ABOUT THE DESIGNER
Hi there. My name is Cathryn Leasure, and I designed the Roulette Trainer App.
Now don't get me wrong. I didn't code the software. I'm not that clever. I collaborated with an amazingly talented bunch of people to get the app into existence.
This a picture of me. It was taken in my parents-in-law's living room, I confess, more than a few years ago. It's the only decent picture I have. As I have only just started this blog, I promise I'll update this picture as soon as I can with something way more cool.
Anyway, I have had an itch for quite some time now to share with the world what it's ‘really’ like to be a casino dealer, both good and bad.
It is my hope that other casino dealers will interact on my blog so that:
1) Casino dealers can share their stories
2) You can decide whether the casino life might be for you
A LITTLE MORE ABOUT ME, AND A CONDENSED VERSION OF MY CASINO CAREER SO FAR
I am from Manchester, England, but I now live in Florida with my American husband, Michael and our daughter, Anna.
In 1990, years before I met my husband and moved to America, I was out of work and scouring the Manchester Evening News for a job. I saw an ad asking for casino dealers to apply for a job at the Princess Casino in the Bahamas. What? Sun, sand, lots of money? Are you joking? Is there such a thing? I was looking for secretary jobs in rainy old Manchester! The casino needed 3 years’ experience though, and I had never stepped foot in a casino in the whole of my life. My dream seemed to be over.
It was meant to be though, because coincidentally a couple weeks later, an ad appeared in the same newspaper asking for people to join the Soames Casino training class. Are you kidding? Could this be my ticket to sun, sand, and fun?
I applied immediately, and got an interview.
The training class actually PAID you if you were chosen for the training! It wasn’t much. I think maybe around 50 pounds per week (approx. $75 per week at the time).
When I turned up for my interview I was asked all sorts of questions about my background, and some simple math questions. I passed the interview and was accepted into the class.
To cut a long story short, I don’t know how many people applied, but 34 of us were accepted into the 6 week training class. Once the class started, many were cut from the class pretty quickly, seeing as we were being paid. In the end, only 8 of us were offered a job at the casino.
I loved working at Soames Casino and I became a better and better dealer every day. After about 9 months I thought I had become a decent enough dealer to follow through with the reason I had decided to become a dealer in the first place - travel! I saw a newspaper ad asking for casino dealers to interview for the casino Boat Discovery, sailing to the Bahamas out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Yahoo! Goodbye rainy old England, hello the sunny Bahamas! I applied for an interview, and it turned out that they were so desperate for dealers that they accepted just about anybody, even people with less than 1 year experience in the casino industry. I soon found out why!
Though I was in the sunny Bahamas, I didn’t get to see much of it. Work hours on the Discovery boat were very long, much of the time over 12 hours per day, 6 days per week. So for the most part, all I did was sleep when I had time off, instead of exploring my surroundings in this beautiful place. Now I understood why the Discovery boat couldn't keep dealers. We were worked to the bone, with very little pay. I stuck it out though, and when my 6 month contract ended I started looking for a better casino job. Russia was calling!
I got off the plane in Moscow in 1993 to join my new employer Casino Gabriela. Unfortunately I was not a follower of global economics or politics. It turned out that Casino Gabriela was run by the Russian mafia, and after 9 weeks of employment all non-Russian employees were unceremoniously fired. That included me! My pay was withheld, and I wasn’t going to ask for it!
After leaving Casino Gabriela I was young enough, determined enough, and stupid enough to still try to make it in Russia. I got a new job at the Cosmos Casino, also in Moscow. I managed to keep my job at the Cosmos Casino for 2 weeks before a 'shoot to kill' order was issued by the Russian mafia for any non-Russian employees at the casino. That would be me! So that was the end of that job!
Anyway, STILL determined to make it in Russia, I landed a job in the best casino in Moscow, Casino Royale. Eat your heart out James Bond! Casino Royale was not CONTROLLED by the Russian mafia, but it certainly was PROTECTED by the Russian mafia. Many stories come to mind of my time at Casino Royale. As time permits, I will post them on my blog.
Full disclosure - I worked at Casino Royale for nearly 3 years from 1993 to 1995. After my Russian experience I decided to quit the casino business for a while. A less life threatening job seemed to be the way to go.
I am also a musician, and in 1998, still wanting to travel, I was accepted as a musician on a cruise ship based out of Miami. This is where I met my husband, as he was also a musician in the band.
We left the cruise ships and moved land based to Florida in 2005. In 2011 Victory Casino Cruises, a gambling boat sailing daily out of Port Canaveral in Florida, opened its doors to the public. I was employed as a dealer on the boat's very first cruise, and I still work there to this day.
If you have any questions about life a casino dealer, how to get a job as a casino dealer, or where to train as a casino dealer, please check out my blog posts and ask questions in the comments sections. Or you can contact me via my contact form, or just send me an email at casinotrainingsoftware@gmail.com. I'd LOVE to hear from you and answer any questions you may have.
