Casino Procedures

Real life stories about casino procedures from all around the floor.

Damned If You Do & Damned If You Don't

In Las Vegas prostitution is illegal. I know people come here thinking that prostitution is legal but they’re actually thinking of nearby counties that are an hour or so away from Las Vegas. Even though it’s illegal we have a large amount of prostitutes and escort companies. As a dealer you will see the same prostitutes hanging around the same bars night after night. Or you will have a player come up to the table with a prostitute you know and he will introduce her as his niece or something. It’s so hard to keep a straight face and accept their story.

One night I had a player sit down at the table with a very beautiful young woman. She was dressed in a long sparkly dark blue dress; she had blond hair and a blue green eye shadow. The gentleman was much older; he was in his 50’s or 60’s with grey hair and really winkled. He was one of those types of men that didn’t age well. They sat down together and he introduced her as his wife. After playing for a couple hours he got up and went to the bathroom. While we were waiting for him to come back she looked at her watch and said, “Oh, we’re late for a dinner reservation. I’ll meet him at the bathroom so we won’t be late.” She took his chips and headed for the bathroom. I was new to the industry so I didn’t think anything of it. When the husband came back he was furious that she left and took his money. That was when he admitted that she was a prostitute. Nothing happened. Security couldn’t find the woman and the man lost out on all his chips.

This happens more than you think; that’s why there’s a procedure for dealers to follow. I found out about this immediately after the last scenario. A dealer will never allow anyone to touch your money when you leave the table. This includes your wife, children and friends. I had one wife try to play with her husband’s chips while he was in the bathroom. She tried to play $100 per hand and before her husband was playing $25 per hand. I told her I couldn’t allow her to play with his money because he wasn’t there to authorize it. The wife was so mad she started screaming at me. When the husband came back and saw his wife upset he started screaming at me too. I couldn’t get a word in. It’s a double edge sword.

∾ Heather 2004

Date: August 12, 2010 @ 11:39am PST

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A Common Question

A common question I often hear when I’m dealing is why can’t players touch the cards with two hands? On a single deck and a double deck blackjack game the players are only allowed to touch the cards with one hand. This is to prevent players from using sleight of hand to switch cards, steal a card or add a fake card.

Another common question I hear is, "Why do the players have to make hand signals when they want to hit or stay on single deck blackjack?" The reason is because everything a dealer does they do for the cameras. The eye-in-the-sky can’t hear what people are saying which is why the players use hand signals. Technically, as a dealer, I’m not supposed to act if you don’t give me a signal. So if a player says "Hit" I have to wait for the hit signal before I can act. I have pissed off so many people; I had one player say hit and I told him that he needed to sweep his cards and he got so irate and start screaming at me, “I just said hit; are you deaf and dumb? Give me a damn card!”

∾ Heather 2010

Date: August 4, 2010 @ 9:02am PST

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Card Check

When a dealer gets new cards the 1st thing they do is spread the cards face up. They’re supposed to spread them far enough that the cameras can verify that each card is there. Then the dealer has to check and make sure that the cards are in order and that they don’t have any marks on them. If everything looks okay and all of the cards are there then the dealer will spread the cards on their back and check for marks. When the dealer is looking for marks they’re looking for any kind of ink blots made by the machine, white spots where the ink has rubbed off or anything out of the ordinary. The dealer will never count the cards to check for 52 of them because the floorman will do that right before he hands them to the dealer. The strangest thing I’ve ever found was two 6 of spades in one deck and they were right next to each other. Another time I found 2 cards cut in half in the same deck and I’ve also found a 9 of hearts missing from a deck.

∾ Heather 2010

Date: August 7, 2010 @ 12:03am PST

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The Book

Just so you know, the book is a small plastic card that most gift shops sell. You can buy one for about $1.99 depending on where you go. The casino will allow you to use it on any table; in fact they want you to use it. Think of the book more as a suggestion and not the 10 commandments. Just remember, it’s your money, you earned it; so do what you want with it. It’s better to be lucky then it is to be good.

∾ Heather 2010

Date: August 6, 2010 @ 12:02am PST

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Changing Of The Cards

I’ve had so many people on my blackjack table complain when the floorman changes the cards. The #1 thing I hear the most is, “You know we’re on a winning streak! You’re changing the cards to make us lose.” That’s bullshit. In the 5 years I have been dealing I have only seen that happen once and the guy had won about $20,000. The casino doesn’t care about your $400 win; that’s pennies to them. The casino will change the cards on every hand held blackjack game or any other game where the players are allowed to touch the cards. They change them every two hours because, after a while, the grease, ash and dirt from people’s hands end up marking the cards accidentally. So whether on accident or on purpose the casino will always change the cards regardless. The used deck is then sent to a company that cuts off the edges so that way they can be sold in the gift shop with no fear of people trying to use them to cheat.

∾ Heather 2010

Date: July 31, 2010 @ 8:48am PST

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