Table Games Confessions,

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Our first date became our book cover!

You can read Cruise Quarters free at Kindle Unlimited. It is about my years working on a cruise ship and meeting my husband there. Only the names have been changed to protect the guilty. Click the link below to check it out.

CASINO MOVIES THAT GET IT RIGHT

2012-04-25T17:26:00.006-07:00

The April issue of The Atlantic ran a great article about gambling. The title was The Gambler Who Broke Atlantic City. It is a fun article to read and it really explains in an easy to read way about how to win in a casino. Don Johnson is the man who won millions in Atlantic City. The only factual problem was when the author was describing a double down hand; a dealer always turns up their hole card before they hit their hand. But as a casino professional we know that they always get it wrong. It is a rare movie or television show set in a casino that doesn't make some mistake. That is why we took so much care when we were writing Cruise Quarters - A Novel About Casinos And Cruise Ships to get it right.

Don't even start me on 'The Cooler' there is no 'Cooler' it was just something made up to sell a movie. Casinos don't cheat, they may lure you in with bells and neon but the donations you make are purely voluntary.

After we both read the article my husband Ray and started talking about the few movies that have gotten it right. I enjoyed Casino and Bugsy Malone but they were a little before our time. I felt like Owning Mahowny was the best movie about the modern casino business that I have ever seen. This is a movie about an assistant manager at a Toronto branch of a leading Canadian bank. On the weekends he flies to Atlantic City where he gambles hundreds of thousands of dollars. The gambler is played by Oscar winner Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and his love interest is Minnie Driver. It is the most realistic portrait of a compulsive gambler I have ever seen, maybe because it is based on a true story. Set in the 80's before gambling had expanded into all corners of the country. It shows an Atlantic City at the top of its game.

Ray loved Croupier, which I also loved because who doesn't like to look at Clive Owen? Clive Owen plays Jack Manfred an aspiring writer who becomes a croupier to make ends meet and falls under the spell of casino life. Ray said it really replicated his experiences in casinos in London, he learned to deal there and we talk about his training days in our novel Cruise Quarters - A Novel About Casinos and Cruise Ships. The dealers all used to frequent a Greek Restaurant, The Grecian Grill, after the casino closed at night just like in the movie. What male doesn't like to relive his carefree bachelor partying days? There is a heist in the movie with the usual amount of holes in the story but don't let that get in the way because it is the mood and settings that make this movie so great.

Both movies are a few years old so you will probably have to download them or catch them on a movie channel. But if you like to gamble and are interested in what goes on behind the scenes in a casino they are worth a watch. Or you can read all about it in our novel Cruise Quarters - A Novel About Casinos And Cruise Ships.

Her list of enemies grows as she uncovers the underbelly of corruption running through the casino. With her life on the line can she pull out a win?

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Our first date became our book cover!

WE HAVE CREATED A NEW ONLINE NEWSPAPER TO KEEP OUR READERS INFORMED ABOUT ALL THE LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN THE COMPUTER AND CRUISE SHIP INDUSTRY

2012-01-03T00:53:00.002-08:00

If you are reading this blog post right now it is probably a good guess that your are interested in Casinos and Cruise Ships. So to keep our readers up to date and current with what is happening in both industries we have created a new online paper Casinos and Cruise Ships, and the best part is that the subscription is absolutely FREE. So keep yourself informed about the latest developments in the casino and cruise ship industry across the globe. You don't have to subscribe to check it out.

TO CHECK OUT THE NEW ONLINE PAPER CASINOS AND CRUISE SHIPS CLICK THIS LINK

Her list of enemies grows as she uncovers the underbelly of corruption running through the casino. With her life on the line can she pull out a win?

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Our first date became our book cover!

EVEN YOU CAN PLAY POKER IN THE CASINO! JUST PICK YOUR FAVORITE GAME

2011-12-09T18:02:00.001-08:00

The last time I was in Vegas was to visit the gaming show. The gaming show is the trade show for casinos, imagine visiting a vast hall filled with the newest, greatest slot machines and table games. Now imagine that you can play anything you want - for free! Because maybe if you play that game and like it you will put it in your casino.Well I don't own a casino but I wrote about them in my novel Cruise Quarters - A Novel About Casinos and Cruise Ships.

