Table Games Best Pit Boss Experience

so any time I read one of these threads that's like "what's the worse XXX you've experienced" or "what XXX do you hate" I always think, why do people love to talk so much about how somebody was an ass or how they were screwed, but you rarely see a thread about good things? human nature, I guess, but I guess I think differently.

so here's a thread to recount your favorite pit boss experiences where somebody went above and beyond for you or was just cool and you had a good time.

I've had too many good pit boss experiences to count, but the most memorable are where the pit boss is genuinely happy to see me win, congratulates me when I color up and gives me a generous rating with a smile on top of it. I've also had just a couple of great pit bosses encourage me to take a break and come back later when I'm running really bad. those are the ones that really stand out.

 

First time I was at the Cosmo, we were sitting down at a BJ switch table... $25 minimum... so not a high stakes table. The pit greeted me, saw I had half a jack and coke left and told me she'd get me a fresh one sent over immediately... I felt like it was in my hand before I even got situated... it was that fast. She was extremely nice and she checked in on me from time to time and we had a great time chatting her up. She's the reason I stayed at the Cosmo on my next visit.

Unfortunately, it's been all down hill at the Cosmo ever since (that was shortly after they'd opened), but probably one of the only truly memorable pit experiences that I've ever had (and I always have interactions with the pit almost every time I sit down).

 

Not precisely a pit boss story, but close.

So a couple years ago I am playing very late into my last night in the high limit area at Bellagio (I have to leave for my flight home in a couple hours). I'm having a terrible evening, losing my butt, so I switch tables to a new dealer. The table is fantastic, I stage a monster comeback, and after cashing in I head upstairs to pack and go to the airport.

As I leave the high limit area, I see that new dealer going on break. She stops and talks to me for a couple minutes. I thank her for dealing a hot shoe to me and she seems genuinely happy that I staged a comeback. We also joked about how drunk and annoying a couple other players at the table were behaving. As she left, she commented that she liked my shoes (they were rather colorful).

Fast forward a year, I go back to the Bellagio high limit room and that dealer (who I had seen once or twice since that first evening she dealt to me) has been promoted to pit boss! So now every time I see her, I try to sit at whichever table she is supervising. And if things are slow, she always walks from around the table to see and comment on what shoes I am wearing.

 

I've had a lot of good times with pit bosses too. This last trip a pit boss who liked like a normal white dude turned out to be the same ethnicity as me and started ribbing me in our language which freaked me out. Then we just had a good time bs'ing with one another.

He was also cool because at MGM they send the markers to the cage at 3am, and the first night I tried getting it back right after that but had to wait for over 30 minutes until it got to the cage so I went over to craps and VP and lost money. So the second night when it was close to 3am and I was up quite a bit and started giving it back he asked me if I wanted to take back my marker before it goes to the cage so I wouldn't dip back into it. I thought it was a nice gesture to remind me and I decided to just color up then which probably saved me money.

I like when they do things like notice you're out of smokes and automatically get a new pack.

On one of my first trips in college where I went with like $500 but somehow managed to stay at a $25 table for like a gazillion hours I think a pit boss took pity on me and he gave me a VIP card which was actually laminated an on a lanyard I wore around my neck, I don't think they even do that anymore. Seems so gay now but back then I thought I was a baller and my friends and I would go everywhere flashing my VIP badge and cutting lines like we were the shit. I must have looked like such a tool but it was fun.

 

Most of the experiences here are probably at high limit pits, but I've found the same level of service in Reno at the Atlantis. Nearly every PB working the dice games welcomes the regulars with hand shakes and good spirits. I'm far from a High Roller so it is nice to see a high level of service for us plebs.

I remember when I first started coming here before the computerized self comp system. I always asked a particular PB and she always hooked me up with a meal. She still works here and greets me by name.

 

I also have a ton of great pit-boss experiences... but a couple of the more recent ones seem to be in order.

For my first 4 or 5 trips to DT, I had no idea that the Cal was a Boyd casino.
Anyway, finally on one trip, I was doing pretty well, having worked my way up from $5 base bets to $15 (after about an hour and a half of play).

