His
croupier skills will be a boon when IRs open
here
April 26,
2007
FOUR months ago, Mr Gabriel Rumdej's job was to fry up a mean plate
of chai tao kweh (carrot cake) at his family's two hawker stalls at
Zion Road and People's Park Complex.
Then the Singaporean of Thai descent took a gamble, and left the
food business in the hands of his employees.
Now the 28-year-old is training to be a croupier - someone who
deals games like Blackjack and Roulette at a casino.
And he is among those who are determined to make a career switch to
the casino industry.
He said: 'I was trained in graphic design, but joined the police
force, after which I helped to run my family's carrot cake
business. I'm still managing the stalls, but my dream has always
been to be in the casino business.'
He is planning to try his luck at casinos in Macau, armed with his
Certificate in Casino Management (Floor Operations) once he
finishes his 5-month full-time course with the International Club
Games Training Centre (ICGTC) at Turf City in June.
The father of a 1-month-old son chose Macau because of its vibrant
gaming scene, and he feels a stint there will stand him in good
stead once the two casinos open here.
HANDS ON
'I hope to move into casino security eventually, but being a good
croupier is most important now.'
Coursemate Kelly Lim, 21, has set her sights on casinos in
Australia, where her sister is studying, once she gets her
certificate.
The O-Level graduate said: 'After I finished my film and media
studies with a private institution, I realised that I'm more a
hands on person. I want to learn practical skills, not study for
the sake of studying.
'I'm attending this course because I'm hoping to move into floor
management or marketing in the casino industry.'
ICGTC started operations in June 2006, and saw its first batch of
students graduate with Certificates in Dealing Casino Games in
February. It is currently the only casino training centre here with
a proper casino set-up costing $1.2m, where students practise on
actual gaming tables and equipment.
It offers three part-time and full-time certificate courses, the
latter taking about six months to complete.
But Mr Ramachandar Sivagananam, ICGTC's CEO, is looking into
offering a diploma course in the future.
He said: 'We're breaking with tradition in terms of casino
operation. It's always been that casinos did the training
themselves. Now we're offering croupiers trained in five games -
Roulette, Blackjack and Baccarat, and two minor games of their
choice.
EFFICIENCY
'Our graduates have been tested for efficiency of dealing, speed,
accuracy and their knowledge of the games. The first batch was
worried about jobs because the local IRs are not open yet, but I
told them not to worry because casinos will come looking for
them.'
A manager for a gaming pit, who supervises the croupiers, could
start with a $4,500 to $5,500 monthly salary.
And an entry-level croupier could earn about $2,500 a month at the
IRs, according to Mr Ramachandar.
A veteran in the casino industry,
Mr Ramachandar started off as a management trainee with the casino
at Genting, staying there for 10 years. He went on to become
manager of casino training and manpower.
He then joined Star Cruises as vice-president of casino operations
for six years before starting ICGTC.
'Initially when we started up the centre, we were targeting young
school leavers from 16 to 24 with at least N-Level
qualifications.
'Later we realised that those interested were older and more
qualified than expected. Eight per cent of our students have
diplomas or degrees. We even have students with MBAs.
'Basically we're attracting working adults who want a career
change, or want to enter the IRs armed with casino-management
knowledge. We realised that we really have to offer a high level of
training to them.'
Having two left hands is no problem, apparently.
'That's trainable. But applicants should be very friendly and
outgoing, be presentable, well-groomed, and have an aptitude for
mental calculation.'
Oh, and bankrupts, gambling addicts and those with criminal records
need not apply.