A Guide to the Best Casino Jobs

By Jane Shaw Senior Editor Updated: 01/10/2024

Jane Shaw Senior Editor See Full Bio

We count on Jane to inform our readers about the latest slot games in the US market. With her passion for video games and a degree in engineering, she’s our gambling tech expert. Jane’s also active in our blog section, where she tackles the curiosities and changes in the industry.

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The Best Casino Jobs

• Best-Paying Casino Jobs
• How to Become a Casino Dealer
• Essential Casino Skills
• Casino Management Roles
• Tech Jobs in Casinos
• Casino Security Careers
• Hospitality & Services
• Frequently Asked Questions

Las Vegas may be the gambling capital of the world, but casinos around the globe employ millions of people. Casino career opportunities are readily available, and many of these positions offer excellent pay and great career advancement potential.

There are tons of casino jobs, ranging from casino waitress to running the show behind the scenes, and in today’s blog, we’re going to show you the best-paying casino jobs, how to get them – and everything else you need to know about working in the casino industry!

Best-Paying Casino Jobs

If you’re looking for the best-paying casino jobs, you’ll be pleased to know that it’s possible to enjoy very high salaries, regardless of your background, education level, or skills. The only thing that will disqualify you from working in this industry is a criminal record.

In the world of casinos, there are plenty of high-paying jobs, such as casino managers, directors, and executives – but you don’t have to make it to the top to enjoy a healthy income. You’ll see why later in this post.

While this guide focuses on the land-based casino industry, we also cover online gambling extensively, like the best live online casinos, for example.

How to Become a Casino Dealer

If you’re looking for the best casino jobs, chances are, you’ll begin life working as a casino dealer. This is actually a great job; it gives you the experience of working in a casino, allows you to familiarize yourself with all the different casino games, and gives you a taste of what working in the land-based casino industry is really like.

While no formal education is required to become a casino dealer, you must undertake a training course. This can take between four and 12 weeks, and it’s where you’ll learn everything about dealing games in land-based casinos. You’ll learn shuffling techniques, chip handling, game rules, customer service skills, and more. Now, what’s great about becoming a casino dealer is that most casinos will pay for you to go through this training program!

And what about once you’ve finished this training? What are the day-to-day responsibilities of a dealer? Well, they vary a lot, depending on where you work – and which casino games you’re dealing – but they involve greeting players, explaining game rules, dealing cards or operating other gaming equipment, calculating and paying out winnings, managing chip trays, verifying bets, and looking out for signs someone is gambling in a problematic manner.

When it comes to pay, this depends mainly on where you work. In the US, casino employees generally have low base salaries – with most of their income coming from tips. Those providing excellent guest service can expect to earn upwards of $50,000 per year in tips alone at top casinos in Las Vegas – although outside of Sin City, the average salary is around $25,000.

Essential Casino Skills

No matter their specific role, casino employees develop core capabilities that enhance their performance and guest satisfaction. One of the most essential skills is great customer service. Interacting with guests in a pleasant, friendly, and non-judgmental tone is crucial, especially as you’ll be working in a fast-paced environment where emotions and money run high. Verbal communication abilities are essential for explaining complex games, calculating payouts, and calming frustrated players.

To become a successful casino dealer, you must also have close attention to detail. Dealers must accurately track bets, count cards, pay winners, collect losing wagers, and monitor the game pace. A single mistake can lead to losses, disputes or even accusations of cheating – and this could see you out of a job (or worse), so you must be situationally aware, too.

Specialized knowledge of casino gaming, hospitality regulations, security protocol, and typical fraud schemes is valuable – and you’ll learn the basics of these when you go through training school. Aside from that, any additional skills will largely depend on your desired career progression – something you can think about later.

Casino Management Roles

Casino managers oversee complex gaming, hospitality, marketing, finance, compliance, and more, often across multiple properties. While specific duties vary by department, strong leadership abilities, analytical thinking, business intelligence and communication skills allow effective management. Educational requirements range from high school diplomas to master’s degrees, depending on the position.

However, most managerial candidates possess bachelor’s degrees in hospitality, business management or related fields. Proven work experience in the casino industry is usually mandatory for supervisory roles. While the entry requirements are significantly higher than those for casino dealers, management roles are where the money can start to get really good.

