Shooting Craps In Casinos - Professionalism By Dealers Should Be Mandated At The Craps Table

Let’s Talk Professionalism by Dominator
by Dominator

Casino crap dealers have a tough job – I’ll admit that freely. Dealing with the public, especially when the public are gambling (or eating or needing any service) can be a royal pain in the you-know-what. Some people are nasty and losing gamblers have a tendency to be nastier than most people.

Losing gamblers have a tendency to blame the dealers for their bad fortune when the dealers, as we all know, have nothing to do with your good or bad luck. There is only one little exception to this and that concerns dice control. It is possible that an annoying or nasty craps dealer, or box person, can bust your chops while you are shooting and get you out of your concentration. I have seen this happen on rare occasions – very rare occasions.

However, there is something I have seen somewhat more frequently which I think is the height or, rather, depth of non-professionalism – dealers who ignore the game and the players, and cross-talk over the craps players. Yes, they are able to pay off the bets properly but they engage in conversations with each other, ignoring the players and the game.

I remember I was on a monster roll by best-selling author Frank Scoblete, he was in the mid-50s, when a new dealer took over the stick and started blabbing about this, that and the other thing. Frank was not distracted but I got annoyed. Here we are in a tremendous roll, people cheering, and the stick man is talking about some stupid barbecue he went to the day before.

Doing this is bad manners. It is non-professionalism. It is disdainful. It is particularly disdainful when you have players, such as Frank and I, who are good, steady, regular tippers.

Dealers have to concentrate on the game or, at least, appear as if they are concentrating on the craps game at hand. They have to make the players think that this game right here, right now is the most important game in the world. They should also make the players think that the dealers want the players to win. Not only does that help their tipping situation but also it makes for a very friendly atmosphere at the craps table.

I know that craps dealers do have to put up with ploppies, some of whom can be very nasty, and the game can get very fast and confusing for some players, who have no idea what bets they have made or what those bets pay off. Even so, the dealers have to "act" (and I do mean "act") as if this dolt who has forgotten what he has bet is important enough to explain what just happened at the game.

I have found some players, usually extremely old players; sometimes don’t remember which bets are one-roll bets and which bets stay up until the dreaded seven rolls. The dealers have to keep reminding them. Some dealers start to get snippy after reminding someone several times about which bets are what.

We talk about doctors having a good bedside manner. Well, dealers must have good table manners. It doesn’t matter what the dealer is actually feeling – he has to put across the idea that he is interested in the game, wants the players to win, and appreciates any tips he gets.

Frank Scoblete has a great way of putting this. As a former actor he says, "When you are on stage, you act the part. It doesn’t matter what is happening in your real life, good or bad, you play the role you are in correctly. The audience is not there to see what is happening in your real life; they are there to see the character you are playing. That’s why it is called acting."

Now, the worst dealers and box people I have run across are those who somehow think that the casino money is their money. They identify so completely with the casino that they have no idea that they are merely employees, not owners. They have no idea that the casino edge ultimately hammers just about every player. They actually resent the few players who are winning. They resent players who seem to have skill – especially when those skillful players get on extremely hot hands.

Now, what percentage of dealers and box people are – for lack of better words – in the wrong profession? Maybe two percent. There is one casino in Vegas, a gorgeous premier casino too, that has so many ill-mannered dealers and box people it is a wonder any craps players bother with the place. The dealers cross-talk over your rolls, the box is always yelling at players who might miss the back wall once or twice (no, missing the back wall is NOT what controlled shooters are trying to do!) and everyone just takes their tips without even saying thank you. They let you know they are bored with this game and you.

If you can’t pretend to the public that you are enjoying your job; if you must let them know you are disdainful of them, it’s time to pursue another profession – maybe brain surgeon or musical conductor.

In truth, most dealers I have met in my many days of play each year are totally professional and deserve all the accolades that they can get – and they also deserve all the tips, too.

The Dominator is executive director of Golden Touch™ Dice Control and Golden Touch™ Blackjack advantage-play classes. He is co-author of Golden Touch™ Dice Control Revolution and appears on the DVD Golden Touch™: Beat Craps by Controlling the Dice. He has appeared on A&E, the Travel Channel, and the National Geographic Channel. The History Channel did a complete biography of him titled "The Dice Dominator." For more information about his book, DVD and classes or for a free brochure, call 1-800-944-0406.