Since I'm a dealer, a table games kind of girl, it was easy for me to walk past those machines. I prefer blackjack to Wheel of Fortune. But this year was all about poker. Poker is everywhere. You can play it at your house, you can watch it on television or you can trust your money to some operator out of the Cayman Islands and play online from the comfort of your desk. Vegas has huge poker rooms filled with dreamers, who have all heard about the World Series of Poker and fantasize about winning the million dollar pot.

All this could be yours!

I'm not talking about that kind of poker. I started out dealing in Tahoe where friends of mine were married to people that played poker in the casino every night because that was their job. Poker rooms are also filled with crafty retirees who play every day and as the saying goes if you practice for 10,000 hours you will get good. Those people scare me and they should scare you. I lost my hard earned tips to those guys too many times. But there is a way to play poker and not be intimidated.

The hottest thing at the gaming show was the carnival games. The ones I am going to focus on are variations of poker that you play at a table that looks a lot like a blackjack table. It isn't you against the other players at the table, no ringers here. It is everyone against the house. The most popular of these games are three card, four card and ultimate Texas hold-em.

Three card poker is just what it sounds like, your three cards against the dealers. It is exactly like regular poker only in three card a straight is higher that a flush. I don't know why that is, but someone smarter than me has figured out the odds. All these games are carefully vetted by the Nevada Gaming Commission before they ever hit the casino floor. But if you want to know the odds on any casino game just google The Wizards of Odds.

Four card has a twist, you get five cards but you only use four. But this is straight poker with a bonus, if you bet it you get paid extra on any hand trips or better. Trips is a quick way to say three of a kind. And in this game trips are a better hand than either a straight or a flush.

Probably the most popular is Ultimate Texas Hold-Em. I don't have time to explain Texas Hold-Em but if you know how to play you know that it all turns on the river. But at a table game all the players can win, there is no pot to split. You also don't have to wait for a game, you only need one player and a dealer and the game is on.

But straight poker isn't enough there are more bells and whistles. With a dollar you can enter a progressive that pays out thousands for a royal flush. This is called a side bet. A few weeks ago someone won $69,000 at my casino, not bad for a buck. And sometimes they combine games; at one table you can play three card and five card poker at the same time. All of these games go by different names and have different rules that vary from casino to casino so you need to visit some websites and study the odds. I know it all sounds complicated, but with the dealer ready to help you, in a few minutes you can be playing poker in the casino and have a lot of fun!.

Her list of enemies grows as she uncovers the underbelly of corruption running through the casino. With her life on the line can she pull out a win?

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THE VALLEY VIEW CASINO NEAR SAN DIEGO IS A SEAFOOD LOVERS DREAM

2011-11-10T20:04:00.002-08:00

I am not ashamed to admit it I like to eat. and I prefer to eat really great food. My nickname when I worked on cruise ships was the food scout, and my book Cruise Quarters - A Novel About Casinos and Cruise Ships is filled with vivid descriptions of the wonderful meals I have eaten across the globe. So when I heard that there was an all you can eat lobster buffet at Valley View casino - a small casino set in the mountains north of San Diego I knew that I had to go there. I know some people don't like buffets. they prefer to be waited on but I am a grazer, I like to try little bits of this and that and at the Valley View they had over two hundred dishes waiting.

Last week my husband and I found ourselves with a few days off and we didn't want to get on a plane so we decided to book a night at the casino and enjoy a mini vacation. It was a pleasant two hour ride up twisting roads dotted with fruit stands and horse farms to the Valley View. The rooms were immaculate with a tub and a shower, and gorgeous views.

Infinity pool at Valley View Casino

Now what I haven't told you is that the buffet is free, all you have to do is join the Players Club! They don't have unlimited passes so you need to join early in the day and request a pass to the evening buffet. So we joined the Players Club as soon as we arrived got our passes and then spent the rest of the day hitting the thrift stores in nearby Escondido. I learned after we checked into the hotel is that if you are a guest there, you are guaranteed a lobster buffet and you even get a VIP Pass for the line. The room also includes a free breakfast so by the time you add up the price of the meals it was as if our room was free.

