New “band members” learn how to deal craps for Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, located just off Interstate 80/94 at the Burr Street exit. The $300 million casino is scheduled to open this spring, featuring a 200,000-square-foot entertainment complex, 1,600 slot machines and 80 table games. (Jerry Davich / Post-Tribune)
A rendering of the upcoming Hard Rock Casino, located just off Interstate 80/94 at the Burr St. exit. Phase one includes five food venues, an on-site sportsbook, retail shop, and a 2,000-seat performance venue. Phase two is scheduled to add a 200-room hotel and a multi-level parking garage. (Jerry Davich / Post-Tribune)
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Craps, the casino dice game, sounded like a foreign language to Candice Johnson, Daniel Pace and Jasmine Mason when they first arrived at dealer school.
“I didn’t even watch craps. I was scared of it,” said Mason, of Gary.
“I was always a poker player. I never messed with craps,” said Pace, of Schererville.
“I’m a slots player,” said Johnson, of Calumet Township.
The three Region residents are among 70 new “band members” now employed at Hard Rock Casino Northern Indiana, located just off Interstate 80/94 at the Burr Street exit. The $300 million casino is scheduled to open this spring, featuring a 200,000-square-foot entertainment complex, 1,600 slot machines and 80 table games.
The new casino will eventually employ more than 2,100 workers, including 800 new full-time and part-time employees, such as dealers for craps, blackjack and other table games. Current employees at Majestic Star casinos are entitled to transfer to the new land-based complex when it opens.
Last week, I shadowed a paid training class of new dealers during their second week of a 10-week training program inside the pavilion of Majestic Star in Gary. Its two casino boats have been anchored at Buffington Harbor on Lake Michigan since the mid-1990s.
One of the casino’s first employees was Thomas Gutierrez, who at that time started a new career as a dealer. He climbed the boat’s corporate ladders to become its director of table games operations. His title will continue at the new Hard Rock Casino.
“These new dealer trainees are learning the basic fundamentals of the game,” Gutierrez told me as Pace, Johnson and Mason learned their new job trade from the ground up.
“We’re looking for something special from these new dealers,” Gutierrez said. “We can teach the fundamentals and procedures of the game. We can’t teach personality. It’s key. We’re doing everything we can to select the right people.”
The dealers’ training involves learning how to handle gamblers’ chips, how to push the dice across the table with a craps stick, how to call out each dice roll, and how to perform all of these skills with an engaging personality. As I witnessed first-hand during this training class, it’s a challenging assignment for novice craps dealers.
“Learning craps is like learning a foreign language when you consider all of its terms and its order of operation,” said Josh Cole, a Hard Rock Casino dealer from Cincinnati who traveled here to train the new dealers.
“Typically, when new dealers learn craps, they have some casino experience and know casino language. But with these trainees, they’re having to learn both at the same time. So it’s like they’re learning two foreign languages here every day.”
As Cole explained the job’s many challenges, one of the trainees allowed a pair of dice to bounce off the table near Cole’s feet.
“Die out!” Mason exclaimed, another phrase to learn as a craps player.
Initially, 72 new dealers took part in this first wave of training. Some of them had past experience with craps. Most of them did not, taking advantage of the casino’s job enticement: “No experience necessary.”
“I’m here fresh off the street,” Mason said during a break in the training.
Her name badge states, “I’m with the band,” reinforcing the casino’s chorus to every employee.
“Seven!” Johnson called out while learning how to use a craps stick to push several dice together across the table. Cole showed her how to properly use the stick, which has some bend in it for flexibility.
After weeks of training and repetition, the new dealers will hone their skills for simulated games with actual gamblers. (Watch a video of these new craps dealers in action on my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/TalkingPointsWithJerryDavich).
“New shooter coming out!” Johnson called out as another dealer grabbed the dice.
“Big money!” Mason said, shaking the dice and tossing them across the table.
“Six easy!” Pace called out from the other side of the long table.
“Craps can be a little intimidating at first,” Pace said. “But they’ve provided us with a great training program and trainers so it’s coming along real smooth. It kind of eases the tension. It just takes more repetition and practice.”
There is plenty of homework to learn craps, which comprises several smaller games into one larger game.
“It’s getting easier as we’re understanding the game more,” Mason said. “I’m getting stick calls in my dreams. Even my kids are learning it as I holler the stick calls out at home.”
“There are a lot of phrases to remember,” Johnson said.
“And you have to say them while using the stick to slide the dice,” Pace said.
Graduates of the training will receive a bonus up to $2,000, full benefits, and a potential new career. Recruitment is currently underway for other jobs: restaurant managers, chefs, cooks, bartenders, servers and cashiers, as well as positions in security, finance, marketing, and guest services. (Applications are accepted at www.hardrockcasinonorthernindiana.com.)
“It’s like having a new family here,” Johnson said.
Hard Rock is forecasting more than $20 million in annual tax revenue and payments. Phase one includes five food venues, an on-site sportsbook, retail shop, and a 2,000-seat performance venue. Phase two is scheduled to add a 200-room hotel and a multi-level parking garage.
“We realize this has been a tough year for people in the hospitality industry,” said Dawn Reynolds-Pettit, the casino’s vice president of human resources. “We are very happy to help so many of them get back to business. The project is on track to give the area a much needed economic boost.”
In my next column in this series, I’ll play a few simulated games of craps – a game I know nothing about – to see how far these new dealers have progressed in their training. When blackjack classes begin next month, I’ll shadow the next group of new dealers.
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