Dealer Compensation

How's this for bizarre? If you are a typical player, you probably have a fairly strong opinion on whether dealer compensation is too high, too low, or about right. Yet, you may be unsure as to exactly what dealers earn.

Full-time dealers earn about $10,000 annually in wages, with another $40,000 in tips. The tip amount is plus or minus a full $10,000 depending on locale, casino, shift, speed, accuracy, attitude, gender, and age.

The tournament circuit dealers earn about the same per day, but tend to work fewer days and, of course, do not have perks such as health insurance.

Many people when first alerted to what dealers earn think it is a bit high. I don't think so. It is one of relatively few jobs that is both physically and mentally taxing. Although it can be very routine, one must stay alert to do a decent job. And then there's the abuse from players – I don't know how to value that.

Tournament circuit dealers work under a unique set of circumstances, because they receive no benefits, cannot work full time even if the desire is there, and have travel expenses. This results in many of the dealers who deal the biggest games and tournaments not necessarily being the best the industry has to offer. It is a problem that must be addressed.

They need more money. Don't tell me about the juice that casinos are charging. We are talking about the dealers here. They earn minimum wage and must have good tokes to survive. I am a strong advocate of money from the prize pool being taken out for the dealers. On the other hand, people get paid in dollars, not percentages. Instead of a fixed percentage, I believe that a casino should calculate the number of dealer hours needed for a tournament, and deduct about $15 per dealer hour for the dealers. For some tournaments that might be 2 percent of the prize pool, and for others, 4 percent. It is not magic. It is a livelihood. It is far too much to hope for that the top three or four finishers in a given tournament do the right thing.