Gaming Guru

Who Are All Those People?

When you enter a casino you will encounter a wide variety of house personnel that run a large modern casino. You should know who they are and what they do. Some you will see in the gaming areas, others work behind the scenes, but it takes all of them to keep the place running effectively. Most of all don't be intimidated by dealers or pit bosses. They are paid to look at everyone as if they were a cheater or sucker. Since you are not one, you have nothing to worry about. This doesn't mean you should get cocky either. Remember, casino management has the right to refuse service and ask you to leave their casino any time and for any reason. The courts have upheld that action so don't even consider fighting it.

Dealer - The main individual you will come in contact with at the blackjack, craps and roulette table. The dealer makes change, takes and gives chips, and deals the cards, controls the dice or spins the wheel. Normally they deal for 40 minutes and break for 20 over an 8-hour period.

Keno runner - A casino employee who solicits and shuttles keno tickets from throughout the casino area to the keno lounge to post tickets and delivers results and payments to winning players.

Change person - An employee assigned to the slot area to provide change and award winners with cash on big payouts. Most new casino employees start out as change personal. Today, with "ticket-in ticket-out, it is a position that is being phased out.

Floor man - He/she supervisors a group of tables within the gambling pit. The floor man can extend credit, give comps, settle disputes and bar players. The floor man answers to the pit boss.

Pit boss - The supervisor in charge of the entire pit area, which includes the blackjack tables, roulette, craps and the big six wheel games. Is final authority in any dispute. The pit boss will also approve credit for high rollers and supervises all floor men.

Shift supervisor - Since all casinos are run on a 24 hour-7 day schedule, these supervisors have full responsibility for all action in the casino during the eight hours of their shift. They report to the casino manager. They oversee any big payoffs at the slots or keno and ensure enough staff are available for all the games.

Casino manager - Responsible for the entire casino operation. Is the key manager for all gaming. This person sets the tone of the casino. What rules are used for the games, how many tables and how the pits are laid out are all his responsibility.

General manager - Head of the organization and may even be an owner. Makes the major decisions about everything. In large casino resorts, is responsible for other areas besides the casino, like the restaurant, all the entertainment and hotel complex.

Eye-in-the-sky - Hidden cameras suspended in bubbles on the ceiling of the casino. Video with special staff observing and recording all action throughout the casino floor looking for cheating players and sometimes cheating employees.

Outside man - Usually a former card counter or law enforcement officer working undercover looking for cheats, dishonest employees, and card counters. Works for the casino.

Gaming Commission - The official state or government agency that issues licenses and governs all gaming and oversees enforcement of rules and regulations as applied to casinos. An exception is at American Indian casinos; there is no real oversight agency. The specific Indian casino management itself oversees the games.

Bet You Didn't Know

• We hear a lot about blackjack card counters being barred in the 1970s, 80s and even today. In the 1850s John J. Cozad was so adept at faro he was barred from many clubs in both the East and West. To continue playing he was forced to use other names and disguises to gain admittance.
• During the Civil War, an investigation reported that 90 percent of embezzlement by army paymasters was the direct result of gambling losses.
• The blackjack shoe was first introduced in Cuba in the early 1950s. Young Cuban dealers dealt cards all day long and got very skilled at handling them. When management suspected dealers were being too helpful to their friends, they introduced a dealing box known today as the shoe.
• When the first casino opened in Biloxi, Mississippi in 1992, management found they had to replace poker playing cards at an alarming rate. This was because after putting a new deck into play, within 30 minutes players had marked the cards so much they had to be replaced.
• In Argentina casinos, casual conversation with the dealers, other than talk concerning the game, is sticky prohibited by management.
• Macao now has a total of 42 casinos operating on that small Chinese Island.
• The Venetian Macao Casino in China has more table games than any other casino in the world. When it opened in 2009, it offered 750 tables.