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By KEVIN FLYNN Columbia News Service NEW YORK — The talk is loud, and the action fast in the smoke-filled room. The players hover over gambling tables placing bets, throwing dice and counting chips. But this is no casino. This is a classroom at the New York School of Gambling, one of the few vocational schools in the country that train students to be croupiers — the men re women who direct the action at casino gambling tables. There are about 20 such schools nationwide that offer instruction in dealing cards, cutting chips and calling win ners, among other things. Ten are in Las Vegas, gambling capital of America, where the demand for dealers is always high. In the East, there are only four schools, two in New York City and two in Atlantic City, N.J. The New York School of Gambling, which occupies two floors of an office building in the Herald Square area of Manhattan, was the first in the East, established in late 1977 in response to the opening of Resorts International, the first legal casino in nearby Atlantic City. The number of schools in the area will soon increase, however, according to Robert Ayoub, director of the school, who predicts New York State will legalize casino gambling in a couple of years. When legal casinos open in the state, the demand will be high for croupiers who can manage a blackjack, roulette, baccarat or craps table the four games offered in American Casinos and taught at the schools. Ninety percent of the school’s 200 students get jobs after completing the five-month course of study, according to Ayoub, and most receive starting salaries of more than $300 a week. Those who eventually become managers of major casinos may earn as much as $80,000 a year. In order to meet entrance requirements at the school, students must have a knowledge of simple arithmetic and basic dexterity. Nine out of 10 applicants are admitted. Many of the students say they want to become croupiers for the money, glamour and excitement of the casino lifestyle. Sharri Kopp, 20, of Union, N.J., said becoming a blackjack dealer ‘‘beats being a secretary all my life. You have less worries and are more carefree around casinos.” Adam Yee, 26, of Brooklyn, who begins working at a Reno, Nev., casino next month, said, ‘‘Dealing is not like working at all and you make good money.’’ This is especially true when dealing to big-tipping, fast spenders on winning sprees. Croupiers in casinos on the strip in Las Vegas regularly take home $75 a night in tips, Ayoub said. But first, they have to become slick with the tools of the dealer's trade — cards and chips. For the first few days of school, students practice shuffling and cutting, actions that, in time, become reflexive. Then they are put in charge of simulated games. To receive a diploma students must spend an average of 200 hours managing each of the four casino games. The basic course of study, instruction in all four games, costs $1,925. For an addition $1,100, students are given a fifth course in casino management. Shelly Keitz, 45, who teaches management, says his course is one of the things that distinguishes the school from its competitors. “Other places teach casino management,”’ said Reitz, who has managed casinos throughout the Caribbean, ‘‘but it’s only an accounting course, not full of the inside info I give students. Those schools don't have casino bums who have worked for some of the biggest crooks in the world.”’ One tip Reitz gives his students, and only his students, is how to spot a card counter — a blackjack player who calculates his odds before betting by memorizing what cards have already been dealt. Most casinos bar such players from the tables. A good dealer, Keitz says, has a clean appearance, a good pair of hands, quick reflexes and an even tempera ment. Instructors, acting like obnoxious players, often en ter games to test students’ composure. Students are also advised not to gamble. Instructors know from experience that long-term winning is impossi ble. ‘There's no such thing as a successful gambler,”’ said Ayoub, who played craps while dealing and managing for 30 years before throwing in his dice in 1956. ‘‘I finally got tired of waking up in the morning with no B.A. —that’s casino talk for bankroll.” CNS Photo CASINO GAMBLING is focus of New York School of Gambling which teaches students to be croupiers. Robert Ayoub, director of school, shows this student how to cut chips. With gambling and casinos increasing, graduates of this school have jobs waiting for them.
Newspaper Details
Newport Daily News
Newport, Rhode Island, US
Thu, Jan 03, 1980
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
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USA 29 Jun 2026
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