Something missing at casinos today

By Jeff Silverman, Las Vegas

Sunday, Aug. 31, 2014 | 2:01 a.m.

I’ve just returned home from Santa Fe Station, where I gave the staff one last chance to show how much they love me, as per Station Casinos’ familiar tagline “We Love Locals.”

With all due respect, if love means rude and intrusive floor people and pit bosses, and some of the sloppiest and uninterested dealers I’ve ever seen, then they must adore locals.

I say this at the risk of sounding arrogant, but I spent 18 years behind blackjack and pai gow poker tables as a dealer and a floor man, and I know what I’m talking about.

The state of the “new” Las Vegas is pathetic and sad, and it has been for the better part of 20 years.

I was taught by the best of the Las Vegas “old guard,” and it reflected in every move I made. I broke in at Silver City Casino before casinos were run by people who never turned a card in their lives and who can never understand how it works in the real world of a casino floor.

I was taught to understand the priorities of a casino pit, how to treat my players and, above all else, how to deal a clean game. Even to the casual observer, it’s obvious that these attributes are sorely missing from the day-to-day operations at Station Casinos, especially the Santa Fe.

I will not be returning for any more love.