Casino Employees (Chicago, Joliet, Hammond: house, school, casinos)

[IRV007]

And other Service Employees.

But for this Thread I'll concentrate on the casino workers.

When I go to the casino I understand that the house will make money and I won't gamble more than I can afford to loose. But I also know that the house is owned by a large corporation supposedly strictly regulated by the state government.

So why doesn't the state government demand that these corporations pay these people a livable wage?

Here is what happens when you pay people $11 to $14 dollars an hour:

If they have kids they qualify for SNAP, free school lunch, probably don't pay income tax but get a check, do not contribute enough to Social Security to cover their needs 30 or 40 years from now, government paid medical care Medicaid.

And then the casino has a less than terrific year. "We can't possibly DONATE as much for the homeless or the abused spouse or senior program this year . We'd love to, but you know...profitts are down."

Casinos should pay a good wage to the people who make their business possible or get out of the business. Remember, this is not Wal-Mart or other corporations that under pay their workers. This a state sanctioned and regulated business

I'll welcome your comments..

[chet everett]

According to the generally non-biased and well supported "living wage calculator" run by faculty of MIT's Urban Studies program those wages are more than sufficient for a single person in Cook Co and probably also sufficient for a childless couple: Living Wage Calculator - Living Wage Calculation for Cook County, Illinois

Faculty Amy Glasmeier | MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning

I am curious, do you believe that wages should be based on the 'needs' of the worker? So that a worker with multiple children would be paid more than someone doing the identical job simply because they have a larger family...

Personally I would not encourage anyone with a family, especially with a large number of children, to work in an industry well known for being incompatible with a peaceful homelike -- peak earnings for casino workers typically occur during the hours when children are most likely to need parental supervision.

[MisterUptempo]

A few things about being a casino dealer, from someone who was one...

First, I'd be very surprised if any casino, even one in the middle of Chicago, would offer a rate $11-14 dollars to start. The way that pay for dealers normally work, is that they receive a paltry hourly wage. When I worked at Horseshoe in Hammond, my last casino job, and the biggest in the area, dealers were paid about $5.50/hr as a base amount.

In addition, the dealers receive what is known as a "toke" rate. All tips that are received by the dealers are collected - there is a "toke" or tip box at every table. The dealer MUST place the tip in the box. At the end of a business day, the boxes are emptied and the tips are transported to a counting room. A number of dealers are assigned to participate in a toke committee. They, and only they, are allowed to count the toke. The total is recorded each night.

After each pay period, whether one week or two, the total toke amount is calculated, and is then divided by the total number of hours worked by all dealers in the casino during that period. That becomes the "toke" rate. That rate is added to the dealer's paycheck for every hour worked. The person working during peak busy hours makes no more/no less than one who works during the dead hours, when a dealer may spend a good portion of the day standing at a dead table.

At Horseshoe, when the new casino first opened, the toke rate hovered around $13.00-15.00, making for a total pay rate of $18.50-$20.50/hour. But that rate did not last very long, maybe a month or two. When I left, the toke rate was more like $8.00/hr. So, your pay can go up and down like a roller coaster.

If a casino were to open in downtown Chicago, the pay of the dealers will depend largely on the clientele that plays there. If they are able to draw and keep the high money gamblers, those that tip well, the pay will probably be alright. If the place degenerates into some low-rent dump, you won't be able to keep decent dealers in the place. They will seek out the richer pickings.

One other thing to remember, if one is considering becoming a dealer in the area. The casinos have a very bad habit of over-staffing a new casino with too many dealers, so that there will be no waiting for the gamblers to play during the grand opening, when the place is usually mobbed. After the excitement settles, watch your back. This happened at Empress in Joliet, when it was re-launched as Hollywood Casino. It happened at the new Horseshoe, and at the most recently opened casino in the state, Rivers Casino. They will usually let go of too many dealers, and as a result, many dealers will "get the speech", meaning they will be forced to work overtime hours, until the bosses feel comfortable enough with the staffing situation to let you go home. By the way, only the base rate is paid at time and a half.

Another trick - they hire on too many dealers, get rid on them soon after, then will re-hire them, but as part-timers only, thus screwing them out of any possibility of benefits.

[linicx]

How it works is not nearly as surprising as the dealer who is talking about it. Casinos are not the same today as they were in the 40s and 50's. I knew the wife of a dealer before they married. Whatever secrets he knew about the tables, the big name players, and the LV bosses went to the grave with him. The only thing we ever talked about to any degree was the "play" life of cards used at the tables.

[doublenickels]

Maybe he would not have taken those "secrets" with him if internet OPEN AND CANDID FORUMS had existed. Your point is moot. If a person wants to know something about what goes on in "joints" these days, s/he can definitely find an answer. Example: Recently I made a few inquiries of casino employees regarding "auto" card shufflers. They were all on duty and gave me the "closed mouth", "don't tell the suckers anything", company routine. A few days went by and I stumbled upon what could be called the "source itself" inside the joint. Told me all about "auto shufflers". "Secrets" !

Originally Posted by linicx

How it works is not nearly as surprising as the dealer who is talking about it. Casinos are not the same today as they were in the 40s and 50's. I knew the wife of a dealer before they married. Whatever secrets he knew about the tables, the big name players, and the LV bosses went to the grave with him. The only thing we ever talked about to any degree was the "play" life of cards used at the tables.