Seeking Management Job in Poker Room

[Brian Vickers]

I'm the guy who printed out Robert's Rules of Poker for his $0.05-$0.10 home game 10 years ago.  I'm the guy who genuinely cares about guest service and gaming integrity.  I'm the guy you should contact if you need a quality manager/shift manager/tournament director for your card room.

Here's my resume.  Feel free to offer any suggestions or to point me in the right direction if you hear about a location hiring.

Brian W. Vickers   
11820 E. 62nd Pl.
Broken Arrow. OK 74012
(918) 812-7781
BrianWVickers@gmail.com
 
Objective
My goal is to be a strong leader in a successful poker room.  

Education
Tulsa Community College - Tulsa, OK
AA - Liberal Arts (w/ focus on Gaming and Hospitality)
Certificate - Gaming Protection
Honors – President’s Honor Roll, Dean’s Honor Roll
 
Related Work Experience
River Spirit Casino – Tulsa, OK (2005-Present)
(918) 299-8518
Current Position: Poker Floor Supervisor / Back-up Shift Manager
Previous Positions Held: Poker Dual Rate, Poker Dealer, Poker Dealer Instructor

Additional Related Experience
Marketing and Tradeshow Experience (5/10)
River Spirit Casino Booth Volunteer - Rooster Days of Broken Arrow Festival
Poker Tournament Director (8/09)
Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association (OIGA) - 15th annual conference and tradeshow
Poker Tournament Director (2004-2005)
Free Poker Oklahoma

Computer Proficiencies
MS Office
Konami Casino Management System
Genesis Gaming’s Bravo Poker Software (Poker Watch, Tournament Watch, etc.)
Macktrak Casino Software

Professional Certificates
05/27/10 Leadership Training and Development Certificate - River Spirit Casino
12/01/09 Blackjack Dealer School Graduate - River Spirit Casino
11/26/09 S.P.A.R.K. Customer Service Assessor Certification - River Spirit Casino
06/26/09 Poker Tournament Director Certification - Poker Tournament Director’s Association
12/29/05 Poker Dealer School Graduate – Creek Nation Casino Tulsa

References Available Upon Request

[Nick C]

Brian,

 You might want to look into a position in Pennsylvania or Ohio or Delaware. They have approved table games (including poker) and I know they are in need of people with youir experience. I'm sure you will be able to locate the casinos on-line. If you need more info on contacts I will send them to you as soon as I have time. Pennsylvania is just opening new poker rooms this week. I have friends and dealers that I have trained that keep me posted about all the games and different procedures etc, etc. Good luck!

[Nick C]

Brian,

 I know it's been a while and I hope that you found the job you were looking for. If you are still interested, I just returned from a trip to Pennsylvania and I visited the poker room at the Mohigan Sun near Wilkes-Barre. They could use some dealers and probably some help on the floor. The demand for poker dealers will increase over the next few months. Right now the limit on the number of poker tables is 25. I know that there are rooms that don't have 25 (Mohigan Sun only has 16), but want to increase the number to 25, and the rooms that have the maximum have requested to increase to 40, or more. They are waiting for the (expected) approval of the gaming board. I don't have the direct # to the poker room but, if you call 1-888-946-4672 they will connect you. The cardroom manager is Art Blanda. I called to inquire for a friend of mine and I was told to "go to human resources and fill out an application, we need good dealers right now." If you know anyone interested in taking a poker dealing class, Luzerne County Community College is offering a class next month. Anyone interested should contact Christine R. Donnolo the associate dean in the Continuing Education Division. Luzerne CCC 1333 South Prospect Street, Nanticoke, PA 18634-3899.
    cdonnolo@luzerne.edu..........office: 570-740-0361.....1-800-377-LCCC (ext. 361)....FAX: 570-740-0491

[Brian Vickers]

I actually ended up taking a job at Hollywood Casino near Harrisburg, PA.  I'm not sure if it's going to be the right fit for me, though.  There are a few concerns I have about general rules of poker not being enforced or followed correctly, but I won't get into specifics here.  So far I like the management team a lot and they seem to be very competent and highly experienced in table games, but I don't think most of them have much poker experience.  On the plus side, there are a lot of very experienced poker floors working there, but on the negative side poker and table games are one department so people that are knowledgeable in poker may end up in roulette while a blackjack guy could be in the poker room that day.  It will be up to the management on how well they are willing to learn and listen and if whether or not they want to run a "world class" (if you will) poker room as to whether or not I stay there.   I have apps in at other casinos as well, but I really want it to work out at this one.

