6 October 2010

Two Emnotweni Casino dealers, Hugo Vermaak and Christopher Maluka, have secured their spots in gaming and entertainment group Tsogo Sun’s prestigious National Dealer Competition taking place from the 17th to the 19th of October 2010.

This follows a stiff competition between Emnotweni Casino’s dealers in August. The competition was open to all Blackjack, Roulette and Poker dealers who were subjected to a gruelling table test to assess the speed of their game, accuracy and neatness. 

The top five were eventually whittled down and battled it out in round two of the competition during which they were scrutinised by an expert judging panel. The dealers had to deal for 15 minutes on each game to demonstrate their skill, speed and versatility; whilst also being assessed on following proper procedures, grooming and customer relations.

The dealers were scored on a scale of one to ten. Vermaak and Maluka came up trumps earning their places in the national finals at The Ridge Casino in Witbank. With the best dealers from Tsogo Sun’s seven casinos around the country vying for the grand title of Dealer of the Year, it promises to be a tight and exciting contest. The overall prize winner will receive a trophy and R10,000 cash prize.

Maluka was trained as a dealer at Emnotweni Casino and has worked there for the past two years. This year is the first that he has participated in the dealer competition. He is proud to have held his own against some of the more experienced dealers at the casino and is very excited to be attending the national championships at The Ridge.

Vermaak, who is 22 years of age, was born in the Lowveld and lived there all his life. He decided to join Emnotweni as a dealer in 2007 and has been working there ever since. According to Vermaak working shifts can be quite challenging, but he enjoys meeting different people – it makes his job very interesting and every day is different.

“It takes skill to be a good dealer and those who excel at their profession are those who are able to perform for their audience as well. Their deft ability to handle their game and engage with their players adds to the all-round table experience.”

“We obviously put a lot of emphasis on developing our dealers and encouraging them to refine their skills and abilities. This competition is a fantastic way to build team spirit as well as to recognise those who really go above and beyond to ensure that our players are always assured of a professional and exciting gaming experience.”

“Last year’s overall Tsogo winner was from Emnotweni, and we wish this year’s dealers luck for the national competition. We are confident they’ll do us proud.  ,” says Emnotweni Casino’s general manager, Ig Olivier.