How Much Do Casino Dealers Make?

Dealers in Las Vegas make between $10,000 and $60,000 a year in base pay, but the total take-home pay is often much higher as tips are included.

Are you thinking of making a career shift and becoming a casino dealer in Las Vegas? Then this is the guide for you. We’ll be disclosing exactly how much casino dealers make, including base pay, tips and benefits.

We should start by mentioning that being a casino dealer might seem like a dream job, but in reality, it is quite burdening. As a casino dealer, you have to be laser-focused on the game at all times, making sure no one cheats and that every player gets paid out as they should.

What is the Average Salary for a Casino Dealer?

The average wage for casino dealers isn’t that high and is in line with what waitresses and bartenders make. The total take-home pay relies more on tips than on the actual pay per hour, which varies between $8 and $15.

Assuming a casino dealer works a full 40-hour work week, which is uncommon, the casino dealer would make between $16k and $20k in base pay a year. This is not too much, of course. Luckily, there is more money involved in the form of tips.

Depending on the casino you’re working at and the stakes of the games you host, you can expect to make anywhere between $15 and $50 per hour in tips, on average. Although $50 an hour in tips seems quite high, it is possible if you’re working at a top-end casino or are dealing for high rollers. One thing to note is that even the biggest high rollers are sometimes notorious cheapskates and won’t tip big at all.

If we take a look at salary comparison websites like Glassdoor and Indeed, we see that the average wages for dealers widely vary. On their websites, it is stated that average poker dealers make $20k a year whilst average casino dealers make $40k a year, which seems off.

These salaries are quite low compared to the $53k a year that floor supervisors earn, as well as the $35k average salaries of shift dealers. According to their data, Caesars Palace pays out the best, with a base salary of $42k.

Subscribe to OddsJam’s YouTube Channel and Never Miss Out on the Top Plays, Tips and Action!

Pros & Cons of Being a Casino Dealer

If you’re a people person, you might want to become a casino dealer as you will interact with people from all walks of life. However, this can also be the biggest drawback of the job. Players tend to get emotional, especially when they are losing a lot of money.

Another drawback of working as a casino dealer is that you’ll spend most of your time standing unless you’re a poker dealer. You should also keep in mind that although you might like blackjack or baccarat, it could get quite redundant after dealing for more than 30 hours a week.

On the flip side, you don’t need a degree to become a casino dealer. The training to become one usually only takes a couple of weeks and it will cost you less than $1,000 to become qualified.

You can also combine dealing at casinos with other jobs. Casinos are open 24/7, so you could choose to only deal a couple of hours in the evenings or at night as a second job. Another advantage of becoming a casino dealer is that most casinos are owned by large gambling corporations that may provide benefit packages, which include health insurance and retirement benefits.

Apart from these advantages, you will also have a lot more breaks as a casino dealer compared to most other jobs. For every 90 minutes that you deal, you can expect to be able to take a 30-minute break. So if you’re working for eight hours, you’ll get two hours paid just to be on break.

It is also noteworthy to mention that, in most cases, you will get free lunch or dinner at one of the restaurants in the casino while working. Some casinos also offer college assistance programs to help you pay for your degree. If you don’t live near the casino you will be dealing at, you can count on commuter assistance as well.

Over 100,000 sports bettors are making big profits with OddsJam. Are you next? Click here to sign up today!

What do You Have to do as a Casino Dealer?

As a casino dealer, you are the host of a specific game. If you’re a blackjack or poker dealer, your job is to shuffle the cards, cut the deck and distribute the cards amongst players (and yourself). You are also responsible for trading chips for money, collecting chips and paying every player out after each game round.

Apart from these responsibilities, you also have to make sure players follow the rules. You will be asked to explain the game’s rules to new players. If you are a roulette dealer, also known as a croupier, your job is to place a tiny metal ball into a roulette machine, collect bets, call out the winning number and payout every player accordingly.

Craps is without a doubt the most difficult game to host as a casino dealer. The dice table is always full of bets, players and cheering spectators. In most cases, only experienced casino dealers get to host craps games.

Another thing you should keep in mind is that as a casino dealer, you are responsible for keeping your gambling or dealer license on hand. You must maintain a good credit score and a clean criminal record. You should also refrain from giving any betting advice to players. Not only is this a no-win situation for the casino, but it also works counter-intuitively as players will blame you when they lose money by following your advice.

How to Get Higher Tips as a Casino Dealer

As a casino dealer, you want to receive as many tips as possible because they form the biggest part of your salary. To receive higher tips, you want to keep players entertained at all times. When players are entertained, they tend to stay longer at your table, which is good for both the casino and your pockets.

Therefore, we recommend giving players compliments and positive feedback whenever you can. One thing to mention is that you should file tips for your income tax. If you don’t file your tips for income tax, it is considered tax evasion and you could be fined for committing a financial crime.

OddsJam’s best-in-class suite of betting tools give you the edge as a sports bettor to find the best odds and profitable betting opportunities in real time.

What do Casinos Expect From Casino Dealers?

Casinos expect casino dealers to be friendly and outgoing, able to maintain a professional attitude with rude patrons, stand their entire shift, deal evening and night shifts and occasionally work in a smoking environment.

The most important thing casinos look for when hiring casino dealers is the spontaneity of the person in question. You must be friendly with guests, have a sense of humor and make them feel comfortable playing your game.

You should also be able to maintain a professional attitude when guests get upset. Some players can get exceptionally rude when losing and you will have to be able to take that.

Smoking is still allowed in some casinos, so you must be able to tolerate a smoky environment, especially in smaller and older casinos with dated filtration systems. Another thing you should keep in mind is that the casino might call you in the middle of the night to ask if you can come to the venue and deal a late-night or early-morning shift.