All careersEveryday & transport

Casino Dealer

$34,320
median / year
$24,040 – $77,090
what most earn per year (10th–90th percentile)

What the job actually is

Run table games, deal cards or manage bets, pay out winnings, and keep play fair and moving.

You may also see this posted as: Blackjack Dealer, Table Games Dealer, Twenty-One Dealer, Black Jack Dealer, Card Dealer, Dealer.

Where you work

Casinos and gaming floors

The hours

Shifts, nights, weekends, holidays

The day to day

What you'd actually spend time doing

  • Pay winnings or collect losing bets as established by the rules and procedures of a specific game.
  • Greet customers and make them feel welcome.
  • Exchange paper currency for playing chips or coin money.
  • Check to ensure that all players have placed bets before play begins.
  • Inspect cards and equipment to be used in games to ensure that they are in good condition.

Good fit if you like…

Conventional

organizing information, following systems, and getting details right

Enterprising

leading, persuading, selling, or turning an idea into action

Realistic

working with tools, equipment, materials, or the physical world

O*NET job zone 2 of 5

Some preparation—often a high school credential and on-the-job learning—is usually needed.

Work styles that matter most

Attention to DetailIntegrityDependabilitySocial Orientation

Software that shows up in the work

Examples employers report—not a checklist you must already know.

Apache HadoopApache SparkMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareSlackEmail software

By the numbers

May 2025 BLS wage & employment data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.

Median pay
$34,320
per year
Hourly median
$16.50
per hour
What most earn
$24,040–$77,090
yearly, 10th to 90th percentile
Openings a year
~14,100
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
-0.6%
Little change
Working in the U.S.
83,910
people, nationwide

Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.

“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.

BLS estimates 3.9% of workers in this occupation are self-employed.

What it pays in your state

Statewide medians are a better starting point than the national number. Your city and experience still matter.

BLS state wage tables

How you get in

Typical starting education

High school / no degree

Training path: On-the-job training, paid.

Related work experience: None.

On-the-job training: Short-term on-the-job training.

License or certification

Most states require a gaming license or work permit through the casino.

You can earn while you train. This field has a genuinely paid pathway in — an apprenticeship, a paid academy, or employer-funded training — so you draw a paycheck instead of taking on debt to learn it.

Check the path where you live

Licensing rules and available programs change by state. These federal tools take you to the current official listings.

What it takes

Quick mathCustomer serviceFocusComposure

The honest take

Tips can lift the base pay, but hours are late and the floor is tied to where casinos operate.

Standard Occupational Classification 39-3011. Pay and employment from the BLS May 2025 OEWS survey; outlook and openings from the 2024–34 employment projections; job context from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; tasks, interests, work styles, software examples, and job zone from O*NET 30.3. See something off? Tell us.