Trainer Profile

Fatima Norris

How long have you worked in the gaming industry and how did you get started?

I have been in the gaming industry for nine and a half years.

I used to play blackjack sometimes and had a friend who dealt in a casino. He told about the opportunities, the good pay and benefits and the flexible hours.

I ended up applying for a job at Skycity Darwin and got selected out of 40 people. The interview was not what I expected. They got us in a room and made everybody show off their chip skills. They then picked the people with the best chip skills as roulette and blackjack dealers. I was originally picked for roulette as my chip skills were quite advanced and roulette is usually a more difficult game to deal.

We then went through a grueling training regime which taught us all about the game and of course improved our chip skills.

Over the next few years I expanded my knowledge and I now work at Skycity Darwin as a Pitboss. I have also run the dealer’s school there for a few years and really enjoy the challenges that has brought.

Which games do you deal now?

I deal Blackjack, Roulette, Casino War, Caribbean Stud Poker, Texas Holdem’ Poker, Moneywheel and Baccarat.

Blackjack was my second game and I gradually grew my game portfolio until I knew all the games that are played at Skycity Darwin. As I have been running the dealer school at Skycity I have made sure my knowledge of the games is up-to-date and I always am interested in learning any new games Skycity Darwin management decides to put on the gaming floor.

What is your favorite part of the industry?

I really enjoy the training side of things. There are so many skills to learn and I love the challenge of taking people who may not have even played a game before, all the way through to being an expert.

I also love the buzz and excitement of the gaming floor. You never know who is going to come in, who’s going to win big or lose big. It’s never a dull day!

Do you have any good stories from the gaming floor?

One day I was dealing blackjack and a gentleman, who looked like he could have been homeless, came in with $50. He put his money on super 7s and won $500. Over the next hour or so, through some very aggressive and lucky bets, he increased his stack to about $32,000.

For a little while he was the king, and was buying everyone drinks, laying down huge bets and getting lucky. His luck changed rather quickly however and he proceeded to lose all of the $32,000 in about 2 hours. As he got up and left all the gaming floor staff were in disbelief. It was a wild, yet somewhat disappointing, couple of hours!

What made you want to start teaching at ICAE?

I have been running the dealer’s school at Skycity Darwin and found that I really loved the training side of the industry. I also like to hospitality industry as a whole and love showing my art to people who are genuinely interested in the field.

Advice for future dealers?

It’s all about attitude! It doesn’t matter if you’re an experienced gambler or have never touched a deck of cards before. If you are reliable, trustworthy, well presented and motivated you are in a very good position to be a dealer. Having people skills is also useful as creating good rapport with guests makes their night, and the dealer’s night much more enjoyable.

Some people think being a math’s scholar is necessary but it’s really not. You learn all the counting skills you need during your training.

The only thing required, other than a good attitude, is chip skills. This comes from practice! If you want to become a great dealer then buy yourself a set of gaming chips and put in the hours of practice at home. Once you get into the buzz of the gaming floor you will find that your expert chip skills will help you excel.