1. How Much Does A Craps Dealer Make
2. How Much Does A Blackjack Dealer Make In Las Vegas
3. How Much Does A Craps Dealer Make
4. How Much Does A Blackjack Dealer Make

The fire bet is a somewhat uncommon craps bet. Usually this is a special craps side-bet that players can make over a multi roll period. The payouts are enormous and not all casinos will allow this kind of bet since this one is kind of advanced and is usually used by professionals and experienced players. When I play craps (mostly in Atlantic City), it seems like all players do is make dealer bets, which I always hate because the house gets a cut. When I just toss chips to the craps dealers, they always seem confused.

Do you love the casino scene?

Does being a casino dealer seem like the perfect blend of glamour, excitement, and fun?

At first glance, being a dealer at a casino might seem like the perfect job. After all, you probably already enjoy the games you’ll be playing. And you will be getting paid to play them.

You don’t even have to risk losing any money while you play. The casino is banking all the action.

As a casino dealer, the amount you win for the house has no bearing on your pay, though. You get an hourly wage plus tips.

Compared to some jobs, being a casino dealer might be a great deal. As casino gambling continues to grow across the nation, more jobs become available, and fewer potential employees are out there to fill those jobs. This means wages are climbing, too.

This post examines how much you can expect to make as a casino dealer, tips and all.

What Is the Average Wage for a Casino Dealer?

Your average wage as a casino dealer isn’t impressive at all. It’s a service industry, so when you calculate how much you’ll make, you need to take the same kind of mindset that waitresses and bartenders take:

How much money you make is based more on tips than on your hourly wage.

And the better you serve your customers, the more they’ll tip.

In other words, if you’re not a people person, becoming a casino dealer might not be a great idea.

The hourly wages for casino dealers don’t vary based on the game, either. Blackjack dealers make the same kind of money as baccarat dealers, who make the same kind of money as poker dealers or roulette dealers (or croupiers, as they’re called).

The starting pay for an average casino dealer is between $8 and $10 per hour. Some of that is based on experience, too.

If you’re able to get 40 hours a week, which is unusual, you’re looking at $16,000 to $20,000 per year. Most casino dealers, especially starting out, don’t get 40 hours a week, though.

That’s barely enough to pay the rent if you have a roommate and live in a cheap apartment.

Depending on the casino and the stakes of the games you’re dealing, you can expect to make anywhere from $15 per hour in tips to $50 per hour in tips, on average.

That $50 per hour figure, by the way, is an outlier statistic. This assumes you’re working at a high-end casino dealing the higher-limit casino games to the high rollers.

Even then, some high rollers don’t tip — or if they tip, they don’t tip well at all.

Poker dealers make the most money from tips on the most consistent basis, but a lot of this depends on people skills. In some casinos, the dealers are required to pool their tips.

I once played at a casino in Las Vegas with an older poker dealer named Boris. He got mad at me for saying the words “Carpe diem” at the table. He said that I was only allowed to speak English at the table.

Being a friendly guy, I smiled and explained to everyone at the table that the phrase is Latin for “seize the day.”

Boris didn’t think that was helpful, either. He was surly and rude.

As a result, I didn’t tip him.

I shared the story with a professional poker player friend of mine, and he told me that he would have raised hell with the cardroom manager until Boris had been fired.

And the thing is… I don’t mind a little correction. In fact, I’m a humble guy. Had he been reasonably friendly and polite about it, I would have continued to tip him. So it goes.

Also, just because you’re dealing a higher-stakes poker game doesn’t mean you’ll make more in tips. Some of the high-rolling poker players are notorious cheapskates. If you’re dealing high-roller blackjack, craps, or roulette, you’ll do a lot better than if you’re dealing high-limit hold’em.

According to Glassdoor, the average wages for dealers and related jobs are all over the place. They suggest that the average dealer makes $40,000 a year. They also suggest that an average poker dealer only makes $20,000 a year.

Other related jobs include the floor supervisor, with an average salary of $53,000 a year, a casino host, with an average salary of $35,000 a year, and a casino shift manager, with an average salary of $27,000 a year.

The site also lists salaries by company, and it looks like Caesars is the best place to be a dealer, with a salary of $42,000.

Indeed.com has more survey results and suggests an average of $15/hour, which equates to $30,000 a year. They had a listing for a dealer position in Black Hawk, Colorado, where the starting pay was $38/hour. That’s $76,000 a year.

ZipRecruiter suggests that top dealers make $400,000 a year, but I can’t imagine that’s accurate. The rest of their averages are in line with what I saw on the other sites mentioned.

The Perks and Drawbacks of Being a Casino Dealer as a Career

If you know anything about the service business, you probably know that dealing with the customers can be the biggest perk and the biggest drawback to your job. This is especially true in the casino business, though, because emotions tend to be amped up when money is on the line.

You’ll probably spend a lot of time on your feet if you’re dealing table games in the casino. If you’re dealing poker in the cardroom, you’ll probably need to bring a pillow for some extra cushioning at your chair.

