Gaming Services Occupations : Occupational Outlook Handbook : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Summary

Many gaming services workers are employed by casinos.

Quick Facts: Gaming Services Occupations
2010 Median Pay	$20,260 per year $9.74 per hour
Entry-Level Education	See How to Become One
Work Experience in a Related Occupation	See How to Become One
On-the-job Training	See How to Become One
Number of Jobs, 2010	177,100
Job Outlook, 2010-20	13% (About as fast as average)
Employment Change, 2010-20	22,900

What Gaming Services Occupations Do

Gaming services workers serve customers in gambling establishments, such as casinos or racetracks. Some workers tend slot machines or deal cards. Others take bets or pay out winnings. Still others supervise gaming workers and operations.

Work Environment

Most casinos are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Employees work nights, weekends, and holidays.

How to Become a Gaming Services Worker

Most gaming services jobs require a high school diploma or a GED. However, the most important quality in a gaming worker is customer service skills.

Pay

The median annual wage of gaming services workers was $20,260 in May 2010.

Job Outlook

Employment in gaming services occupations is projected to grow 13 percent from 2010 to 2020, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Growth will be fastest for gaming dealers as more states legalize table games such as blackjack and roulette.

Similar Occupations

Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of gaming services occupations with similar occupations.

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Contacts for More Information

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What Gaming Services Occupations Do About this section

Many gaming dealers specialize in one type of game.

Duties

Gaming services workers typically do the following:

Interact with customers and ensure that they have a pleasant experience
Monitor customers for suspicious behavior
Inform their supervisor or a security employee of any irregularities they observe
Enforce safety rules and report hazards

Gaming managers and supervisors direct and oversee the gaming operations and personnel in their assigned area. Supervisors circulate among the tables to make sure that everything is running smoothly and that all areas are properly staffed. Gaming managers and supervisors typically do the following:

Keep an eye on customers and employees to make sure that all rules are followed
Address customers’ complaints about service
Explain house operating rules, such as betting limits, if customers do not understand them
Schedule when and where employees in their section will work
Interview, hire, and train new employees

Slot supervisors oversee the activities of the slot department. The job duties of this occupation have changed significantly, as slot machines have become more automated. Because most casinos use video slot machines that give out tickets instead of cash and thus require very little oversight, workers in this occupation spend most of their time providing customer service to slot players. Slot supervisors typically do the following:

Watch over the slot section and ensure that players are satisfied with the games
Provide input when new slot machines are purchased
Determine if unpopular machines should be replaced
Decide on where to put machines to maximize the number of customers playing at a time
Refill machines with tickets or money when they run out
Reset cash slot machines after a payout

Gaming dealers operate table games such as craps, blackjack, and roulette. They stand or sit behind tables while serving customers. Dealers control the pace and action of the game. They announce each player’s move to the rest of the table and let players know when it is their turn. Most dealers can work with at least two games, usually blackjack or craps. Gaming dealers typically do the following:

Give out cards and provide dice or other equipment to customers
Determine winners, calculate and pay off winning bets, and collect on losing bets
Continually inspect cards or dice
Inform players of the rules of the game
Keep track of the amount of money that customers have already bet
Exchange paper money for gaming chips

Gaming and sports book writers and runners handle bets on sporting events and take and record bets for customers. Sports book writers and runners also verify tickets and pay out winning tickets. In addition, they help run games such as bingo and keno. Some gaming runners collect winning tickets from customers in a casino. Gaming and sports book writers and runners typically do the following:

Scan tickets and calculate winnings
Operate the equipment that randomly selects bingo or keno numbers
Announce bingo or keno numbers when they are selected
Are responsible for the cash that comes in (on bets) and goes out (on winnings) during their shift

Work Environment About this section

Slot supervisors are in charge of the slot department.

Some gaming services occupations are physically demanding. Gaming dealers spend most of their shift standing behind a table. Managers and supervisors are constantly walking up and down the casino floor. A casino atmosphere exposes workers to hazards such as secondhand smoke from cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. Noise from slot machines, gaming tables, and loud customers may be distracting to some, although workers wear protective headgear in areas where machinery is used to count money.

