On June 12th, 2008, at the casino dealer's school, a casino dealing schol located in a strip mall in Hollywood, the lesson for the day is blackjack. On other days, it might be baccarat, pai gow or poker. Dealing students like Chan pay around $1,200 for the classes that can last for almost 6 weeks or more, depending on the learning capability of the prospective dealer.
A lot of the students that can be found at the dealing school are hoping to land employment opportunities at South Florida's growing gaming industry. The game of Texas Holdem poker has been a big hit among players for a number of years now but brand new casino card games like blackjack will be offered at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood.
The Seminole Tribe has already hired seven hundred dealers for the debut of the card games at the Hollywood casino but plans to hire more as it is also planning to offer the card games to the Seminole tribe's other casino facilities like the Coconut Creek Casino. Tribe spokesperson Gary Bitner commented that the larger the dealing pool, the better for the future of the tribe and the organization.
A lot of prospective dealers that are studying in the Hollywood dealing school come from different walks of life, which makes the class more interesting and fun. Thirty-eight year old Alina Barcelo, a poker dealer at the Gulfstream Park and an instructor of blackjack, baccarat and pai gow at the school said that being a dealer is hard but glamorous life. Prospective dealers can also earn a substantial amount of money from their dealing job.
Most casino dealers earn from $40,000 to more than $100,000 annually. Some of the schools that can be found in South Florida these days include the Casino Career School Incorporated in Pompano Beach, the Ace of Spades in Hialeah and the Academy of Professional Poker Dealers in Lake Worth. These kind of schools will continue to appear as the gaming industry continue to grow in Florida.
Date: Monday, June 30 , 2008
As Reported by: Emma Green