snoozy

His croupier skills will be a boon when IRs open here

FOUR months ago, Mr Gabriel Rumdej's job was to fry up a mean plate of chai tao kweh (carrot cake) at his family's two hawker stalls at Zion Road and People's Park Complex.

Then the Singaporean of Thai descent took a gamble, and left the food business in the hands of his employees.

Now the 28-year-old is training to be a croupier - someone who deals games like Blackjack and Roulette at a casino.

And he is among those who are determined to make a career switch to the casino industry.

He said: 'I was trained in graphic design, but joined the police force, after which I helped to run my family's carrot cake business. I'm still managing the stalls, but my dream has always been to be in the casino business.'

He is planning to try his luck at casinos in Macau, armed with his Certificate in Casino Management (Floor Operations) once he finishes his 5-month full-time course with the International Club Games Training Centre (ICGTC) at Turf City in June.

The father of a 1-month-old son chose Macau because of its vibrant gaming scene, and he feels a stint there will stand him in good stead once the two casinos open here.

HANDS ON

'I hope to move into casino security eventually, but being a good croupier is most important now.'

Coursemate Kelly Lim, 21, has set her sights on casinos in Australia, where her sister is studying, once she gets her certificate.

The O-Level graduate said: 'After I finished my film and media studies with a private institution, I realised that I'm more a hands on person. I want to learn practical skills, not study for the sake of studying.

'I'm attending this course because I'm hoping to move into floor management or marketing in the casino industry.'

ICGTC started operations in June 2006, and saw its first batch of students graduate with Certificates in Dealing Casino Games in February. It is currently the only casino training centre here with a proper casino set-up costing $1.2m, where students practise on actual gaming tables and equipment.

It offers three part-time and full-time certificate courses, the latter taking about six months to complete.

But Mr Ramachandar Sivagananam, ICGTC's CEO, is looking into offering a diploma course in the future.

He said: 'We're breaking with tradition in terms of casino operation. It's always been that casinos did the training themselves. Now we're offering croupiers trained in five games - Roulette, Blackjack and Baccarat, and two minor games of their choice.

EFFICIENCY

'Our graduates have been tested for efficiency of dealing, speed, accuracy and their knowledge of the games. The first batch was worried about jobs because the local IRs are not open yet, but I told them not to worry because casinos will come looking for them.'

A manager for a gaming pit, who supervises the croupiers, could start with a $4,500 to $5,500 monthly salary.

And an entry-level croupier could earn about $2,500 a month at the IRs, according to Mr Ramachandar.

A veteran in the casino industry,

Mr Ramachandar started off as a management trainee with the casino at Genting, staying there for 10 years. He went on to become manager of casino training and manpower.

He then joined Star Cruises as vice-president of casino operations for six years before starting ICGTC.

'Initially when we started up the centre, we were targeting young school leavers from 16 to 24 with at least N-Level qualifications.

'Later we realised that those interested were older and more qualified than expected. Eight per cent of our students have diplomas or degrees. We even have students with MBAs.

'Basically we're attracting working adults who want a career change, or want to enter the IRs armed with casino-management knowledge. We realised that we really have to offer a high level of training to them.'

Having two left hands is no problem, apparently.

'That's trainable. But applicants should be very friendly and outgoing, be presentable, well-groomed, and have an aptitude for mental calculation.'

Oh, and bankrupts, gambling addicts and those with criminal records need not apply.

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Source : The Electric New Paper