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Floormen and
Dealers unite?
By Jeff Burbank,
LAS VEGAS BUSINESS PRESS
July 26, 1999
Floormen
and Dealers unite?
The dispute
that arose last week between the Nevada Casino Dealers Association
and the new Resort at Summerlin, comes down to whether or not
casino floormen are managers or if they're casino floor employees
like dealers, and so can share dealers' tokes. The Resort, owned
by Swiss Casinos of America, has instituted a unique approach to
casino management that blends the traditional jobs of floormen and
dealers. In fact, there are no floormen or dealers there.
"Casino hosts," as they're called at the Resort,
are trained to reach seven skill
levels, including dealing games and performing duties that
floormen do at other Las Vegas Casinos. The hosts start at $7.75
an hour, plus tips, and progress to $11.50 after three or four
years of training, according to Jim Fonseca, senior vice president
and chief operating officer of the Resort.
A new dealer who is trained to deal only blackjack, would
at some point go to a
school at the casino to learn a new game, full time for perhaps
two weeks, with pay. This tiered, "skills based"
approach is used in other departments in the hotel-casino, from
restaurants to the spa. Fonseca said, "The purpose is to
create a career path," he said. But to the Dealers
Association, floormen are part of management, and the Resort is
"subsidizing floor pay with toke money" simply to lower
payroll costs, said Jack Lipsman, the group's vice president.
"They are management people, not dealers. They generally
watch four to six games, they don't earn tips and aren't permitted
to take tips."
Because the Association represents 4,000 dealers in and out
of Nevada, it will be interesting to see how this shakes out, and
whether or not the Resort triggers a new approach to managing
casinos. burbank@lasvegas.net
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