Workers in gaming services occupations held about 177,100 jobs in 2010. Many of the jobs were in commercial casinos, riverboat casinos, casino hotels, Native American casinos, and racetracks with casinos. However, these establishments are not legal in every state.

Workers in gaming services occupations are most often employed in the following industries:

Casino hotels	30%
Local government, excluding education and hospitals	26
Gambling industries	21

Work Schedules

Most casinos are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Employees work nights, weekends, and holidays. Most managers and supervisors have full-time work schedules. However, many gaming dealers and sports book writers work part time.

How to Become a Gaming Services Worker About this section

Dealers should have good customer service skills.

Most gaming jobs require a high school diploma or a GED. However, the most important quality in a gaming worker is customer service skills.

Education

Gaming dealers, supervisors, sports book writers and runners, and slot supervisors typically need a high school diploma or a GED. Gaming managers typically take formal management classes, although many of them do not need a postsecondary degree. Those who choose to pursue a degree may study hotel management or gaming management programs that lead to certificates or degrees that some colleges offer.

Training

Individual casinos or other gaming establishments have their own training requirements. Usually, new gaming dealers are sent to gaming school for 4 to 8 weeks to learn a casino game, such as blackjack or craps. These schools teach the rules and procedures of the game, as well as state and local laws and regulations related to the game. Gaming school is not just for new employees: dealers who have been employed for many years have to go to gaming school if they want to be trained in a new casino game. Completing gaming school before being hired may increase a prospective dealer’s chances of being hired, but it does not guarantee a job. Casinos usually audition prospective dealers for open positions to assess their personal qualities.

Gaming and sports book writers and runners usually do not have to go to gaming school. They can be trained by the casino in less than 1 month. The casino teaches them state and local laws and regulations related to the game, as well the particulars of their job, such as keno calling.

Licenses

Gaming services workers must be licensed by a state regulatory agency, such as a state casino control board or gaming commission. Applicants for a license must provide photo identification and pay a fee. They must also pass a background check and drug test. Age requirements vary by state.

Work Experience

Gaming and slot supervisors usually have several years of experience working in a casino. Gaming supervisors often spend time as a dealer or in the customer outreach arm of the casino. Slot supervisors also usually begin in low-level marketing jobs or customer service. They may have experience as a gaming dealer or slot technician.

Gaming managers are often promoted from positions as slot or gaming supervisors. They may also be moved from a management job in another portion of the resort, such as hospitality, after learning about casino operations.

Advancement

Gaming dealers can advance to gaming supervisors and eventually managers. A slot supervisor can also advance to gaming manager.

Important Qualities

Customer-service skills. All gaming jobs involve a lot of interaction with customers. The success or failure of a casino depends on how customers view the casino, making customer service important for all gaming services occupations.

Leadership skills. Gaming managers and supervisors oversee other gaming services workers and must be able to guide them in doing their jobs.

Math skills. Because they deal with large amounts of money, many casino workers must be good at math.

Organizational skills. Gaming managers and supervisors must be well organized to handle administrative and other tasks required in overseeing gaming services workers.

Patience. All gaming workers have to be able to keep their composure when they handle a customer who becomes upset or breaks a rule.

Speaking skills. Dealers and gaming writers and runners must be able to explain the rules of the game to customers and answer any questions they have. Simple misunderstandings can cost a customer a lot of money and damage the reputation of the casino.

Pay About this section

Gaming Services Occupations

Median annual wages, May 2010

Total, All Occupations: $33,840
Gaming Services Occupations: $20,260

The median annual wage of workers in gaming services occupations was $20,260 in May 2010. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $15,940, and the top 10 percent earned more than $53,150.

