All about Work

Greetings to my legions of followers. I now have six, a doubling from my last post!

I haven't been putting as much time in lately at the old blogspot, and that's because I am now working, which unfortunately takes up a lot of my free time. I can't say that I like it. Not working is right up my alley, I now understand my brother's motivations all these years a little bit better.

I have completed my first full week at my new casino, and there is a lot to talk about. I made it through the crucible of European-style roulette, but just barely. I wrote a little about my first shifts experiences in my last post, but I will now elaborate a bit more. Probably only other dealers will understand some of what follows, but this is for my own future reference and recollection as well. Let's start off with the "Change Block". There is a movable, stepped-up block of wood, about 6" by 6" and 1-2 inches high on each roulette table, and it is there to make chip change on. I sh#* you not. Apparently there had been problems sometime in the past with chips falling into the wheel while the ball was spinning, so they devised this method, in its oh so Swiss ingenuity, to avoid that possibility. Very clever, and very difficult to get used to, and a hassle to always have to move to access the chips. As for the chips themselves, the denominations are completely different. Instead of Fives, Twenty-fives, and Hundreds, there are .50 cents, Twos, Fives, Tens, Twenties, Fifties, and, finally, Hundreds. It is much more difficult than you might imagine to overcome years of familiarity with specific denominations of chips, and then have to adapt to completely different values and have to count them, add them together, and total them. It hurts my head. On top of that, roulette players can play multiple denominations simultaneously, and the dealer must total all per player winning bets together and pay inclusively. Try to imagine that! And that's not all, there's more! There is no limit on how many players can play same denomination cash chips at the same time, on multiple wheels. I might have four players all playing $5 cash chips on the inside at any one time. There are multiple disputes every night. However, they are usually very polite, subdued disputes. Finally, the wheels are also electronically attached to touch-bet roulette machines spaced around the casino, so even when there are no players, which is extremely rare, the dealer still has to spin the ball regularly. What fun!

A little bit more about the Swiss mindset. They are anal compulsive to a fault. Yes, I know those of you who know me may find those words coming out of my mouth odd, but it is true. The Swiss are too compulsive. The extent to which they have detailed their dealing procedures would have made Howard Hughes proud. There is no leeway in the method, or location, or posture, or order that you make change, or cut down chips, or re-stack chips, or take in chips, or pass off chips, or pay out money, or take in losing bets, or place money for change, or open games, or close games. I hope I haven't left anything out. They are very nice in telling me how I am doing everything wrong, but also very firm. I sometimes feel as I have never really dealt before now. That Caesars was just a warm up to this. Let me remind you that the games are $10 and $20 minimums with $400 and $800 maximums. Their maximums end at about what Caesar's minimums started at. On the positive side, there are adjustable stools for the dealers to sit or lean on at every table that can be used at any time. Pretty nice.

The casino management also just recently instituted a "Happy Hour" promotion. Now, for those who work in casinos or F&B, you know that happy hour promotions are to bring in customer traffic during slow periods, and usually involve reduced prices on drinks and games. This is what the casino did, except that it did it on Fridays and Saturdays from 8pm to Midnight, the absolutely busiest hours of the week! I sh#* you not. They took the busiest times of the busiest nights of the week, and they lowered the limits on the black jack tables and the prices of drinks. Ingenious. I wish I had thought of that. In addition, they rarely play any music, and when they do, it is usually something like Stevie Wonder, played at a very low volume. High volume music might lead to irrational behavior. Perhaps someone would lose control and let a little fun out. The Swiss, they know how to partay.

As for the customers, they are, to put it mildly, inexperienced and naive. But not really in a bad way. They are very earnest and polite and nice, at the same time being the worst gamblers the world has ever known. I sh#* you not. They do every wrong move in the book, and they do it every hand. The blackjack hold percentages here are 34%!! For those of you not in the "know", the blackjack hold percentages in Las Vegas are around 14%. The only games that have hold percentages that high in Vegas are Let it Ride, and Caribbean Stud Poker, and the odds are designed into those games and cater only to the hillbilly rubes who wonder in the doors. In gambling, the Swiss are so earnestly ignorant it makes you maudlin. And even here, the players say "Winner, winner, chicken dinner", except that they say it like "Veena, veena, cheeckan deena" -- Jawohl!

Working in high-limit at Caesars Palace for years would naturally lead one to believe that he or she is more than adequate at dealing, but one would be wrong. I was extremely spoiled at Caesars, I knew it when I was there, and I really know it now. I will never have a job that easy and well-paying again. I must accept this and move on.

In the end, I hope no one reading this Blog gets the impression that I hate it here. I really don't. This is an awesome experience and I'm sure it will continue to be one. There is so much to experience and see here, some things better and some things worse than in America, but everything is new and interesting and exciting, if for no other reason than that is so different than everything that has come before it. But I will continue to blog about it in as interesting a way as I am able, because I enjoy it. Check out the pics of our apartment. Bye for now!