It’s that time of year again, when we contemplate our life choices. Are we eating right and exercising enough? Are we happy with our career choices and annual income? How could we better ourselves and our situation for the coming new year? If you live in New York, you could resolve a few of those questions by training to be a casino blackjack dealer.
The Big Apple is prepping for the grand opening of the very first, state-licensed casino dealer school, located in New York City. The Big Deal Casino Academy is hoping to begin teaching the techniques of running a casino table as early as next week. One last step must be completed before the casino dealer school, located on the 6th floor of a building on East 28th Street, just off Fifth Ave. Big Deal Casino Academy must first be approved by the New York State Education Department.
[showSites]
The academy’s founder, Wendy Rubin, says this school, if approved, will serve as the next big thing for New York City. “I’m a poker player,” said Rubin, “and I have been dying for a casino closer to New York City.”
With three new commercial casino licenses having just been granted for upstate locations including Schenectady, Thompson and Tyre – Thompson being the closest to New York City – there’s no better time to launch a school for blackjack dealers.
The Big Deal Casino Academy would employ certified dealers and casino supervisors to teach students how to run a multitude of gambling amusements, including baccarat, blackjack, craps, carnival games, poker, roulette and Spanish 21. Students would be required to complete at least two full gaming courses in order to receive a certificate of completion.
Along with the fundamental skills involved in being a croupier or dealing cards, apprentices will also be taught the finer elements of running a casino game. “Never take your eyes off the table,” said Rubin. “That’s one of the most important things we teach.” Rubin also explained that their students would learn to watch for “suspicious behavior” in players.
There are many opportunities duplicitous gamblers may look for to outsmart a dealer, and diverting their attention from the table is the number one way to take advantage. Rubin said dealers must learn to “walk the game”, which she described as stepping side to side, never turning their body away from the table. They must also learn to predict anxious behavior that could lead to players grabbing chips and running for the doors, or elaborate betting patterns that denote various forms of cheating.
The Big Deal Casino Academy has secured a 2,000 square foot facility designed to accommodate 8 blackjack tables and 3 poker tables, as well as baccarat, craps and roulette tables. An entrepreneur from East Village, Rubin is well aware that the casino dealer school is a metaphorical gamble, but she believes the growing casino industry in the Empire State will spur more than enough interest from the community.
The proposal for the new casino dealer school in New York City has been delivered to the Education Department, which oversees all vocational institutes for the state. Board members there will have to assess Ms. Rubin’s proposition before making a decision. If approved, Rubin says the academy is ready to open within a week’s notice.