Gathered together, forming rows around the green baize gaming tables, the new recruits giggle nervously while they try over and over again to shuffle and deal the cards under the eye of their teachers.
In three months’ time, these dealers hope to be working in one of the many casinos in Macau. Odds are that they will succeed since the city already has a serious deficiency of skilled casino workers, even before the launching in August of the Venetian Macau, an enormous resort that will hold over 30 restaurants and beat the world's biggest casino.
The Lucky Gaming School is part of a government program that was launched four years ago because of the lack of skilled card dealers in Macau, where there are restrictions on casinos hiring foreigners.
During its first year, the school taught 80 students for a period of five months and they learned many of the popular games as well as basic English and Mandarin. Since then, the Macau gaming industry has exploded noticeably and the school has doubled up its attendance.
Nowadays, it takes on over 100 students at a time and, because of the pressure from the casinos to get croupiers as fast as possible, churns them out after just three months of training in the most popular table game here, baccarat.
Gathered together, forming rows around the green baize gaming tables, the new recruits giggle nervously while they try over and over again to shuffle and deal the cards under the eye of their teachers.