Now the most important part, the food, how was the food? Everyone knows that a casino can be rated on the quality of its buffet. It is the draw especially for a casino set high up in the hills. I am happy to report that it was great. The lobster was good, they really were Maine lobsters split in half and easy to eat. From the Chinese ribs to the mashed sweet potatoes this was the real thing, home cooked food. But where this buffet really shines is the sweets. There is a huge desert selection, from homemade fudge, crepes and cupcakes to fresh fruit and cheese.

The Macaroons, not the coconut ones we are used to but the fancy French ones were as good as the ones we bought in London one day from a very fancy shop on Regents Street, They literally melted in you mouth. There were homemade chocolates as pretty as anything at See's.

Now less than a week has passed and when we picked up our mail today there was a postcard from you guessed it - the Valley View Casino. They were offering us two free buffets or $30 worth of cash on our next visit. So if you in Southern California or are planning a visit there, I highly recommend a stop at the Valley View Casino, but don't tell everyone, I'm scared they will run out of free lobster!

Her list of enemies grows as she uncovers the underbelly of corruption running through the casino. With her life on the line can she pull out a win?

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Our first date became our book cover!

THE TOP TEN REASONS TO TRAVEL AROUND EUROPE ON A CRUISE SHIP

2011-09-13T20:56:00.001-07:00

Many times people ask me what is the best way to travel around Europe. Well I have toured England and Europe by car and train, but definitely the best way to get around Europe was on a cruise ship. For many seasons I cruised the Mediterranean and Northern Europe. Here are my top ten reasons for picking a cruise ship over train or road.

The Author Cara Bertoia in Leningrad

1. Sail Away. There is no view in the world that compares to sailing out of Venice on a large ocean liner. I remember the time the crew club sponsored a pizza party on the back deck. To look down on the city of Venice and sail past all the medieval buildings while drinking wine and eating pizza, cooked by Italian chefs will always remain a special memory. The sun was setting and the view was spectacular.

2. You only have to pack your bags once. When you try to visit a lot of countries in Europe by car or train, you always seem to be packing. Inevitably you leave a few things behind. But on a cruise ship you unpack at the beginning of the cruise and pack the night before you go home no matter how many countries you visit.

3. You don't have to spend all your time working out how to travel from place to place. When I went by train so much of my time was spent figuring out the train schedules and I ended up spending many of my nights on trains and buses lugging heavy suitcases. I was always exhausted. On a ship one day you are in Copenhagen and the next morning you wake up in Stockholm, refreshed, very well fed and ready for a new adventure.

4. Speaking of well-fed the food is wonderful, plentiful and served at any hour of the day or night. It seems as if in Europe that the chefs try to outdo the local chefs. Besides three meals there is the pizzeria, room service and the midnight buffet. It is a feast and at the midnight buffet it is also a feast for the eyes.

5. If you pick your ship carefully you will find first rate entertainment. Many of the ships offer history lessons about the ports of call, wine tasting, and some feature Cirque de Soleil caliber shows. I never did figure out how they managed to balance so well while the ship was moving.

6. You can sample many countries on a cruise and if you find a place that you really enjoy you can always return for a longer stay.

7. Teatime. I just love teatime. In the afternoon I would always run down from the casino to the lounge where tea, finger sandwiches and adorable tiny cakes were served. I worked on a British ship and no one does tea better that the Brits.

8. When you travel from country to country you never have to worry about clearing customs, that is all taken care of by the purser's staff, usually when you are asleep.

9. There is something luxurious about traveling on a cruise ship. From the crystal chandeliers to the polished brass stair railings, ships exude elegance. Even though I was only working on a ship I always felt like a celebrity traveling on a very big yacht.

10. Since my book is called Cruise Quarters - A Novel About Casinos and Cruise Ships and this blog is Table Games Confessions, I have to mention that most cruise ships have an onboard casino. It is usually a small and intimate room, which closes while the ship is in port but opens as soon as the ships sails.

Her list of enemies grows as she uncovers the underbelly of corruption running through the casino. With her life on the line can she pull out a win?

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Our first date became our book cover!

CASINOS AND THE HARD ROCK A MARRIAGE MADE IN ROCK AND ROLL HEAVEN

2011-08-26T12:29:00.002-07:00

Last week while I was on vacation in Florida, my sister treated my husband and me to a Brian Wilson Concert. Although Mr.Wilson shows his age, he still had the same voice I remember so well from my Beach Boys albums. He belted out his greatest hits for over two hours. It was a great concert and the venue, well where else could it be but at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood. Yes there is another Hollywood.