The median wages for gaming service occupations in May 2010 were the following:

$66,960 for gaming managers
$48,530 for gaming supervisors
$26,630 for slot supervisors
$23,940 for all other gaming service workers
$20,850 for gaming and sports book writers and runners
$18,090 for gaming dealers

Job Outlook About this section

Gaming Services Occupations

Percent change in employment, projected 2010-20

Total, All Occupations: 14%
Gaming Services Occupations: 13%

Employment in gaming services occupations is projected to grow 13 percent from 2010 to 2020, about as fast as the average for all occupations. Employment growth of gaming managers and supervisors is projected to be 11 and 7 percent, respectively. Employment of gaming and sports book writers and runners is projected to grow 12 percent.

These occupations will be driven by the increasing popularity of gambling establishments such as Native American casinos and “racinos,” racetracks that also offer slots or table games. Because some states benefit from casinos in the form of tax revenues or by favorable agreements with Native American tribes, additional states are considering expanding the number of gambling establishments over the next decade.

An increased demand for table games will drive growth for gaming dealers, whose employment is projected to grow 17 percent from 2010 to 2020. Many jurisdictions that currently allow only slot machines are expected to begin allowing table games for the additional money they bring. However, new electronic table games, which eliminate the need for a dealer, may moderate growth.

Employment of slot supervisors is projected to grow 6 percent from 2010 to 2020. Growth is expected to be slower than that of other gaming services occupations because of advancements in slot machine technology. Machines that don't take coins, known as “ticket-in, ticket-out machines,” reduce the need for workers to pay out jackpots, fill hoppers, and reset machines. In addition, slot machines linked to a network can be adjusted from a central computer rather than one at a time on the floor.

Job Prospects

Although job openings will occur due to workers leaving the occupation, strong competition is expected for jobs at casinos. Those with work experience in customer service at a hotel or resort should have better job prospects because of the importance of customer service in casinos.

Employment projections data for gaming services occupations, 2010-20
Occupational Title	SOC Code	Employment, 2010	Projected Employment, 2020	Change, 2010-20		Employment by Industry
Occupational Title	SOC Code	Employment, 2010	Projected Employment, 2020	Percent	Numeric	Employment by Industry
SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program
Gaming Services Occupations	—	177,100	200,000	13	22,900	—
Gaming Managers	11-9071	3,300	3,600	11	400	[XLS]
Gaming Supervisors	39-1011	36,100	38,600	7	2,500	[XLS]
Slot Supervisors	39-1012	18,900	20,000	6	1,100	[XLS]
Gaming Dealers	39-3011	91,000	106,600	17	15,500	[XLS]
Gaming and Sports Book Writers and Runners	39-3012	15,300	17,200	12	1,900	[XLS]
Gaming Service Workers, All Other	39-3019	12,400	14,000	13	1,600	[XLS]

Similar Occupations About this section

This table shows a list of occupations with job duties that are similar to those of gaming services occupations.

Occupation	Job Duties	ENTRY-LEVEL EDUCATION	2010 MEDIAN PAY
Customer Service Representatives	Customer service representatives interact with customers on behalf of an organization. They provide information about products and services and respond to customer complaints. Some also take orders and process returns.	High school diploma or equivalent	$30,460
Lodging Managers	Lodging managers make sure that guests on vacation or business travel have a pleasant experience, while also ensuring that an establishment is run efficiently and profitably.	High school diploma or equivalent	$46,880
Public Relations Managers and Specialists	Public relations managers and specialists create and maintain a favorable public image for their employer or client. They write material for media releases, plan and direct public relations programs, and raise funds for their organizations.	Bachelor’s degree	$57,550
Retail Sales Workers	Retail sales workers include both those who sell retail merchandise, such as clothing, furniture, and automobiles, (called retail salespersons) and those who sell spare and replacement parts and equipment, especially car parts, (called parts salespersons). Both groups help customers find the products they want and process customers’ payments.	Less than high school	$20,990
Sales Managers	Sales managers direct organizations' sales teams. They set sales goals, analyze data, and develop training programs for the organization’s sales representatives.	Bachelor’s degree	$98,530
Security Guards and Gaming Surveillance Officers	Security guards and gaming surveillance officers patrol and inspect property against fire, theft, vandalism, terrorism, and illegal activity. They monitor people and buildings in an effort to prevent crime.	High school diploma or equivalent	$24,380