[Nick C]

Brian,
 It's good to know that you are working in poker. I know exactly what you are talking about when you describe the new casinos in Pennsylvania. I don't know why management doesn't take the time to "do it right." They have table games for the first time ever, and they can't wait to open, even if they're not ready. There are far too many problems to list them all but, I have to say, in all of my years in Las Vegas (19), I was a dealer, and floorman in poker only. I have been training dealers for about thirty years and I can't believe what I see when I walk into a new poker room. I have information from former students that are working in a couple of the new casinos. I like to have all of the information that I need so I can educate and train new dealers so they understand all of the procedures. Frustrating examples; automatic shufflers, bravo systems, card placement, rake procedures. I have layouts of the tables for two casinos, one has the automatic shuffler on the right, the other has it on the left. They have so much on the talbe that Harrah's Chester has the rake slide at a 90 degree angle! Yes, you pull it in the direction of the ten seat. They need room for the rake conversion circle, and the device used for swipeing a players card. Then there is the lucite "toke box" that is attached with two screws that lock into the table on the dealers left. The signage area is on the left, just below the slot for the "bad beat jackpot." The rake and burn cards are on the same side and almost touching. The pot is too close to the poker table bank. All they needed was a little consultation from some experts in poker, not black jack. They are nothing alike!
 Here's another one that the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board came up with; All dealers must be certified in CPR! I can see it now, a dealer running around the table to administer CPR to a patron, while abandoning a $20,000 bank! In Vegas thats what security was for. There's more, but I'm going to stop now. Thanks for listening.

[Dave Lamb]

I'm the guy who printed out Robert's Rules of Poker for his $0.05-$0.10 home game 10 years ago.  I'm the guy who genuinely cares about guest service and gaming integrity.  I'm the guy you should contact if you need a quality manager/shift manager/tournament director for you card room.

Here's my resume.  Feel free to offer any suggestions or to point me in the right direction if you hear about a location hiring.

Brian W. Vickers   
11820 E. 62nd Pl.
Broken Arrow. OK 74012
(918) 812-7781
BrianWVickers@gmail.com
 
Objective
My goal is to be a strong leader in a successful poker room. 

Education
Tulsa Community College - Tulsa, OK
AA - Liberal Arts (w/ focus on Gaming and Hospitality)
Certificate - Gaming Protection
Honors – President’s Honor Roll, Dean’s Honor Roll
 
Related Work Experience
River Spirit Casino – Tulsa, OK (2005-Present)
(918) 299-8518
Current Position: Poker Floor Supervisor / Back-up Shift Manager
Previous Positions Held: Poker Dual Rate, Poker Dealer, Poker Dealer Instructor

Additional Related Experience
Marketing and Tradeshow Experience (5/10)
River Spirit Casino Booth Volunteer - Rooster Days of Broken Arrow Festival
Poker Tournament Director (8/09)
Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association (OIGA) - 15th annual conference and tradeshow
Poker Tournament Director (2004-2005)
Free Poker Oklahoma

Computer Proficiencies
MS Office
Konami Casino Management System
Genesis Gaming’s Bravo Poker Software (Poker Watch, Tournament Watch, etc.)
Macktrak Casino Software

Professional Certificates
05/27/10 Leadership Training and Development Certificate - River Spirit Casino
12/01/09 Blackjack Dealer School Graduate - River Spirit Casino
11/26/09 S.P.A.R.K. Customer Service Assessor Certification - River Spirit Casino
06/26/09 Poker Tournament Director Certification - Poker Tournament Director’s Association
12/29/05 Poker Dealer School Graduate – Creek Nation Casino Tulsa

References Available Upon Request