How to Become a Blackjack Dealer

Growing up in Las Vegas, surrounded by casinos can make you want a career in a casino. You walk into the casino and they look so magnificent with all the lights and many people, and the pure buzz of being there. Even the colleges and universities in those areas all offer travel and tourism programs. On career days, the casino staffing agencies set up their booths next to the National Guard. Dealing has also become a popular career choice among many of older people travelling to Las Vegas.

Some of the smaller, local casinos offer there own training programs for wold be dealers. Some casinos in the bigger cities will only accept dealers who have trained at one of the recognized card school. It can cost as much as $800 to learn a single game and this cost is not refunded by any potential employers.

As a general rule in Vegas, no formal blackjack training means no job and dealing in cities like Las Vegas is based on a seniority hierarchy. The larger casinos can have the cream of the crop and often headhunt more experienced dealers from their competition. It can take years of weekend jobs to work your way up to a swing shift at the top casinos.

Dealers are often paid a base wage, and you earn you money through the customers. The average base rate for a dealer in a top casino can be as little as $14,340 a year. A Bellagio high stakes dealer will easily earn in excess of $100,000 a year. The difference is in the tips from the customers. That is why high stakes tables and weekend shifts are in high demand among dealers.

With the rise of online blackjack more people are playing the game and the demand at live casinos is now growing.