PM -Have five fingers, clean nails? Gaming school needs you!

PANAJI - Hollywood actor Benicio Del Toro’s cameo as Franky Four Fingers - a lovable rogue of a gambling addict - in the cult film “Snatch” may have won him rave reviews, but if you are aiming to be a live casino dealer, four fingers simply won’t do.

“If you are colour blind or if you have a missing digit in your hand, you simply cannot become a dealer,” said Stephen Anthony Khan, casino manager at the Maharaja Offshore Casino in Goa.

He is in charge of raising a team of young dealers to tend the live gaming tables on the vessel.

“If you have short fingers, you could have a problem. But with a missing digit you simply cannot even hope to become a dealer. It’s virtually impossible to cope,” he said, adding that like for surgeons, long and nimble fingers were as important for a gaming table dealer.

In fact, for the more than 60 trainee dealers studying at the training school started by Creative Gaming Solutions Pvt Ltd, an Essel Group company, which operates the Maharaja Casino, a written code of behaviour and hygiene policy carves in stone the importance of presentable hands for a prospective dealer.

“The guest always notices a dealer’s hands and therefore they should be washed frequently. Fingernails should be clean at all times, unbitten and well manicured. For girls, the nails should be no longer than the tip of the finger,” the policy statement reads.

The policy abhors tattoos and bracelets unless they are of religious significance and advocates moderate use of rings and perfumes, aftershave or fragrances.

“In essence, the dealer has to have natural enthusiasm. He should be easy, yet formal in his interaction with the customers and should have a ready tendency to smile. We need these qualities with a taste for basic arithmetic. Academic qualifications don’t mean a thing when it comes to scouting for dealers with potential,” said John Snowball, general manager of the Maharaja Casino.

Basic arithmetic not only involves learning crucial multiplication tables but also memory games to help dealers to deduce the value of stacked chips and winnings within moments.

According to Khan, popular Disney animation character Mickey Mouse is hot on the memory game list. “It’s the way the chips are laid on the column of numbers. The pattern has Mickey mouse all over it. Nose, eyes, ears, etc. Mickey Mouse is code for the number 67, i.e., when the chips are stacked in a particular manner,” Khan explained.

Khan, who himself has worked in casinos across the world, including countries like Greece, South Africa, Bahamas and Britain for over 35 years, said with the casino gaming industry still at a fledgling stage in India, there could soon be a demand for dealers and other positions upward in the hierarchy like dealer inspectors and pit boss managers.

“We see the field growing soon in India. Most casino employees would earn a much higher than average disposable income,” he said.

There are six offshore casinos parked in the Mandovi river off Panaji that cater to hundreds of thousands of tourists who arrive in Goa annually.

(Mayabhushan Nagvenkar can be contacted at mayabhushan.n@ians.in)