Croupier

Today’s contributor is Janet Miller, who runs the Professional Croupier Training School in the UK. For those of you not familiar with the job title, a Croupier is a person who runs a table game in a casino — if you’ve played Blackjack, Roulette, Texas Hold Em or Craps in a casino, then you’ve seen a Croupier in action, and I’ve always found it fascinating to watch them at work.

In the US they are usually referred to as “dealers”, but Croupier is not only the more correct term, it sounds way more intriguing to me — which is what this site is all about. If you’re interested in traveling the world, rubbing elbows with rich high rollers and poker superstars, and leaving all your job worries behind when you go home, this might just be the cool job for you!  Below are Janet’s answers to our email interview:  be sure to read her story about dealing Blackjack, it’s hilarious!

Q: When people ask you “what do you do” how do you describe your job?

A: I just answer with “I train people to become Croupiers, to give them the opportunity to make their lives more interesting because the skills of the Croupier will give them the ability and choice to travel all over the world.”  If there were a casino on the moon, I guarantee these skills would get you a job there (not yet of course, but maybe in the year 2080!)

Q : What are the things about your job that you love?

A: You don’t have to worry about this job.   You never take problems home with you about this deal or that account — you don’t have to spend hours putting presentations together for meetings you don’t want to attend.  You can go home, get ready for a night out, go to a party and do what every young person should be able to do and that’s ENJOY LIFE!  The working environment is exciting and friendly.  You get a real buzz when dealing large games and the excitement that the customers feel you experience too!

Q:  What are the things about your job that you hate?

A: The only thing, and I really do mean the only thing that I disliked about my job when I was not training was that occasionally I had to work a night shift when my non-casino friends wanted to go out — which was a bit of a bummer, but apart from that absolutely nothing!

Q: What education, training, vocation or just plain luck would someone have to have in order to get a job like yours?

A:  Education is really important for the things that you may do later on in life.  For this job, it is very good to be customer service oriented and also a people person.  Have a smart appearance, be self-motivated with an adaptable attitude, be of good health and have dexterity in both hands.  But for the most part, lots of young people are drawn to this job because of the possibility of being able to travel the world. Trust me, if you can train to be croupier, GO FOR IT!

Q: What is the funniest story you can think of that involves your job?

A: This is a tough question to answer as there are so many funny stories and so many that involve all aspects of the job, from Management handing out crash helmets to customers as the trainee croupiers learn to spin the [roulette] ball or watching the smoke spiraling from the ends of the cards as a professional Dealer takes on a professional card counter.

One customer I remember threw “Holy Water” in my face as I dealt Blackjack.  She claimed that she had never! ever! won a game with me and complained loudly, telling everyone what she thought I was and how she had gone especially to church on Sunday to get it [the Holy Water] and how shocked and utterly disappointed she was that I didn’t burst into flames!   I just pointed to her cards, smiled, and announced the total.  (I will leave it up to your imagination as to what this particular customer claimed I was.)  Everyone including management fell about in fits of laughter as I continued to deal, wiping the Holy Water from my face.

In every job there are good times and bad times, but in the casino the bad times were and are very, very rare indeed.  No matter what incident arises there is always someone who will show you the funny side.

Many thanks for inviting me to answer your questions:  being a Croupier is such a COOL JOB!  There is really nothing like it!