Kristen Lavin, a gaming dealer at Harrah's, has seen everything from sick birthday celebrations to high rollers.
Welcome to Maryland Heights Up All Night, where Maryland Heights Patch takes a look at people who work the graveyard shift around town. This week we caught up with Kristen Lavin, a dealer at Harrah's Casino. Lavin has worked as a dealer at Harrah's for about four years. She deals Blackjack, various kinds of poker, and craps from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. four nights a week. Her mother was an employee when Harrah's first opened, she said, and suggested Lavin attend a Blackjack school the casino was offering. Lavin said she and her classmates graduated and became dealers. Most of them still work at Harrah's, she said. Craps is Lavin's favorite game. "[It's] a lot of action, fast paced. Something you have to keep up with. It's challenging as a dealer…
38.751859
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Harrah's St. Louis Casino
777 Casino Center Dr, Maryland Heights, MO
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1888138
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This week a stetson-wearing gambler teaches our geeky girl respect for poker.
The poker tables were bustling on my second visit to Harrah’s Casino. I waited until a grey haired man pushed away from one table in disgust, his hands empty of chips. I darted in to take his place. My pockets were full of twenty $1 chips and I had the shiny-doe eyed look of someone who didn’t have a clue of how badly she was about to be taken. The dealer ignored me and dealt to the rest of the table. A gaunt, middle-aged man in a cowboy hat put his arm around my shoulder. His breath was heavy with tobacco. He leaned in and asked, “Missy, have you got a clue in your head how to play this game?” “Kings are high,” I said. “Twos are low. You either want high numbers to match across different suits or you want the same high number in every …
38.751859
-90.479472
777 Casino Center Dr, Maryland Heights, MO
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/locations/3079615
Myra Lopez
2:53 pm on Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Rob, I really like the Up All Night concept. Who are you going to feature next? more ›