This casino was massive, glitzy, and heaving with people. The Hard Rock holds a special place in my heart. When I worked on cruise ships, collecting memorabilia from the Hard Rock was a favorite pastime for most of the crew. I even wrote about it in my novel. At first it seemed bizarre to me, collecting tacky souvenirs, but finally I got it. When they got home, the small metallic pins, shaped like guitars proudly displayed on their worn denim jackets proved that they had really been to faraway places.

As I walked through the casino I stopped to watch the monitors that tracked the action at Hard Rocks all over the world. That got me to thinking, how many Hard Rocks are there? I visited their website and found out that there are 173 venues in over 51 countries, so that is a lot of pins to collect. It all started out when Issac Tigrett and Peter Morton couldn't get a decent hamburger in London. They remedied that by opening the first Hard Rock in 1971.

Now I haven't been to all of them, but I have visited many Hard Rocks across the globe. Most of the time the casino staff couldn't agree on anything but when it was a holiday or birthday many times we celebrated at the Hard Rock. When you are traveling for months to far away places on a very big ship and start to feel a little homesick, what you really crave is a bit of home and a good pig sandwich. It was a favorite spot in Acapulco, back in the day when you could walk back to the ship without the threat of being caught in a drug war. Whether it was Singapore or Stockholm you knew that when you ate at a Hard Rock you would get good food at a reasonable price.

Now the big push is to casinos, and my husband and I know a little about this since we have been in the gaming industry for most of our adult careers. From London to Las Vegas whenever we walk into a Hard Rock casino we always see someone we have worked with somewhere in the world. I also love looking at all the memorabilia; they own the world's most comprehensive "visual history" of rock 'n' roll. I never realized that the 70,000 piece collection is rotated from restaurant to restaurant. After visiting the Hard Rock in Hollywood and Las Vegas I must agree, casinos and the Hard Rock are a marriage made in rock and roll heaven.

The link to my novel at Amazon, also available at Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords

Her list of enemies grows as she uncovers the underbelly of corruption running through the casino. With her life on the line can she pull out a win?

Click the link below to order at Amazon

Click the link below to order at Barnes and Noble

Our first date became our book cover!

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MYTHS OF THE FELT - THE VIEW FROM BEHIND THE BLACKJACK TABLE

2011-08-02T19:30:00.000-07:00

Hi, my name is Cara. My husband Ray and I have been in the casino business for most of our working careers. We have decided to show you the view from behind the table. We will pass on a few tips, so that superstition doesn’t ruin you game. Please let us know if they help you win the next time you visit a casino!

If you were a blackjack table visited by thousands of punters a year, you would hear the same five things repeated every day. Guess what, all five of them are misconceptions, mixed up with superstitions and topped off with a thick layer of so called expertise.

1. When the majority of players walk up to the table the first words out of their mouth are, “Dealer, are you running hot or cold?”

This old chestnut has been around as long as gambling. Movies, books, and even a dealer or two have added to the mystique of hot and cold dealers. Some things are easily disproved. Trust me, if some dealers were naturally hot and some cold then the casino would only employ the hot variety. Have you ever seen an advert in the paper for a new casino, “Now interviewing for staff, hot dealers only need apply.” No one would be a dealer because dealers work for tips and generally people who are winning tip. Without winners dealers would have no income. I can assure you there is one person in the casino who wants you to win and that is the dealer!

2. Third Base is the most important spot at the table, because seat number seven controls the cards.

That would only be true if the player in seat seven had a crystal ball and knew what cards would appear next. Sometimes they play correctly and the cards fall perfectly and the dealer bust, then third base will take all the credit. Sometimes they play correctly and the dealer hits out to twenty one but they don’t take the blame for that one. In fact the cards are shuffled many times during the course of the day and no one knows the next card – or equally importantly the dealer’s hole card.

