Employers

Every casino with table games has pit bosses, so opportunities are available wherever casinos are located. While individuals my find employment in any casino in the world, the greatest number of positions will be located in areas where there is a large concentration of casinos. These areas include Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada; Biloxi, Louisiana; Atlantic City, New Jersey; and parts of California. Other regions host commercial and Native American gaming, both land based and riverboat gaming facilities. Cruise ships offer additional opportunities.

Starting Out

Extensive experience in the gaming industry, specifically at table games is necessary to get a job as a pit boss. Prior to their current position as a pit boss, most individuals started out working as dealers. After obtaining some experience they became floorpersons or held other supervisory positions. It is often easier to obtain a job in a smaller casino and then after getting experience, apply for a similar job in a larger facility. Many casinos offer job fairs so individuals can learn more about careers in the gaming field.

Pit bosses may advance in a number of ways. After obtaining experience, they may locate similar positions in larger or more prestigious casinos. This typically results in increased responsibilities and earnings. Another advancement possibility is to get some experience and be promoted to a job as a shift manager. Once a pit boss obtains experience as a shift manager, he or she may be promoted to positions as either the director of table games (which is an administrative position) or casino manager.

It is important to note that there are no hard and fast rules for climbing the career ladder in the gaming industry. While work performance is important, advancement in many jobs is based on experience, education, training, employee attitude, customer service, and, of course, individual career aspirations. The best way to advance your career is to get your foot in the door and then look for additional opportunities of interest to you. Many casinos offer in-house executive training programs for employees who are interested in climbing the career ladder by moving into higher level casino management positions. Information on opportunities such as this are generally disseminated via internal employee communications or through the human resources department.

The more knowledgeable you are about a variety of games and the more games you have experience with, the more marketable you will be. Get the best training possible.

Visit casino job web sites such as Casino Careers (http://www.casinocareers.com) to search for job openings.

Less-experienced individuals may find it easier to obtain jobs in casinos that are located outside of the major gambling capitals such as Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

Part of the job of a pit boss is arbitrating problems between dealers and customers. Consider taking a class in arbitration or mediation to get more comfortable with the process.

Be willing to relocate to areas where there are a lot of casinos.