All seemed fairly quiet Thursday when the week three checks came out to the WSOP dealers and staff. For those who actually remember last week Dealer Article #1, there was a small but significant departure of dealers after large and vocal dealer unrest at the meager checks received. Some number of dealers did depart last week, the number remains unclear, high estimates put the resignations at around 60; Harrah’s set the number at zero.
This week, all seemed fairly quiet. None of my sources had called after midnight Wednesday when checks were released. The word on the street at the Rio was that dealers who were still here were resigned to the wage they were receiving and for better or worse; they were sticking it out for the duration of the Series.
I personally wondered how many dealers had worked “one more week” to get the cash they needed to leave town. But it appeared the pot had not boiled over and a slow simmer would mean the Series was going to finish with sufficient dealing staff to avoid any immediate embarrassment to the prestigious event.
Then late on Friday, unable to sleep in the psychic glow of Las Vegas, I ventured out to play some low limit poker at one of the off-the-strip card rooms. A couple of hours into the game, a face appeared in the seat next to mine that I recognized as a WSOP dealer. A few hands into the session, he turned to me and said:
“Don’t I know you?”
This was not a happy camper and my finely tuned journalistic instincts seized on the moment and I offered my name, rank, affiliation, mother’s maiden name and asked:
“Just how bad did the dealers get screwed this week?”
I know, I know, leading the witness. But hey, this isn’t Meet the Press, its poker journalism, one step above paparazzi and a step below honey dippers.
Well nearly everyone at the table wanted to hear this story. I did mention this was late Friday night in a card room starved for gossip. So in three part harmony, with feeling, we told the story of the WSOP dealer massacre. All the while getting more updates on the state of dealerdom as of today. Indeed, some dealers did hit the road home this week after securing the most recent paycheck. More and more of the newly minted dealers are now taking regular shifts in major events. The stories that players have told of playing satellites being dealt by a first time dealer are clearly true.
As it turns out there were several dealers playing in this cardroom and after I cashed out, three more came over to the bar and we had a conversation about the state of the Series from a dealer perspective.
“Last year, I made $20,000 dealing the Series; this year I will make around $7,000.”
“This is not just a WSOP or a Harrah’s issue. A lot of the traveling dealers make their nut at the Series; this is the big score that carries them for the rest of the year on the circuit. I have heard more than one of those dealers say they have called a casino back home or somewhere they think they would like to settle and have secured a permanent job. The corps of traveling dealers is going to get a lot smaller and that will affect the WSOP Circuit events and the WPT events. The road just got a lot less attractive.”
“More and more top notch dealers say this is their last Series. I am surprised how many dealers did not see this coming.”
“If the money isn’t right, why come all this way. Dealing at home pays more.”
"For awhile we got paid a lot of money to deal cards. Think about that. Who really thought that was going to last? Let's have another round."
So it's Shuffle Up and Deal! But, excuse me, two more cards please, this is Omaha.
