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Good dealers versus bad dealers31 March 2015
If you play slot machines, your only worry used to be getting your hands dirty from the coins, but today that is no longer a problem since coins are things of the past. Now everything is paper. Yes, you could have a problem if a stiff wind blows through the casino, ripping the paper from your hands and blowing it to who knows where. For table-game players, often what makes or breaks a game are the dealers, who come in the usual range of human personalities from sunshiny and pleasant to sour and scowling. Some are even worse than the worst. Let’s take a look at the good and bad dealers and offer a hearty thanksgiving for the good ones. For the bad ones? Well, if they don’t like their jobs then they should go into another career, such as writing operas. Bad dealer at any game: You put your money on the table. “Could I have some white chips with that? Say 10 white chips.” Those white chips are going to be for tips. He ignores you and gives you 20 red chips. When you mention you wanted white chips too, he rolls his eyes as if you’ve asked him to take out his own heart and eat it. Bad dealers at craps: This is called crosstalk. He says, “So Jenny wanted to buy that car.” “Yeah, yeah, my girlfriend bought a new car too.” “I thought you broke up with her?” “Nah, we…” You say, “Uh, sir, you forgot to pay me for my hard six.” He says, “Just a minute, just a minute, I’ll get to you; anyway we got back together and then I found out she was cheating…” You say, “Hey, you took my winning place bet of six.” The dealer rolls his eyes and pays off. You say, “I still haven’t gotten paid for my hard six.” He says, “So we’re going to go to this picnic and…” You say, “My hard six.” The dealer rolls his eyes. Bad Boxman at craps: You like to set the dice and take care with your roll. You are fast doing this, just as fast as someone who wings the dice all over the place. You also enjoy tipping the dealers. Then the Boxman snorts: “Do you really think you can win shooting like that? That won’t help you beat craps.” You get a little annoyed. “Do you tell other shooters they can’t win?” The dealers laugh and the Boxman rolls his eyes. Bad blackjack dealer: She says, “Sir, I don’t have all day for you to make your decision.” You say, “I just can’t figure out this hand.” The dealer rolls her eyes. Bad floor person: “If there’s anything you want, Mr. P., just let me know.” An hour later you say, “Hi, could I have two comps for dinner at the steakhouse?” Floor person yawns: “I have to check the computer.” He comes back 15 minutes later. “I can give you a two-for-one at the buffet.” Good dealer at any game: “Hi, sir, welcome to the table. Best of luck to you.” Good dealer at craps: “OK, I think we have a good shooter here!” Shooter makes his point. “Nice going, shooter.” Good dealer at blackjack: “Take your time deciding what to do, sir. No rush. I’m not going anywhere.” Good dealer standing at empty table: You pass the table and she smiles at you or nods or says hello. All casino table-game players know that the dealers have nothing to do with you winning or losing. They are merely the messengers of Lady Luck’s caprice. However, sans winning or losing, a pleasant, professional dealer makes it seem as if he or she is rooting for you or, at the very least, enjoys dealing to you. Now, I am fully aware of the fact that dealing with the public can be a royal pain in the bottom and that one or two creepy players can ruin a whole day for a dealer. Talk to any teacher in America and ask them this: “If you teach 150 kids a day and one of them is a raging idiot of the highest order who is always giving you lip and is constantly nasty and disruptive do you go home and think, 'Oh, I love my 149 students,' or do you go home and think 'I hate that kid' as you toss and turn through the night knowing that this horror awaits you again the next day?” Truthfully, dealers don’t have to like their patrons or their jobs -- they just have to pretend they do. They merely have to act pleasant and interested in the people they service. When an actor has to do a scene in a movie or on stage, even if he is depressed or has a headache or his main squeeze has run off with Chris Hemsworth but the scene calls for him to be jolly, well, darn it, he better be jolly or he won’t be acting for long. I am reminded of a great moment in the careers of Laurence Olivier and Dustin Hoffman. They were doing a scene for “Marathon Man” where Hoffman’s character had been up for 24 straight hours. To get into the mood for the scene Hoffman (a “method” actor) stayed up for 24 hours. On set he couldn’t remember his lines or his blocking (where he was supposed to be) and finally Olivier said, “My dear boy, if you had learned how to act you wouldn’t have had to stay up all night.” And that is my advice to bad dealers — learn the art of acting. This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net. Related Links
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