The stakes are high
From Japanese mafia to Aussie drunks in double pluggers, the dealers at SkyCity have seen it all. Cool, calm and collected, they know the show must go on
SILENCE. It’s the middle of the wet season and there is complete silence in a villa at SkyCity Darwin. There’s no airconditioning, the only breeze coming from the odd open window. Humidity is at its highest.
In this villa is a Japanese yakuza and his entourage.
His bodyguard pats down everyone who enters the room. Most are missing the top of their pinky finger, often a form of penance, dedication or apology to Japan’s most notorious organised crime syndicates. The only time the yakuza removes his jewellery is when he heads to the bathroom. He’ll remove each ring, one by one, and leave them on the table for his return.
For hours, the dealer stands under incredible pressure, making sure they concentrate on every little detail, every card they put down, every chip they take or hand out. The maths must be perfect. This is one guy you don’t want to piss off.
Working at the casino for 21 years, Trevor Browne has seen this and more, yet doesn’t seem phased about serving one of Japan’s most dangerous criminals. Trevor talks of the highs and lows of the casino, celebrating with those who win and mourning with those who lose. He said if winning was going well for a high roller, they could request for him to stay their dealer for the entire night.
Trevor works closely with Aaron Ranie, who’s been at SkyCity for 15 years. Aaron tells of long nights as a dealer in the villas, watching $250,000 bets being put down by some of the biggest high rollers in the world.
“You just do the job and don’t think about the numbers, but there are times when you are staring down a bet that could essentially buy you a house,” he said.
“You tend to think about it a little then, because these guys put it down and don’t even blink. There’s a lot of characters here and, while a lot of people are tucked up in bed, usually we are grinding away.”
Sounding like a scene from a James Bond movie, Trevor and Aaron take delight in sharing their stories. It’s hard to believe Darwin, a city one 33rd the size of Sydney, could attract major high rollers. But it does. Some hire out villas, intending to stay 10 days, but stay just one night and leave after a big win. Others plan to stay three days and end up spending a month here.
Often they are retired, wealthy businessmen who play golf during the day and gamble at night. More often than not, they are from Asian countries such as Singapore, Japan and China, and are in the company of friends, family members, their pilots, ‘massage girls’, security or even just people who fly with them with the sole purpose of supporting them while they gamble.
Their game of choice is baccarat, purely because the odds are so good. Baccarat is a comparing card game played between two hands — the player and the banker.
“The highs for me are inspecting the junkets where the overseas high rollers are in the private villas,” Trevor said.
“You get to see some really good bets, some good action and usually they are pretty easy to get along with, but some of them are a bit demanding. They ask for things like total silence in the room, phones on vibrate, no talking whatsoever.
“Another thing they like is all the doors open because some of them think the airconditioning is too noisy, so we have to turn it off. When they go to their room for a rest, we turn it back on to cool the room down.”
But it’s not all big bets and private villas. A huge part of the casino is the floor where dealers wait on tables playing a range of games — poker, roulette, war. In Darwin, you’ll find the average Joe in board shorts, shirt and thongs betting at the same table as someone who’s just come from an elegant dinner wearing designer clothing, later taken away in a chauffeured car. It’s a picture most casinos around the country would not be able to paint and it’s unique to Darwin.
Aaron explains the change in the role of the dealer and how it’s evolved in the last couple of decades. The stony-faced dealer, doing nothing but dealing cards and handing out or taking away chips is now an entertainer, celebrating or sympathising with their clientele. While dealers can’t discuss personal issues, take tips or tell someone how to play the game, they can interact with patrons.
“Sometimes you get involved with them and really support them, when they celebrate, you celebrate,” he said.
“The reason I’ve been here so long is because I love the job, talking about highs and lows with our clients, and we get to meet different people all the time.”
But luck, well, that’s something neither Trevor or Aaron can really explain. On any night, you could have someone with all the luck in the world playing next to someone who just can’t catch a break. Is it luck, chance or just our way of explaining something no one really can?
“I think luck is a good explanation for it,” Aaron said. “When you see someone winning a lot and the next person losing a lot, you’ve got to put it down to something. Luck is just that term you use for that, I guess, so you can keep yourself from losing it.
“If I go on holiday anywhere that has a casino, I do like to gamble. But my only advantage is that I’ve seen people get greedy, so I know to set limits for myself.”
Gambling can suck the life out of a person. It can be addictive, thrilling and exhilarating all in one. The 87 floor staff working at the casino are trained to ensure no patron is sucked in to a crippling addiction. They can read the telltale signs of an addict — sweating, nervousness, agitation. Specially trained staff can pull people away from the tables to have a discreet coffee and ask if eveything is OK at home, whether they are in debt or desperate, almost like a councillor. While those who hire private villas for gambling can be screened to make sure they are not in over their heads, it can be difficult to assess someone on the general floor.
Contrary to popular belief, a casino actually enjoys watching people win. It’s contagious. Winners bring in new winners; news of good fortune spreads fast. But mixing gambling with alcohol does not always work. Situations can get hairy and, while the gaming room is under constant surveillance, good fortune can change in a second.
“I once saw a good fight on a roulette table between two players,” Trevor said.
“This was about 15 years ago. An Asian guy was sitting at the table playing and there were two big Aussie guys standing back with their beers. They would reach over and just put a bet on every couple of spins. The little Asian guy got really frustrated and ended up lunging at the Aussie guy. The Aussie guy fell back and broke his glass, so he just started slashing (the Asian man) and cut him all down the arm. The security guard had to hold the arm together to stop the muscle from falling out. When it happened, I was an inspector at the table and another person was the dealer, and she was like ‘Oh my god what do I do?’. I said ‘Just spin up, spin the ball’. We’re told never to stop the games, so we didn’t.”
He sees funny things too. One man was eating a fish congee while playing baccarat. After finishing the pungent meal, the gentleman suddenly turned his head and vomited it up on the floor, offering no apology or embarrassment, simply moving to the next seat to continue playing.
Another decided it was too difficult a task to go to the bathroom, so decided to urinate on the floor, where it hit the dealer’s foot.
“I’ve had a handful of hairy situations over the years,” Aaron said. “I remember when I was dealing with two-up and a patron got quite intoxicated and was arguing with his partner. He threw his dice across the table and they hit me in the head. It was a bit odd and out of the blue.
“Many scenarios involve alcohol and people losing money, and they start to get agro. It’s not a good combo and doesn’t happen often, but our job is to be on top of those things from the start.”
Through the highs, the lows, the good and the bad, a casino anywhere guarantees a good night out. But in true Darwin style, SkyCity offers a fusion not found anywhere else. It’s where the bush meets the city, and everything in between. It’s where someone in doublepluggers meets a pair of Christian Louboutin stilettos, and the two will happily sit together and enjoy a drink while betting on a game of roulette. While some big changes are expected in the next six to 12 months, the casino will forever pride itself on being a Darwin icon. Somewhere where people can have good and bad luck — if that’s what you want to call it.