Table games dealers are akin to headline entertainers on the casino floor at Turning Stone Resort Casino, and we’ve just launched a big push to expand the team.

As part of this effort, Turning Stone is rolling out a new semester of Dealer School. Classes begin in January, but enrollment is open now through mid-December.

This program spotlights the three most popular table games in the casino—blackjack, roulette, and craps. Dan Johnson, Dealer School Instructor and Floor Supervisor at Turning Stone, said the school is designed to serve two purposes: First to recruit new people to join the team and become dealers; second to provide opportunities for existing dealers to acquire new skills and deal a greater number of games.

“We see this school as a great way to expand our casino team,” said Dan, who serves as lead instructor and estimates he’s taught about 95 percent of blackjack classes since 2018. “It’s all part of our commitment to providing guests with the best experience every time they step on the gaming floor.”

Blackjack classes are open to brand new employees; each lasts four weeks and participants receive paid training while they are learning their new skills. Participants learn to shuffle, cut checks (that’s fancy for chips), deal, and secure the game.

Roulette and craps classes last six and eight weeks, respectively—these are for existing employees who already known how to deal blackjack,.

Once employees learn these basic games, they can learn novelty and Asian games as well.

Dealer schools happen in three places—at Point Place Casino in Bridgeport, YBR Casino & Sports Book in Chittenango, and at a special dealer development facility in Dreamcatcher Plaza in Oneida. As of right now, all three classes are ongoing; a new crop of blackjack dealers will hit the casino floor by the end of the month.

The classes themselves are hard work—for everyone involved. On a recent Tuesday in the blackjack class, three students in street clothes were practicing cutting checks while Dan looked on and gave advice about which hands to use (always the outside hand). Across the room in the craps class, eight students—some of whom in uniform for a shift later that evening—were on hand to hear a different instructor explain the math behind certain payouts.

Dan said the experience is one that participants will never forget.

“Whichever game you’re learning, you always remember the things you picked up in dealer school,” he said.

To enroll in our next Dealer School beginning in January, visit us online at onenterprises.com/careers/dealer-school.