Becoming a blackjack dealer

It’s a career he started after stepping down in August 2020 as associate athletic director for Indiana State University athletics, where he worked for 19 years.

“I was hoping the Terre Haute casino would be open by now,” he said with a chuckle during a recent interview.

In January 2020, Indiana Grand opened live table games, which interested Hunt.

“I went there for a job fair and I went through a math test where it is adding a series of numbers together, then they added dollar signs and decimal points to make sure you could count what the card values are and what the payout is for certain bets,” Hunt said.

The math test lasted a day, followed by a couple of group interviews.

“They were looking for people with good customer service [skills] who they can make sure could do the bare minimum of the math for the games and the money,” he said.

Hunt, 44, a Vigo County resident, said he drove to Shelbyville every day for six weeks to learn to deal blackjack.

“They taught it like someone who had never stepped foot in a casino before, starting with the very basics and worked up to how you can count tens of thousands of dollars worth of chips at the same time. That is what you are responsible for on a gaming table,” Hunt said.

“They teach all the rules, all the gaming regulations and how to deal properly,” Hunt said. “I always think of casino dealing as you are the star of a reality TV show because there are several cameras on you watching your every move, how you administer the game, how you count the money and that you are paying out correctly.”

Hunt experienced that TV show reality first hand.

First night nerves

“I don’t think I have ever been as nervous as I was on August the 8th [last year]. I hit the [casino] floor for the very first time with my own table. I was nervous that night. I dealt all the cards.

“There was a side bet that paid for somebody, so I paid that out, then I swept all the cards up like the hand was over and I hadn’t even finished [the game] out,” he said.

“So my very first night I had the security team doing an instant replay on me,” Hunt said. “But that is the great thing about working there. As long you are making an honest mistake, there are tools there to correct those mistakes if you are nervous. There is a really good support team, you get back up if you end up making a mistake.”

And Hunt said he has learned a lot about the gaming industry.

“Ever since I have been 21, I have been going to Las Vegas and going to casinos around the state and the region,” Hunt said. “It is something that I really thought I knew. And once I went for [dealer] school, I found out that I really didn’t know much at all about how things really work.

“It really has been a wonderful experience” to be a casino card dealer, and I think it will be a really good job for a lot of people in the Terre Haute area,” Hunt said..

“It is a ‘minimum wage’ job but you make really good tips. I make $25 to $30 an hour as a dealer. You actually make more money as a dealer than the people supervising you, but you have to work for it,” Hunt said.

Hunt clarified that his hourly rate is not always as high as $25 or $30, depending on how busy the casino is and how many people are playing.

“When it is busy and things are going well, it is a really lucrative opportunity,” Hunt said. “I am excited, as there are a lot of people in Terre Haute striving to make ends meet and this could really be a breakthrough for those that enjoy working with the public and working with numbers and figures. [A new Vigo County casino] is going to be a really good opportunity for a lot of people.”

Hunt said once a Vigo County casino is up and running, he intends to apply for a similar job to save on travel expenses and commute time from Terre Haute.

“I am really looking forward to it,” he said of a Vigo County casino. “My plan was for it to be open and going this year, but obviously there will be a delay on that.”

Hunt said he thinks all four casino proposals for a Vigo County license are from experienced gaming companies.

“Obviously one of them has a lot of local ties to it, but no matter [which company] gets selected, I think it will be a great opportunity,” he said, adding that he thinks Hard Rock could benefit Vigo County the most with its connection through minority owner and Terre Haute businessman Greg Gibson.

Getting licensed

To work as a casino card dealer, Hunt holds a Level 2 gaming license.

“To get the license, they do a credit history report, a criminal history report and you have to be current on things like child support and income taxes in the state of Indiana,” Hunt said. “They check all of that and if there are any changes in that, you have to report that immediately to the Indiana Gaming Commission.

“It is a thorough background check, but it is a very fair process,” Hunt said. “They completed all those checks in less than a week. ... You do get a temporary authorization for a license when you apply. But you go through the entire [casino] school first. The managers of the table games watch you deal the table game live or with a simulated live table.

“They judge you on your customer service and your accuracy. There are certain things they teach you to watch out for as players have been known to try to get an advantage over the casino. You have to be able to recognize those things in the audition,” Hunt said.

For Hunt, the card table audition held the most pressure.

“You get six weeks of schooling, then 15 minutes in your audition to prove you know what you are doing to get on the floor. There is a lot of pressure in that audition,” he said.

Hunt said he has continued to learn other card games, to expand his knowledge.

“The more games you are able to learn and know, the more opportunities there are to work more hours and to become a supervisor to move up the chain of command,” Hunt said.

In one instance, Hunt said he was taught how to play Mississippi Stud poker.

“That was a three-hour class. They taught me that game on an Thursday. I got out of class at 5 p.m. and I was dealing it at 6 p.m. that night on the [casino] floor,” Hunt said. “Certain games take more knowledge to do, while some are easier. There is a little bit of everything for everybody.”

Hunt said he has created a new career in a casino.

Reporter Howard Greninger can be reached 812-231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com. Follow on .