Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Working in the gaming industry

As time passes, more and more countries legalize gambling, more casinos are opened in new and varied places around the world and more areas become legally approved by the authorities for gambling as a form of social entertainment. If you ask people outside the business about career opportunities within the gambling industry, they will automatically think about the frontline roles such as dealer, bartender or cocktail waitress as these are the people immediately in the public eye.
It is not something that is regularly examined, however the casinos industry holds a vast amount of job opportunities in numerous different areas of the entertainment arena. For example, around the casinos are often built Hotels, entertainment areas, and many more businesses that enjoy the gambling crowd and their business potential. As gambling becomes an increasing popular option for social entertainment, both following the population growth and increased disposable income trend, most of the countries that legalize gambling enjoy an increasingly stable economy around these environments.
A casino is like many other businesses or companies, in that it also has an infrastructure of management members, administrational staff, security officers and artists such as singers, musicians and dancers. If there is a hotel complex attached, then additionally all of these hospitality and catering roles will also need to be filled. Although generally most of these positions do not require any direct interaction with the casino floor, to have a working knowledge of casinos and customers alike is a necessity in order to complete the job roles more competently.
One particularly interesting and challenging role is the casino manager. This role is extremely varied and is responsible for the organization, direction, planning, controlling and coordinating of both the table games and the staff operating them. They are also responsible for recruitment, training and scheduling of all the casino staff. Casino managers also need to know all of the game rules, detecting any game that might put the casinos income at risk. Master Statistical and market analyzing methods are always monitored with regards to the gaming and predicting income growth or decline in the economy both locally and nationally is also a vital part of this role to keep the income of the establishment stable.
Salaries for Casino managers can vary hugely depending on a number of factors including region, however on average, the annual salary is $61000 a year according to a well known journal. Another challenging role is the casino supervisor. They are responsible for ensuring that all gaming tables and the operating staff in a specified area are running to maximum optimization throughout any given shift. They are also there to support the casino patrons and can sometimes need to interpret the gaming rules and deal with any escalated customer issues. On occasion their role can also extend to organizing activities for casino guests staying in the hotel, outside of the gambling arena.
A gaming supervisor must possess exceptional communication skills, interpersonal skills and charisma in order to be able to both deal effectively with staff and employees alike. They also need these skills to try and maximize return patronage. Supervisor’s almost always gain previous casino experience working in other casino positions for several years before they can apply for promotion into this role. In charge of the Slot machines area are the Slot key persons, also known as slot attendants or technicians who manage all slot area machines and staff. Their job description includes verifying winning payouts to casino patrons, resetting slot machines after winnings, and slot money refilling. An educational degree is not needed for this position but knowledge in slot machine operation and the games themselves are necessary. Previous work experience in casinos either in other positions or as slot attendant is also considered an advantage or having attended a slot operating course. According to statistics published in 1999 a Slot technician can make on average 12$ an hour. Casino cage workers; these staff are in charge of all monetary transactions for the casino patrons. The cashier workers will be the people in charge of exchanging real money for chips, tickets or tokens and on occasion credit applications for both deposits and withdrawals within the casino. The role most commonly associated with a casino is of course the dealer.
They manage each game table such as roulette, blackjack, baccarat and poker, dealing out cards, rolling dice, collecting chips and enforcing the game rules. Dealers must master the game rules thoroughly to be able to pick up on inconsistencies. They must also possess very strong customer service skills, a professional look, and sharp calculating abilities as it is the dealer who declares the winner and is in charge of the winning payout or lost money /chip collection. This is a position in a very demanding and fast moving environment and most dealer job requirements demand at least two table games to have been mastered as a minimum. Most professional dealers are certified.
This is achievable through a two to four year course during which the participant will master gaming itself and also customer management fields as well. Experienced dealers are in great demand and it is a highly appreciated job. Dealers practice at first on low limit tables and they move up to high roller tables as they gain more experience. According to statistics published in 1999 a dealer can make on average 7$ an hour. More general job requirements are also asked on top of these specific points mentioned, such as any gaming position applicant should be above 21 years old and with a high school certificate. In the United States casino workers must also have a specific license issued by the government for a fee each year, which also includes background investigations prior to issue. Almost every casino has its own training process in addition to requiring certification.
As with any job, there are both positive and negative sides. Some people love the buzz of the environment which can also be conceived as glamorous and the fact that every day is different, however on the opposite side of the coin the hours can be very unsociable which can put some off but whichever side of the fence you are on there are thousands and thousands of applicants each and every year who cannot wait to join this ever changing and challenging environment.