The PB comes over and asks if I have a player's card. Just as I'm telling him "no", I notice a "BConnected" banner on the far wall from the pit.
I give the PB a face-palm & tell him that I had no idea that they were a Boyd casino until just then. I pull out my card and hand it to him & he says "no probelm, Robert. I've been watching you play...so, about 3 hours @ $20 a hand sound about right?"
I chuckle and tell him that if sounds right to him, then I'm sure it's spot-on accurate. He chuckles back and says "alright then". Funny thing was, I'm pretty sure he knew I was counting, but he really didn't seem to care. I really liked that guy!

And, on my most-recent trip, (May), I was playing at MSS. I can't remember her name, but she's the middle-aged female, short, white-ish hair, pit-boss working nights there. She's been there awhile & I'm embarassed that I cannot remember her name right now. Anyway, I was exhausted and hungry - and I mentioned to the dealer and other players that I was gonna have to leave soon becuase I was starving. Well, the PB apparently overheard me and a few minutes later she came over with a 777 comp, saying with a smile, "so - you don't really have to leave, you just need to go get something to eat - just come back when you're done, ok?".
I thanked her, colored up and headed over there. (...and yes - I came back to her pit).
I know, I know - it doesn't seem to be that big of a deal, but I guess you had to be there. I just found her entire demeanor/handling of that to be very customer-service friendly. Oh, did I mention that this was a $10 table, and my average bets were only about $15?

(I love downtown!)

 

I don't have a lot of experience with pit bosses as I only started playing blackjack last year, but I've had exactly two PB engage me in conversation other than "Hello" and "Good luck". Both of them were working at the Tropicana during our trip in June.

 

About 5 years ago, I helped lead the divesture of two subsidiaries that the company I was working for owned. I was working my ass off knowing that I would not have a job when the deals were complete. However, in order for me to stay around the company, offered me a success bonus. In the process, I eventually lined up another job. Typically, we go in the fall or the spring but I told my wife that with windfall we should hit Vegas. So off in June we went and we stayed at the Mirage. Our budget was going to be higher than usual.

A day into the five day trip, we both got food poisoning at B & B Ristorante. This changed our whole trip. We skipped having leisurely lunches and dinners. As a result, I gambled more than usual and my wife did more shopping.

The Mirage has great blackjack rules for green chips and above. I sat down at the same table each morning and would play for 7 to 8 hours. Typically, there was only me or 1 or 2 other players at the table. Well I befriended the dealers and the pit boss. The pit boss, was a Vegas veteran, and he told great stories. He worked, at one time or another, at all the main hotels on the main drag. We would spend so much time talking, that I would maybe play 20 to 30 hands an hour if I was at the table by myself.

At the end of the trip, I went to the host office. They comped all 5 nights as well as the spa treatments. The pit boss raised my average bet substantially. It was quite a bit higher than I was actually wagering. This allowed me for the next year or two to get all sorts of offers from MGM that I do not typically receive.

 

Recently had a good one at PH. I believe his name was Alan.

 

I have had many wonderful experiences with the pit bosses as well. For example, when I used to play blackjack, there were a couple who would call up to ask if they could change cards when they saw that I was running a really, really bad streak.

Other examples include pit bosses strongly suggesting to take a break and go eat when they saw that I was losing badly as well. The thing that made me appreciate them was that they had a genuine look of concern on their face when they suggested that I take a break as if it somehow saddened them to see me lose like that. Not sure if that was truly how they felt, but that's what I observed.

While not pit bosses, I have had a couple of hosts who advised me not to come and take advantage of an offer because they were afraid that I would lose again. A couple of my hosts often would come by and whispered to me to leave while I was up. In fact, they would suggest that I go eat with them, etc. so that I would not sit at the table and give back the winnings as often is the case with me.

I am just glad that I have had mostly positive experiences with dealers, pit bosses, and hosts. Now, if only I can transfer that to my gaming experiences, that would be gravy.

BTW, thanks, shifter, for starting this thread. Too often we read of complaints of negative experiences and pet peeves, etc. and not enough on good experiences.

 

I have played on several occasions in the mornings next to guys who could have been egelston2. Green minimum, good rules, just him and me, he knew how to play, he was obviously there for the morning. Makes for a pleasant game, especially after a session or two with other player types. Although I have seen lots of friendly interactions with others, I'm a hit-and-run BJ player, so I don't make friends with the pit. That's one reason, anyway.