At the highest level, casino executives and general managers develop business strategies, manage expansion plans, and ensure overall profitability. These c-suite leaders have huge influence across the organization, and their pay reflects this; the average in the US is a whopping $300,000!

However, it’s a competitive field, and while it is possible to progress to managerial positions from a casino dealer, you’ll need to have a solid resume, especially as you might well be going up against highly educated candidates.

Tech Jobs in Casinos

So far, we’ve focused mainly on casino dealing and management jobs; however, casinos are a lot more than these two positions – and the next industry we’ll discuss is tech jobs. You see, all land-based casinos employ teams of technical specialists to maintain their cutting-edge systems and solve problems quickly. IT infrastructure managers look after the casino’s computer networks, servers, software platforms and gaming machines.

Given the prominence of slot machines on gaming floors, slot machine technicians are vital; if a slot or video poker machine breaks, it can cost casinos thousands of dollars a day – so, having engineers on-hand to fix them is vital! Then, there are AV specialists who configure audio, video, lighting, and display systems to create immersive environments in the casino and theaters. Other tech-focused jobs include general technical support, network engineers, software developers, database administrators, and fraud-prevention specialists.

While some positions require a bachelor’s degree in information technology or computer science, experience is what most land-based casinos look for. After all, even though many tech employees work behind the scenes, they’re a hugely important part of the casino operation – and their salary bracket reflects this!

Tech professionals working at land-based casinos can earn between $70,000 and $120,000 – and potentially even more if they’re in charge of resort-wide systems or if they manage multiple casinos!

Casino Security Careers

All casinos are in business to make money – and with large amounts of cash on the premises comes significant risk. This is where security teams come in; security staff in casinos prevent thieves and fraudsters from stealing, whether it be protecting cash, chips, or even preventing cheaters.

Security staff are used as a visible deterrence on the casino floor, although there are also behind-the-scenes teams that conduct investigations into potential cheaters, ensure banned players aren’t entering the casino, and monitor guests for any suspicious activity. Security staff are, of course, responsible for overseeing the CCTV system, too – which is extensive in any land-based casino.

Security staff are even used at live online casino studios. They ensure dealers aren’t colluding with players or cheating – and while you’d never know it, when you play, for example, at the best live casinos in Pennsylvania, there will be a security team monitoring the action.

While a high-school diploma is usually required (along with a clean criminal record), specialized security training and past experience working in a land-based casino will be a significant advantage. Many land-based casinos look for a military or law enforcement background, too.

In return for keeping the casino secure around the clock, security personnel can earn a great salary, with the average ranging between $45,000 and $150,000. Of course, as with all the jobs we’ve discussed today, salaries vary a lot depending on the role in question and the applicant’s experience level.

Hospitality & Services

Finally, one of the most important parts of a casino’s team – for guests, anyway – is the hospitality staff! You see, the casino industry thrives on providing exceptional guest experiences to keep visitors playing – and one of the best ways of ensuring gamblers are in the mood to gamble is to wine, dine, and look after them! As such, hospitality and service personnel make up a substantial portion of a casino’s employee pool, spanning numerous sectors like food and drinks, hotel staff, entertainment planners, transport coordinators, VIP hosts, and more!

These roles are pretty self-explanatory; food and drink includes servers, bartenders, and chefs – ensuring prompt food and drink service on the floor and at casino restaurants – while in hotels, housekeeping staff are responsible for cleaning rooms, receptionists check in guests, and porters help guests get those heavy bags to their rooms!

Transportation staff arrange transport for guests, which can include ferrying patrons to and from the airport, other hotels, or even local attractions – and this can be done via a shuttle, a charter bus – or even a luxury limo!

Entertainment staff are responsible for planning events, handling ticketing, production and promotions for resident shows, arranging venues, and putting on special events – often including well known DJs and musicians!

VIP hosts are the staff who look after high-rollers – and they’re responsible for pretty much anything a guest asks for, from arranging football tickets to booking tables at the most luxurious clubs in town! Of course, with such a broad range of hospitality jobs, expected salaries vary a lot – but tipped positions, like servers, can earn upwards of $50,000, while VIP hosts can earn well into six figures!

Here’s a quick recap of some of the main industries within casinos – and the rough salary ranges, on the high end of the scale.