3. Someone at the table has to take a hit.

Let’s imagine the following scenario. The dealer shows a low card, maybe a five or a six, and everyone at the table has a stiff hand (12 – 16). All the players signal no card, but the benevolent player at the all important third base will offer to sacrifice his hand for the good of the table, because, “Someone has to take a hit.” We have never understood the logic of this one. Since no one knows what the dealer’s hole card is or the next card out of the shoe, then just like every other hand a player should stick to the rules of basic strategy. By the previously mentioned twisted logic, third base may very well take the bust card and his sacrifice will doom the table. But if everyone loses with a sigh he will proclaim, “Well at least I tried.”

4. When things are going badly at the table, players think they can change the flow of the cards by adding of subtracting a hand from the game.

There is no flow or run of the cards, they are shuffled in a random order. Casinos go to great lengths to devise shuffles that produce a random rearrangement of the cards at every shuffle.

5. I know I shouldn’t split these sixes against a ten but I have a feeling.

Nothing gets a gambler into more trouble than a feeling. And really this is the point of our blog. The house always has slight edge even at blackjack but if a player follows the rules of basic strategy they can avoid increasing that edge.

Like most things in life blackjack is a game of skill, which can be easily learned. We feel that if a player is going to spend $300 on a night at the tables it is worth their while to invest ten dollars to buy a book on basic strategy. There are thousands of books on basic strategy, you can find them in the gambling section of any bookstore or online. No book on basic strategy or gambling mentions ‘hot dealers’ or ‘taking the dealers bust card’ or ‘flow of the cards,’ it’s all strictly math. So forget the old wives tales, buy yourself a copy, read it and study it. Happy Gambling.

Check out my novel Cruise Quarters - A Novel About Casinos And Cruise Ships

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CRUISE QUARTERS- CHOSEN TRIPATINI 'READ OF THE WEEK'

2011-07-11T22:52:00.001-07:00

Ray and I wanted to tell you a little more about this wonderful travel site so that you would know why we are so thrilled to be their "Read of the Week."

TRIPATINI LEADS LIST OF TOP TEN TRAVEL SOCIAL NETWORKSMIAMI—SEPT. 08, 2010—Travel social network Tripatini.com, which the New York Post called “Facebook for Travelers,” has just been cited by HotelMarketing.com and HouseTrip.com as the best travel social network of 2010.

“There are numerous travel social networks, and many of them provide a lot of value. But they were not created equal,” said the report. “Instead of only receiving tips from fellow travelers (often the case on other networks), you also get more access to the professionals who can give you the insider tip that will make your travel experience truly memorable. And this in turn allows travel industry professionals to build followers for their own services by providing expert advice."

Tripatini’s Ask A Travel Expert widget comes in for special praise: “You can embed [it] on your desktop, blog, or Web site to help your site visitors get professional answers… or to help the pros keep tabs on the latest questions they can offer their expertise on.”

Tripatini also offers members their own individual blog spaces, as well as the ability to post pictures and videos, participate in lively discussions, and promote themselves, their blogs, or their agenda on a home page bulletin board. But above all, Tripatini offers nearly 400 discussion groups on everything from Accessible Travel to Zambia and from Adventure Travel to Travel Products to Vermont.

“Tripatini has risen rapidly since its launch a year ago, true validation of our premise: that travelers and travel industry experts both benefit from hanging out together,” said CEO David Paul Appell. “We’re thrilled and honored by this recognition, and look forward to developing more and better ways for travelers and experts to interact.”

In August, HouseTrip.com named Tripatini in its short list of top travel social networking sites, and Tripatini has also been singled out by Gadling.com, ASTA, the National Tour Association, and other members of the travel community including travel legend Arthur Frommer.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

About Tripatini.com

Dubbed “Facebook for travelers” by the New York Post, Tripatini.com is a social network for travelers and travel experts that boasts a unique international membership base and more than 350 specialized groups. Launched in summer 2009 to eliminate the traditional barriers between travelers, travel journalists, publicists, agents, vendors, and savvy insiders, the site gains new dynamic content, groups and membership daily. Tripatini.com’s community combines travel content such as destination spotlights, user-generated blogs, image galleries and news feeds with a fast-growing network of members to provide unprecedented travel information for all.

Her list of enemies grows as she uncovers the underbelly of corruption running through the casino. With her life on the line can she pull out a win?

Click the link below to order at Amazon

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Our first date became our book cover!