Dealers are another matter. There are many ways a dealer can enhance the experience. Maybe another thread?

 

Mine isn't a pit boss but the manager of the poker room at my local casino. (I spend more time there than anywhere else)

Why is he so great?

1. He always, and I mean ALWAYs remembers my name.
2. He knows what I like to drink/eat while playing.
3. He knows my friends. I almost always have a buddy I bring along, and he knows all of their names too! He even comments when someone is missing, where they are.
4. He remembers our conversations and refers to them all the time. He remembers movies I've talked about, stories about Vegas I've brought up....really anything.
5. He looks out for me. I swear, the man knows what my chip stack is more than I do.

I realize, these aren't all that odd for actions a pit boss/manager should have. But I find it to be more rare as time goes on.

 

Playing $5 BJ at Excalibur and they had that extra bet for $5 where you don't get cards but your hand is automatically an 18.

I thought I won but the dealer said no and explained the rules. I thought it was a bit screwy but it was also the first time playing this game.

Dealers changed out and the pit boss comes over shortly afterward and says the dealer informed him that a mistake was made and gave me back my $5.

I thought that was awesome especially for it being just a $5 bet. I in turn used it make a bet for the new dealer but lose that hand.

 

Always had good to great interactions with pit bosses and dealers in Vegas. I would say the ones that are impartial/neutral because I am not some high flying whale are at the Bellagio. With a bankroll in play of $1,000 to $1,500 playing at $50 flat at the bac tables there, I am a damn guppy to them. Maybe not even a guppy. More like a tadpole.

Best pitboss experiences were at the Wynncore. At the MGM Grand, Cosmo when it first opened and Aria.

 

The best pit critters will leave me alone- let me play blackjack, openly spread 100:1 or more, and never back me off.

I haven't found one of them yet.

 

I've had mostly good experiences with pit bosses. I think the friendliest ones work at The D and Four Queens

 

Pit bosses, in my experience are usually more than decent. The floormen are an entirely different story. The only time I've seen the pit bosses lose their cool is when a player is belligerent to the dealers or other patrons, and IMHO in these situations they have every right to protect the dealers and ensure a good environment for other players to enjoy their gaming......

 

Mini-Bac @ P Ho

A few years ago, I wandered up to a mini-bac casino at around 3 a.m. I had never played before but played for the next 8 hours, doubling my buy-in ($800 from $400). Mostly $25 action but rated higher than that by a good bit.

The supervisor in the area I was in (Ginny or something like that) and I talked about the music and who was doing what song for hours...even involving the supervisor of the shift several times when we disagreed or he wanted to chime in about one of the songs.

It doesn't sound like a lot but it was one of my best Vegas experiences...

 

I was at Green Valley Ranch playing some low-minimum blackjack for a while, and during a card change I asked if they sold the old ones. The pit boss replied that she thought they used to sell them at the gift shop but didn't think they did anymore. She promised to check. Later on, she came back with a box of 12 decks and gave them to me!

 

I think this was a box man, not a pit boss, but anyway.

First time I stayed at Aria, I was playing craps, and it took me a few rolls to catch on, but the kid next to me swiped a couple of line and line odds bets right off the table when I was watching the dice roll at the other end of the table (good thing to watch out for).

So I mention it sotto voce to the dealer next to me, he hollers out "WATCH YOUR BETS!" At the time, I thought he was hollering at me, but later I realized he was alerting the whole table, and that's what he's supposed to do.

The kid realizes I made him and starts apologizing, offering me a chip, etc. I just tell him, "Don't do it again." Three times, like DeNiro, lol. The box was sitting there and I knew he could see and hear what was going on.

The kid had a crew with him, and I was solo, so I wasn't going to make any kind of a scene.

Anyways, the kid leaves shortly after that, I play a little more, I'm betting about $70 a hand, tipping the dealers the way I usually do, putting them on the line each time I roll.

I think I played about two hours, maybe less. There was a shift change, so I colored up and asked the box what he had me at and he looked at me and said "$150 for 4 hours".

I don't know if he was BS'ing me, because I can see how he could inflate the number, but not the time. But I figured it was because he saw the way I handled it.