing and International Business.
Alison: Please introduce yourself.
Guest 3: I am a 21-year-old Australian male, studying at the University of Sydney.
Alison: So, you’ve worked at a casino. How long have you worked there for?
Guest 3: I worked for about 4 months and had 2 weeks of training.
Alison: What was your position?
Guest 3: I was a table games dealer, specialised in poker.
Alison: Why did you work there?
Guest 3: I was looking for a job at the time and my friend referred me. He said it was very easy to get in and the job had part-time hours in the weekends, which kinda fit my schedule.
Alison: How did you find this job? Both the process of finding it and if you liked it.
Guest 3: A uni friend referred me, I had to apply twice to get into the group interview stage. I found the job very interesting and novel, the environment was quite stimulating. At first impression, there was definitely a lot of positive vibes at the casino. It was also a very large organisation with strict managerial standards and expectations which was something I learned from a lot in terms of being responsible and accountable at the workplace. They also took their security very seriously and I was a part of that, so I felt like a little cog in a big well-oiled machine and it felt very proper and legit.
Unfortunately, I got sick quite a lot. I developed cold and flu symptoms due to the night shift hours and the casino environment was a breeding ground for germs with all the chips and cards you touch. This led to me resigning after my time here.
Alison: Can you tell us about the training process?
Guest 3: Training went for two weeks. First an orientation day where you learn about the company’s values and standards for customer service. The next week you learn all the chip handling skills like cutting, chipping up, working the float (tray of chips in front of you at the table), and procedures like cleaning hands (wiping your hands together to show the camera they’re empty before touching other things on the table).
The following week you are allocated a major game, either: poker, baccarat, blackjack or roulette. You learn the rules of your particular game and spend the whole next week practising dealing your game and handling any scenarios thrown at you by the trainers.
At the end of it all is your table test, where you must pass by completing a round of play where your trainers act as players. There were quite a few people crying at their table tests, so many people found it quite stressful.
They also treat uniforms very seriously, the first time I put mine on, I got told off for not wearing a tie.
Alison: That sounds tough, but I guess this learning experience is good for character development.
What about the people there? How were the players, your co-workers and supervisors?
Guest 3: I would say the majority of players are quite nice and understanding if you make any mistakes if you are new. However, there are also players who won’t hesitate to voice their opinions about you: you’re too slow, too quiet, etc. The co-workers are also nice in general and supportive of newbies and open to answer any questions you have.
The supervisors are less so, and expect quite highly of you and your mistakes. There seems to be a disconnect between what is required of a newly trained dealer on the floor and how much higher management is willing to spend to teach in the training room. This leads to quite a stressful first-two-week period where you’re learning things you’ve never heard of before, in front of players and supervisors yelling at you for something you have no control over. Three people from my training group resigned within the first 2 weeks because of this stress.
Alison: Would you work there again?
Guest 3: I actually wouldn’t mind, but definitely not as my first choice.
Alison: Thanks for sharing with us!
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