Published on: October 10, 2025, 01:14h.

Updated on: October 10, 2025, 01:16h.

How challenging is it to secure a table game dealing position in Las Vegas?

Elleonor Hoffman was named the “World’s Best Dealer” during the first-ever Dealer Championship at the Global Gaming Expo in Las Vegas on Thursday. However, despite her vast experience and proven talents, the Las Vegas native revealed to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that she is employed at a tribal casino in California due to the scarcity of full-time opportunities in her hometown.

At 51 years old, Hoffman serves as a dual-rate table games dealer at Graton Resort & Casino located in Sonoma County, California. She joined the casino ten months ago after dedicating 22 years to dealing on cruise ships.

It appears that casino managers on the Strip did not recognize her potential.

While Hoffman was not prompted to speculate on the reasons for her oversight, her experience is indicative of broader challenges in the industry, such as:

• A preference for candidates with recent land-based experience, particularly in bustling, surveillance-heavy environments like the Strip
• An abundance of qualified dealers in Las Vegas
• Potential age bias, as casinos often lean towards younger applicants for customer-facing roles

Let the Games Begin

During the G2E Dealer Championship, hosted at the Venetian, Hoffman faced off against 33 other dealers from across the United States. Over two intensive days, competitors were narrowed down to 12 semifinalists, and ultimately six finalists. The assessment criteria included technical proficiency, hospitality skills, and game management while dealing blackjack and roulette, with judges comprising top executives from participating establishments.

Hoffman earned a prize of $5,000, a trophy, and the coveted Dealer Championship Cup, which will be engraved with her name and displayed at Graton for the year ahead.

She also claimed a measure of revenge, outperforming Madalina Ristea of the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, who secured second place and $3,000, as well as Marko Vekovic of Encore, who placed third and won $2,000.

“Honestly, this is the first time I’ve had the chance to see myself in action since I’m usually situated at the back of the table,” Hoffman shared with the Review-Journal. “Watching the video of my performance, I thought, ‘Wow, I’m really good at this.’”

The remaining three finalists included Milan Jesic from the Bellagio, Taras Ploshchanski from the Venetian, and Chaz Chim from Muckleshoot Casino in Washington.

Hoffman’s success powerfully illustrates that Las Vegas casinos risk missing out on exceptional talent while adhering to outdated hiring practices and industry biases, rather than focusing on genuine dealing expertise.