One of the other drawbacks of being a casino dealer is that it turns what used to be a leisure activity into a work activity. Playing blackjack is great when you get to do it a couple of times a year for a few hours at a time.

But after dealing blackjack for 30 hours a week for six weeks straight, it becomes drudgery.

In most casinos, smoking is still allowed. That might or might not bother you. I’ve spent enough time in bars and AA meetings that cigarette smoke doesn’t bother me at all, but I’m not like most people.

One of the perks of dealing casino games is that it doesn’t require a degree. You can go to a vocational school to become a dealer, though, but the time and financial commitments are smaller than with other careers. You can usually be qualified to be a casino dealer after a couple of months and an investment of $1,000.

If you’re a night owl, or if you’re looking for a second job — we used to call it “moonlighting” — casino dealing might be perfect for you. After all, most casinos are open 24/7. And guess which shifts are the hardest ones for the managers to cover.

Most casinos are owned by large companies with human resources departments. This means that you’ll probably be eligible for a benefits package. These can include health insurance and retirement benefits, as well as paid time off.

Breaks are longer for casino dealers than you’ll see at other jobs. At most casinos, you work for 90 minutes and then take a 30-minute break. During an eight-hour shift, you get a total of two hours of break time.

If you like having stories to tell, being a casino dealer puts you in a position to have lots of anecdotes. Heck, I have quite a reputation as a raconteur just from the stories I have to tell by being a player. And believe me, I haven’t spent THAT much time gambling in casinos — not compared to someone who deals for a living, anyway.

What Are Your Job Responsibilities as a Casino Dealer?

Think of the dealer as the host for a specific game. The dealer shuffles and deals the cards, or spins the roulette wheel, or directs the action at the craps table. The dealer also trades chips for money.

If you’re a poker dealer, you’re responsible for collecting the rake. It’s your job to make sure the players post their blinds.

If you’re dealing a casino game, you collect the players’ losses and pay out their winnings in chips.

It’s traditional to start your career dealing blackjack because that’s the most popular table game.

But in Europe, it’s more likely that you’ll start as a croupier — that’s the fancy name for the dealer running the roulette game.

The dice table is the toughest table game to be a dealer. Even after writing about craps for years, I still have to look things up. The action is fast, there are lots of bets on the table, and there’s just a lot to keep up with. Craps is the last game most dealers learn.

You’re responsible for maintaining your own gambling license, too. It’s similar to having a driver’s license if you’re going to drive for a company or a food handler’s permit if you’re going to cook for people.

If you have lousy credit and/or a criminal record, you might run into trouble getting your license.

By the way, I have a lady friend who dealt blackjack for years. She’s clueless when it comes to basic strategy. You’re not required to learn the correct strategies for the games you deal.

My advice to prospective dealers is to avoid giving advice to players. That’s a no-win situation because the players are going to lose their money in the long run because of the nature of the games. If they followed your advice, they’ll just blame you for this.

Who needs that kind of headache?

Conclusion

If you like people, enjoy casino games, and don’t mind cigarette smoke, becoming a casino dealer might be the career for you. You don’t get to keep the money the players lose, but they’ll often tip you when they’re winning, so you’ll get to root for them.

You’ll make at least $15,000 a year dealing casino games, but you might make as much as $100,000 a year. I’ve seen reports of dealers who made more, but I’m skeptical, and you should be, too.

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First of all, you should always tip the dealers at the craps table.

Before we get into everything else, tipping the dealers is just the right thing to do. These men and women work hard, are not paid the highest wages, are on their feet all day, are serving multiple ‘customers’ (players) at the same time, and count on tips to make a decent wage.

I’ve always tipped the dealers at the craps table, and have always been very generous in tipping them, but… I learned that I was doing it all wrong, and I want to share what I learned with you.

How Much Does A Craps Dealer Make

Let me explain what I mean by that.

You leave tips for the service you’re provided. At the craps tables, you’re counting on the dealers to take care of your bets, make sure you’re paid out correctly, and ensure that you’re having fun at the table.

Like me, you’re probably used to tipping at the end of your stay, no different than when you eat at a restaurant, you leave your tip when you pay the check. Your tip is relevant to the size of your bill and the level of service you were provided.

I used to do the same thing. After coloring up, I would throw a generous number of chips on the table and say “Thanks! That’s for the crew”. The more I won, and the better the dealers took care of me, the more I would throw on the table. The dealers are always more than appreciative as many don’t leave a tip at all.

Then one day, I remember it like it was yesterday, I was in Atlantic City and walked up to a craps table. I won’t say which casino I was at because, even though this was a bad experience, overall the dealers at this casino have been great, AND I was taught a valuable lesson that day as well.

As usual, after buying in, I start my betting off slow as I’m assessing the table. (I’ll talk more about assessing the table in a later post.) I also use that time to assess the other players as well, and I notice one of the regulars at the other side of the table.

