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| This could be you! |
I understand why people are quiet quitting their jobs. At first When I lived in Boston and worked as a systems analyst for a high-tech company, I was thrilled with my company credit card and my expense account. But it all came at a price, I was expected to travel at any time, not glamorous travel but snowed in at the Keene New Hampshire airport for six hours travel. I was expected to stay at the office and socialize after 5 p.m. I had no life. I worked between 50 and 60 hours a week but received no overtime pay because I was on salary. I dared not calculate my hourly wage to avoid falling into despair. Did all this dedication promise me my company’s loyalty, a lifelong job and great benefits?
Not really, people were fired all the time. I doubt if the average employee lasted more than two years. At first traveling sounded great but after two years and 15 pounds heavier something had to give. How many nights can you spend in a lonely hotel room? Excitement led to boredom and finally burnout. When I got an opportunity to join a cruise ship as a blackjack dealer. I jumped. I stayed at sea for five years and then I went to work in Palm Springs. I still traveled but the ship moved with me.
People wanted to know how I could leave my prestigious job at a tech company to be a blackjack dealer. Why I went from a salaried tech job to become a factory worker. After working in both professions I can tell you why. If you ever walk into a casino you will see a line of dealers slinging cards, they look like workers on a factory line, and that is just fine with me. I just wanted to work a Hard Eight. I give work my all for eight hard hours then I finish my shift and go home.
The other 16 hours of the day are mine.
Since I work nights and am off during the day, I can ride my bike, go to the
beach or write a book. All that free time allowed me to write my novels, Cruise
Quarters and Casino Queen, both about the casino industry.
I work in a go for your own joint, which means any
tips I make I keep. Thousands of dollars cross over the table each night, if
they tip me even a small fraction of that amount, well you do the math. I deal
fast while playing the role of entertainer engaging the customer in
conversation. I cheer them on hoping they will win, because if they win, I will
probably get tipped. There is nothing more exhilarating than sharing in a big
win with a player. Your income is only limited by your personality and by your luck.
But even losers will tip you if they like you. I consider job satisfaction to
be walking out of work with a wad of cash in my hand and leaving my players happy.
To sum it up my take home pay
increased, and so did my job security. Dealers weren’t the only one who make
tips, slot cashiers, cocktail waitresses and valet parkers also do. Many
dealers leave to try to make it in the real world, but in the end the majority
return. Some people might look down on shift work but in the end life work
balance means more to me. On the other hand, if you ever want to go into
management and get paid a salary there are so many opportunities to advance in
the gambling business because it is new and growing.
One of the good things about working in a factory
is that most provide good benefits. Every casino that I have ever worked in
provides health insurance, vacation pay and sick leave.
Factories work in shifts, at a casino you can work
any shift that you want to. Can’t stand sunlight, just sign up to work the graveyard
shift. A morning person, well day shift is for you. With casinos open 24/7,
including the holidays there is a perfect shift for everyone. Dealers who have
children don’t need child care they just work opposite shifts.
Gambling is a growth industry. With more states and
cities in desperate financial straits, they are turning to casinos. Fifty years
ago there were casinos only in Nevada now according to Wikipedia
there is some form of casino gambling in 44 states. You need to attend a
dealing school and learn to deal and some casinos have inhouse training
schools.
Unlike a tech job you can’t be outsourced. Someone
does have to actually pitch those cards on a blackjack game. I know they have
been working on perfecting a blackjack machine, but then you might as well-just
play the slot machines, Table game gamblers don’t trust machines.
You can get a job at almost any age. I have seen
dealers in their sixties get hired. This is great because at some point most
people in the casino get fired. But it is a small enough industry that you
probably know someone in management somewhere, and they will juice you into a new
job.
Free food is a great incentive. Most casinos I’ve
worked in have provided free meals and drinks and if they do charge the cost is
minimal. If going out to lunch costs $10 a day, then that is like a $50 raise
every week. It can get even better, when I lived on a ship I also got free room
and board.
You don’t have to buy clothes, because your company will gladly provide you with a uniform. It will be ugly, it will be made of polyester, but it will be free.
You get to live in nice places which is what got me
into the business in the first place. Besides Tahoe, I have lived on a
cruise ship circling the world, Palm Springs, and I now live in Hollywood,
Florida. My husband has worked in Moscow, London, the Czech Republic and the Bahamas.
You get to meet celebrities. I am just thrilled
whenever anyone from Vanderpump Rules plays on my game. Well, okay to
me reality stars are big celebrities. My husband dealt to Pamela Anderson and
Kirk Douglas. I saw Justin Bieber on the table next to mine. Some of them are
nice, but you soon realize that the rich and famous aren’t “all that.”
The next time you play at a table you don’t have to ask, you will already know why that dealer is working there. Casinos aren’t the only places with shift work but they do offer you the opportunity for a lifetime career with many opportunities for advancement. If you are interested in a “Hard Eight,” and have any questions please contact me at: carabertoia@yahoo.com if you would like to be added to my blog list so I can notify when I post.
My highly rated thriller Casino Queen has been featured at The Big Thrill, Charlotte Reader Podcast and dozens of other publications. Spend some time at the Night Hawk and find out what it is really like to work behind the felt.
Caroline Popov, alone, heartbroken, and deeply in
debt ends up in glamorous Palm Springs, California where Native casinos have
just opened. She lands a job at the Palm
Oasis Casino and is mentored by the charismatic tribal chairman, John Tovar.
Embraced by casino culture, Caroline works her way
up to casino manager of the Night Hawk, in the High Desert town of Joshua Tree.
There, she is responsible for managing multicultural team members, satisfying
the demands of challenging guests, growing revenue while rooting out
corruption.
Her list of enemies grows as she uncovers the underbelly of corruption running through the casino. With her life on the line can she pull out a win?
Click the link below to order at Amazon
Click the link below to order at Barnes and
Noble
Casino Queen at Barnes & Noble
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| Our first date became our book cover! |
You can read Cruise Quarters free at Kindle Unlimited. It is about my years working on a cruise ship and meeting my husband there. Only the names have been changed to protect the guilty. Click the link below to check it out.
Cruise Quarters Kindle Edition Amazon.com