Red ties and casinos don't mix! -Tales from the roulette wheel

2011-06-24T12:34:00.001-07:00

When I returned from the Bahamas and the glamorous life of working in Freeport, I found myself in Manchester and took a job at a dive in the center of town. Our clientele consisted of almost 100% Hong Kong Chinese.

One day we changed our uniforms from the traditional waistcoat to a red jacket and tie – a real tie not a clip on, which I immediately knew was a big mistake. My boss disagreed, “Red is a very lucky number to the Chinese he pointed out.”

It didn’t take long for my fears to come true. Only a week later I was dealing roulette on a heaving game on a Sunday afternoon. That was the big day out at the casino for the local Chinese.

The ball had just dropped into the slot for black four, when out of the corner of my eye I noticed a middle-aged woman in a smart jacket snatching her losing chips off the red betting diamond.

I politely told her that she had removed a losing bet.

She refused to replace the losing bet and declared “I was in time.”

So I casually called, “Place you bets,” and reached in the wheel as if I was about to spin the ball again. At this point the same lady put her chips out again thinking she was getting a fresh spin.
As soon as I saw her place her chips, instead of spinning the ball, I said, “Thank you,” and reached over and took them!

The punter went crazy screaming at me in Chinese. I ignored her ranting feeling pretty smug. I felt like I had done a good job in outwitting a cheater.

Next, I called out, “Place your bets,” and leaned forward to spin the ball. Like a red flag to a bull, my tie dangled invitingly over the table. It was too much for the punter to resist; she grabbed hold of it with both hands under my neck, and pulled hard. I felt the tie tighten.

I grabbed her hands and a tug of war ensued with the tie gradually choking me. Everyone in the casino was shouting, the whole casino ground to a halt as they all came over to my table to watch me choke.

My supervisor yelled, “Let go.” But I couldn’t because I felt like I was really choking.

He jumped off his highchair, got behind me and tried to pull me away from her. At the same time the woman’s husband was pulling her from behind, too. We went to and fro several times when finally, I pulled hard and lifted right off her feet until she was lying flat on the roulette table. Her husband pulled back and the sleeves ripped off her jacket.

He pulled out the paddle (that pushed the money into the drop box) and smashed it down on a glass ashtray. Pieces of glass flew everywhere including into my supervisors’ eye.

By this time the casino had erupted into a free for all with ashtrays flying, while punters were gathering up handfuls of roulette chips and flinging them around the room.

Finally, I disentangled myself and ran the gauntlet past the irate players up the stairs and safely hid in the break room. On the advice of my supervisors, I hid there for the next eight hours, fearing for my life if I went down the stairs or out the entrance as there was a mob waiting for me. Eventually management convinced the players that I had left by a back exit.

So the moral of this story is never wear a red tie while dealing, it gives the punters something to hold onto..

Her list of enemies grows as she uncovers the underbelly of corruption running through the casino. With her life on the line can she pull out a win?

Click the link below to order at Amazon

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Our first date became our book cover!

The 10 Reasons I Still Work in a Casino After All These Years

2011-06-05T20:24:00.001-07:00

When I was younger and working in a casino in London, players would sit down at my game and invariably the following question would come up. “You went to university, what are you doing working in a joint like this?” I would always look around me where there were rows of dealers just like me, fresh faced and trying to postpone adulthood as long as they could. I was planning to deal for a couple of years, maybe travel a bit, and then find a 'proper' job and settle down. However I quickly discovered that I loved the job. Next I worked in the Bahamas, and then on a cruise-ship in the Med, and by that time I was sucked into the casino lifestyle. Over the years at one time or another most of us have left the casino business, but in the end the majority return. So let me tell you the top ten reasons for working in a 'joint like this.'

You get paid for playing games all day. Well you really don’t get paid much; the majority of your money comes from tips. So remember, punters, there is one person in the casino that wants you to win, and that person is the dealer. Because if you don’t win I won’t make tips and everybody likes to eat. There is nothing more exhilarating than sharing in a big win with a player.

Every casino that I have ever worked in provides health insurance, because we are all eventually going to get carpel tunnel from pitching cards for years.

You can work any shift that you want to. Can’t stand sunlight, you just sign up to work the graveyard shift. A morning person, well day shift is for you. With casinos open 24 / 7, including the holidays there is a perfect shift for everyone. When dealer couples have children they don’t need child care they just work opposite shifts.

