Graduates of Singapore casino school ready to deal, spin
and take bets
SINGAPORE (AP) - Her fingers moved nimbly, swiftly gathering the
scattered casino chips from the green roulette table into her
cupped palm in stacks of 20. Toh Xue Ling's record for "chipping,''
or restacking 100 chips into neat piles, is 24 seconds.
But the 18-year-old who just graduated from Singapore's first
casino dealer training course is more proud of her ability to
calculate pay-outs at the roulette wheel, where the winnings depend
on the placement of a chip and require quick-thinking math
skills.
"I feel confident about finding a casino job. I've mastered the
skills and I'm ready,'' Toh said.
Toh and 37 classmates - dressed smartly in dealer uniforms of black
trousers, white shirts, black vests and armbands - graduated
Wednesday night in a ceremony marked by laughter, champagne and
demonstrations of newly acquired dealing know-how.
They are the first class to complete the six-month Certificate in
Dealing Casino Games at the International Club Games Training
Center, a 20,000-square foot (1,858-square meter) space styled
after a real casino and filled with dozens of baccarat, roulette
and blackjack tables.
It is an unusual scene in Singapore, which legalized casino
gambling in 2005 but is waiting for the construction of two casino
resorts - slated for 2009 and 2010 - before the games begin.
Even then, Singaporeans may be dissuaded from testing their luck by
proposed regulations requiring casino operators to collect a levy
of 100 Singapore dollars (US$60; euro50) a day or S$2,000
(US$1,180; euro990) a year from locals visiting the casino.
The new gambling reality has sparked the interest and curiosity of
many in Singapore, who hope to take advantage of the job
opportunities and tourism boom that the casino resorts are certain
to bring.
Training center CEO Ramachandar Siva said Singaporeans are in a
perfect spot - educationally and regionally - to gain from the
casino boom.
"The standards are high in Singapore education, and among
Singaporeans,'' he said. "So that pushes us to set a high standard,
and we can then offer quality, professional croupiers to casino
clients. That's our main objective.''
He opened the center in November 2005 in response to Singapore's
legalization of casino gambling and also to fill the high demand
for croupiers on cruise ships and in the Asian gambling hub of
Macau, where he said an employment crunch has led to rushed courses
that graduate "half-baked'' dealers.
Besides learning the ins-and-outs of the games, the students are
schooled in theoretical situations such as how to spot a cheat and
how to remain calm with aggressive customers.
"The pressure is higher in Asian casinos than American ones,'' Siva
said. "The typical Asian gambler is more gung-ho, more hard-core,
places higher bets in more volume.''
The students are hoping all this work will pay off.
Joel Koh Yang Pang, 26, was self-assured as he stood at one
roulette table, moving chips around the number board to demonstrate
the patterns he had memorized for quick calculations.
"We are better prepared than many others already working in
casinos,'' he said, explaining that he often stayed for hours after
the five-hour daily course to practice what he had learned. "We're
trained well, we have hands-on experience, we know about gaming
security, we know so much.''
Many Singaporeans have only gambled at horse races and other
sporting events, or on slot machines at some gaming parlors.
Koh was ready to change this.
"I want some experience overseas, and then I hope to come back to
Singapore and work at one of the integrated resorts at a higher
level,'' Koh said. "I have the knowledge, and soon there will be
opportunities in Singapore.''-AP[/b]
