MOUNT VERNON — With apologies to Kenny Rogers, you may know when to hold them, and know when to fold them, but, come January, you can learn how to deal them. The Knox County Career Center Adult Workforce Education is launching a gaming training program in anticipation of the jobs expected to be created when the Ohio casinos are completed in 2012.
Kyle Hill, formerly of Las Vegas, will start students off with a four-week course in blackjack dealing, followed by baccarat instruction. Hill attended the College of Southern Nevada, and honed his skills at a Las Vegas dealing school “on the Strip.” He worked four years as a dealer in a casino, then as a floor supervisor.
In the blackjack course, students will learn the skills needed to get a job in a casino, Hill said.
“Besides learning how to deal the cards and different versions of the game, they will learn about customer service and customer relations, which is a very big thing,” said Hill. They will learn the math skills required as well as appropriate terminology, such as cutting the chips, double down, soft 17 and card splitting. I will show them how to manage a table, how to order fills, and how to make sure their moves are correct for the security cameras. I will show them what the cameras are watching for, from the players as well as from the dealers.