Gambling is a growth industry. With more states, cities and countries in desperate financial straits, they are turning to casinos. Fifty years ago there were casinos only in Nevada now according to Wikipedia there are casinos in 19 states.

You can’t be outsourced. Someone does have to actually deal those cards on a blackjack game. I know they have been working on perfecting a blackjack machine, but then you might as well just play the slot machines, Table game gamblers don’t trust machines. So we’re safe for a while.

You can get a job at almost any age. I have seen dealers in their sixties get hired. This is great because at some point most people in the casino business get fired. But it is a small enough industry that you probably know someone in management somewhere, and they will juice you into a job.

Free food is a great incentive. Most casinos I’ve worked in have provided free meals and drinks and if they do charge the cost is minimal. If going out to lunch costs $5 a day, then that is like a $25 raise every week. It can get even better, when I lived on a ship I also got free room and board!

You don’t have to buy clothes, because your company will gladly provide you with a uniform. It will be ugly, it will be made of polyester, but it will be free.

You get to live in nice places, which is what got me into the business in the first place. Besides London, I have lived on a cruise ship circling the world, in Moscow, the Czech Republic and the Bahamas. and I now live in Palm Springs.

When I was single it was a great way to meet girls! I would put that as reason number one but the Missus would kill me!

So the next time you play at a table you don’t have to ask, you will already know why that dealer is working there. If you really want to know what it is like to work in a casino read my novel Cruise Quarters - A Novel About Casinos and Cruise Ships.

Her list of enemies grows as she uncovers the underbelly of corruption running through the casino. With her life on the line can she pull out a win?

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About the author:

Ray Bertoia is the author of Cruise Quarters - A Novel About Casinos and Cruise Ships. He wrote the novel with his wife Cara.Their novel is really a travelogue, a narrative, a romance, a self-help manual for gambling and cruising, and a real-life story all rolled into one funny, obsessive, and entertaining story of two people whose separate life journeys meet at a crossroads. Kindle Fire Dept. says, "This novel is a gem that is nothing short of a vacation in a book!"
Below is the links to Cruise Quarters - A Novel About Casinos and Cruise Ships

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Spin Control at Roulette - Possible or Not So Possible?

2011-05-24T20:19:00.001-07:00

Ball Control - or Should I Say, Lack of!

Ever since I started in the gaming industry over 30 years ago, I have heard many claims from the more experienced dealers that spinning certain sections, or even hitting within 5 numbers of a target number is possible. However, no-one has ever actually been able to demonstrate this ability to me. You see it is always 'a friend' or someone who 'used to work here' that possesses this uncanny knack. Let's examine this a little further. Let me state up front that I for one don't believe that any dealer can control the ball to the degree required to hit a specific number or section. If it were really possible to do this, then the game of roulette as we know it simply could not exist, since it would be so open to abuse. And that for me is a very simple proof showing that spin control is all in the dealer's head.
I started in the casino business at a major London casino, and the standard spin was very slow, only about 4 or 5 times around the wheel, and also with the wheel just turning at a fairly leisurely speed. The idea was to get as many spins in a day as possible. We never reversed the spin either and it made not a whit of difference in anyone's ability to predict the number, but it did increase the pc for the game since there were a lot more spins per hour. And as far as the casino is concerned, that is really what any of the games is all about, spins or in the case of blackjack, hands per hour.

I was surprised when I started work at another casino and discovered the dealers whacking the ball around at a hundred miles an hour as if that somehow made the next number more 'random'! The fact is the ball has so many variables before it lands - hitting the diamonds and then bouncing around in and out of the numbers, that any skill that the dealer may think he has is to no avail. In a modern wheel the dividers between the numbers are very shallow and the ball very easily jumps around. If dealers really could spin sections or numbers, a lot more attention would be paid by management and those that could actually perform this feat would no longer be working in the gaming business. Case in point. A friend of mine was a keen amateur magician, he was trained on blackjack, then one slow day he demonstrated to us all the card tricks he could perform, fake shuffles, bringing cards to the top of the deck etc... That was the end of his blackjack days, back to roulette for him!

Her list of enemies grows as she uncovers the underbelly of corruption running through the casino. With her life on the line can she pull out a win?

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