He’s an older gentleman, great shooter, and I bet big when he has the dice. He does the same when the dice are in my hands too. I nod to him and he nods back. We always acknowledge each other, but have never actually spoken. He usually plays left of stick and I’m always right of stick based on our throwing styles.

Anyway, the dice come to me and I start my usual roll and betting.

I having a great roll, when all of a sudden, the stick decides he’s going to be a hero for the casino. I set the dice, pick them up, and he starts waving his stick up and down across the table.

I put the dice down and look him in the eye and he lowers the stick across the table. I pick the dice back up and just as I’m throwing the dice, he raises the stick in my way again.

I looked at him and said ‘You’re kidding me, right!’ He didn’t respond, but kept waving his stick every time I got ready to throw.

All I kept thinking was, I probably tip you guys more than most others, and the more I win, the more I tip, so why on earth would you be trying to get in my way?

When I finally sevened out, I colored up, still made my money, but left a smaller than usual tip on the table and started to walk away, still angry from what just happened.

As I was walking away, the older gentleman I had mentioned earlier, stopped me and said, ‘Buy me a cup of coffee, I want to teach you something’. Thinking that was odd, I still said ‘Sure, why not’. So he colored up, and we walked over to the coffee shop.

I bought him a coffee (black, straight up) and we sat at a table out of the way. As we sat, he said, ‘Listen, I’ve watched you play, you shoot great and you have a betting method that works, but you tip all wrong’.

I was flattered but taken back by his comment on my tipping. I said, ‘What do you mean, I’m probably more generous than most, and even more so when I win big’.

He said ‘Yes, but I want to teach you how to leave even more for the dealers without spending more money, and how to use tipping to work to your favor as well’.

He then proceeded to teach me the ‘right way’ to tip.

I want to thank him for the valuable lesson he taught me and want to share that lesson with each of you.

1) Tip early and often, not just at the end of your play.

• By tipping early, you let the dealers know you have them in mind. It keys the dealers in to your play and they’ll take much better care of you throughout your time at the table.
• This works especially well when you’re playing a different casinos where the dealers don’t know you or when a newer crew is on the table.

2) When you first get to the table and are assessing the trend, throw down a chip or two and say ‘Any point, for the table’.

• The dealers will of course be appreciative, you’re letting them know you have them in mind, but even more importantly… where will those chips go? The dealers have been seeing the trend on the table and they’ll place the chips on the numbers that have been coming out. This makes assessing the table and figuring out the current hot numbers a lot easier.
• Go ahead and follow that up with a place bet on the same number. This works more often than you would think.
• You also get some lower risk action going as you’re assessing the table for yourself.

3) Make the dealers a partner in your rolls. Throw down a chip or two for the dealers on your point, or hardways for them.

• Again, they’re more than appreciative, and they win if you win.
• They become your biggest supporters while you’re rolling and will help to make sure distractions are kept to a minimum.
• You’ll be surprised at the added level of help and advice you’ll get from the dealers. Not only things like double checking that you’re getting paid out correctly, but also letting you know if heat is on the way.
• Believe it or not, you’ll even have times when the dealers are cheering you making points. Why? Because they’re winning along with you.

The above sounds so simple, but you don’t know what you don’t know. That was me before being given this lesson in tipping.

Now the dealers make more in tips because hitting a hardway gets them nine dollars instead of one, I spend about as much in tipping the dealers as I would have anyway, but now I have the crew on my side when I’m at the table.

Here are just a few examples of the benefits I’ve received since changing to this style of tipping.

• I’ve gotten credited for additional comps while I’m playing.
• No dealer, or stick, has tried to slow or interfere with my rolling the dice since.
• I’ve had ‘Come Bets ‘missed’ (left on the table) when a craps rolls.
• The same with ‘Don’t Come’ bets when an 7 or 11 rolls.
• There was a random roller throwing multiple 6s and 8s, I threw down $72 and said $36 6 & 8 as the shooter was throwing the dice. He rolled a seven, but the dealer said ‘I’m sorry sir, I couldn’t hear you, that was a ‘no bet”. Of course he heard me, so I picked up my $72 and place a $5 hard 6 and 8 for the dealers. (He just smiled at me because he knew that I knew.)
• On more crowded tables, the dealers will remind the players next to you to give the shooter room to shoot.
• I even had a time when I place a different than usual bet for myself and the boxman stopped the entire table just as a guy was about to roll the dice because he thought the dealer mis-placed my bet.

I could go on and on about the benefits I’ve received from changing my style of tipping, but the bottom line is.

• The dealers make more in tips
• I spend the same in tips as I always did
• And, I’ve received benefits worth tens of times more than the tips I leaving.

Try it this way and I’m confident you’ll never go back to tipping just at the end of your play.

In a future post, I’ll get into all the different ways you can tip the dealers while your rolling.

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How Much Does A Blackjack Dealer Make In Las Vegas

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How Much Does A Craps Dealer Make

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How Much Does A Blackjack Dealer Make

GOOD LUCK AT THE CASINOS!!!