Now don't get me wrong. I didn't code the software. I'm not that clever. I collaborated with an amazingly talented bunch of people to get the app into existence.
This a picture of me. It was taken in my parents-in-law's living room, I confess, more than a few years ago. It's the only decent picture I have. As I have only just started this blog, I promise I'll update this picture as soon as I can with something way more cool.
Anyway, I have had an itch for quite some time now to share with the world what it's ‘really’ like to be a casino dealer, both good and bad.
It is my hope that other casino dealers will interact on my blog so that:
1) Casino dealers can share their stories
2) You can decide whether the casino life might be for you
A LITTLE MORE ABOUT ME, AND A CONDENSED VERSION OF MY CASINO CAREER SO FAR
I am from Manchester, England, but I now live in Florida with my American husband, Michael and our daughter, Anna.
In 1990, years before I met my husband and moved to America, I was out of work and scouring the Manchester Evening News for a job. I saw an ad asking for casino dealers to apply for a job at the Princess Casino in the Bahamas. What? Sun, sand, lots of money? Are you joking? Is there such a thing? I was looking for secretary jobs in rainy old Manchester! The casino needed 3 years’ experience though, and I had never stepped foot in a casino in the whole of my life. My dream seemed to be over.
It was meant to be though, because coincidentally a couple weeks later, an ad appeared in the same newspaper asking for people to join the Soames Casino training class. Are you kidding? Could this be my ticket to sun, sand, and fun?
I applied immediately, and got an interview.
The training class actually PAID you if you were chosen for the training! It wasn’t much. I think maybe around 50 pounds per week (approx. $75 per week at the time).
When I turned up for my interview I was asked all sorts of questions about my background, and some simple math questions. I passed the interview and was accepted into the class.
To cut a long story short, I don’t know how many people applied, but 34 of us were accepted into the 6 week training class. Once the class started, many were cut from the class pretty quickly, seeing as we were being paid. In the end, only 8 of us were offered a job at the casino.
I loved working at Soames Casino and I became a better and better dealer every day. After about 9 months I thought I had become a decent enough dealer to follow through with the reason I had decided to become a dealer in the first place - travel! I saw a newspaper ad asking for casino dealers to interview for the casino Boat Discovery, sailing to the Bahamas out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Yahoo! Goodbye rainy old England, hello the sunny Bahamas! I applied for an interview, and it turned out that they were so desperate for dealers that they accepted just about anybody, even people with less than 1 year experience in the casino industry. I soon found out why!
Though I was in the sunny Bahamas, I didn’t get to see much of it. Work hours on the Discovery boat were very long, much of the time over 12 hours per day, 6 days per week. So for the most part, all I did was sleep when I had time off, instead of exploring my surroundings in this beautiful place. Now I understood why the Discovery boat couldn't keep dealers. We were worked to the bone, with very little pay. I stuck it out though, and when my 6 month contract ended I started looking for a better casino job. Russia was calling!
I got off the plane in Moscow in 1993 to join my new employer Casino Gabriela. Unfortunately I was not a follower of global economics or politics. It turned out that Casino Gabriela was run by the Russian mafia, and after 9 weeks of employment all non-Russian employees were unceremoniously fired. That included me! My pay was withheld, and I wasn’t going to ask for it!
After leaving Casino Gabriela I was young enough, determined enough, and stupid enough to still try to make it in Russia. I got a new job at the Cosmos Casino, also in Moscow. I managed to keep my job at the Cosmos Casino for 2 weeks before a 'shoot to kill' order was issued by the Russian mafia for any non-Russian employees at the casino. That would be me! So that was the end of that job!
Anyway, STILL determined to make it in Russia, I landed a job in the best casino in Moscow, Casino Royale. Eat your heart out James Bond! Casino Royale was not CONTROLLED by the Russian mafia, but it certainly was PROTECTED by the Russian mafia. Many stories come to mind of my time at Casino Royale. As time permits, I will post them on my blog.
Full disclosure - I worked at Casino Royale for nearly 3 years from 1993 to 1995. After my Russian experience I decided to quit the casino business for a while. A less life threatening job seemed to be the way to go.
I am also a musician, and in 1998, still wanting to travel, I was accepted as a musician on a cruise ship based out of Miami. This is where I met my husband, as he was also a musician in the band.
We left the cruise ships and moved land based to Florida in 2005. In 2011 Victory Casino Cruises, a gambling boat sailing daily out of Port Canaveral in Florida, opened its doors to the public. I was employed as a dealer on the boat's very first cruise, and I still work there to this day.
If you have any questions about life a casino dealer, how to get a job as a casino dealer, or where to train as a casino dealer, please check out my blog posts and ask questions in the comments sections. Or you can contact me via my contact form, or just send me an email at casinotrainingsoftware@gmail.com. I'd LOVE to hear from you and answer any questions you may have.