WSOP: Incompetent Dealers Could Decide Outcome

[DoyleReno]

I was on my way to the Rio in Las Vegas to audition for the WSOP as a delaer when a fellow dealer informed me that the auditions had been closed two weeks early. Never mind Harrahs advertised a begining and end date for auditions. Apparently they filled the "quota" early and just closed down. Advertising laws aside, my suspicion was aroused and so should yours.

A few days earlier while talking with several dealers (who had previously auditioned for the WSOP) they were joking about the laughable abilites (lack there of) of the "dealers" the WSOP was readily hiring. Among those accepted many didn't even know how to play poker let alone run a game. I'm not making this up. I happen to know 2 "dealers" hired for this years event and they have never dealt a professional game and in my estimation could not even pass an audition for a break in casino.

From what I've learned the WSOP was hiring any room temperature body with at least two hands. Candidates were then placed in A,B or C classes depending upon their "abilities". The "C" class recruits, lacking any dealer skills, would be "taught" the game. As if.

The "why" of this is likely due to the heated dispute between the '06 WSOP dealers and Harrah's over an arbitrary decision to trim dealers wages after the event began. Which makes me wonder if hiring neophytes this year who are delighted to get a break from their telemarketing gig will present a more malleable and vapid crew. Translation: diminished bitching.

When I contacted Harrahs Entertainment they apologized for closing the audition early but refused to "make an exception" by allowing me to audition within the advertised schedule. If you assumed they would audition for the announced time frame and then go back and select the best of the group you would be wrong.

Imagine if you will being short stacked with blinds about to increas and the dealer can't spread a flop without a floormans assistance. If you play the WSOP and have a bad experience with the dealer (as many did last year) ask the tournament director to consider auditioning all the dealers. Not just the warm bodies who wander in first. <font color="red"> </font>

[Humble Pie]

Sounds like SOUR GRAPES.

[DoyleReno]

"Sour Grapes" did your IQ recently drop to zero?
In your defense let's assume you will not be among those risking thousands of dollars and expecting competent dealers.

[shaniac]

Thanks for the post, Doyle.

Disturbing, unsurprising, and good to know.

[bav]

Would you be happier if they let you audition and THEN told you they don't want you? You can't make them hire you.

Yeah, Harrah's sucks. That's not news. Yeah, last year's WSOP dealers were not all stellar. Also not news.

But I do agree Harrah's screwed up here. It's SERIOUSLY impolite to advertise as they did a specific time period for auditions and then close early. And last I looked, they haven't updated the web pages so the only way to know they weren't still auditioning woulda been to call 'em before you visited--well, that or visit 2+2 and see the previous discussions of this topic.

If they were serious about hiring quality, they would have given immediate offers to the A's and maybe B's and told the C's they'd hear back after the end of the audition period.

[ahnuld]

as long as the floor makes good calls things will be alright. not good, but alright.

[shaniac]

[ QUOTE ]
as long as the floor makes good calls things will be alright. not good, but alright.

[/ QUOTE ]

That was a problem last year...the floor made some horrendous rulings. Anyway, we'll see.

I have come to realize that Harrah's is just a very poorly run organization, and it's simply too bad that they own the rights to the WSOP, because in another company's hands, the tournament would be better. There are a lot of good people who work (or, like OP, want to work for WSOP/Harrah's) but they wind up caught in the same runaround that Harrah's customers are stuck in.

Anyone jumping on OP should realize he's doing us players a huge favor by revealing the BS that goes on behind the scenes of the biggest tournament festival of the year.

[psandman]

[ QUOTE ]
as long as the floor makes good calls things will be alright. not good, but alright.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well last year the floor was much weaker than the dealers. I think there were two issues. One they weren't getting a piece of the tips -- straight hourly only so they didn't care. And second many of them were just incompetent.

[psandman]

[ QUOTE ]
Would you be happier if they let you audition and THEN told you they don't want you? You can't make them hire you.

Yeah, Harrah's sucks. That's not news. Yeah, last year's WSOP dealers were not all stellar. Also not news.

But I do agree Harrah's screwed up here. It's SERIOUSLY impolite to advertise as they did a specific time period for auditions and then close early. And last I looked, they haven't updated the web pages so the only way to know they weren't still auditioning woulda been to call 'em before you visited--well, that or visit 2+2 and see the previous discussions of this topic.

If they were serious about hiring quality, they would have given immediate offers to the A's and maybe B's and told the C's they'd hear back after the end of the audition period.

[/ QUOTE ]

Two years ago they had an even worse procedure. They were auditioning dealers for months, all by a guy named Johnny Moss -- no relation)

I often played the morning tourney at the Rio and was often there during the auditons. Many many breakins with no skilss anohnny was hiring them all.

Well not very long before the event they fired Mr. Moss. The new people who took over the job of staffing the event found themselves with hundreds of hired breakins (Many of the experienced dealers hadn't bothered to seek employment that early since that wasn't the general practice). Did these people call up all these breakins and tell them that they weren't needed?

No -- They hired the usual crew on top of all the breakins. then when the breakins -- many of whom traveled cross country to get here, quit jobs, turned down other opportunities, showed up they were ushered into a room and told they weren't needed. Thats right, let these people quit jobs, move cross country for a job you told them they had and then say gee we are sorry we don't need you.

I was hired for the WSOP 2005 three times. And everytime someone lost the paperwork an would have to start the process all over. Two days before the first event I received a call and was told they had a spot for me, come down the next morning to see thealer coordinator. So I show up and find out they have 1 slot left, one guy told me I had it, someone else hired another etc. So there were 5 of us there for 1 job.ince i had another job anyway, I decided to walk away because these other people had no other employment.

[DoyleReno]

My apologies. I did not write this post for contrarian cynics. The intent has nothing to do with eliciting your empathy. I only include myself (first person experience) to illustrate the circumstances of a disturbing problem that will assuredly inhibit the orderly execution of the worlds biggest prize money contest. Other than that never mind.