It is the contention of long time dealer (and a good one) Mike Rayno, that from a dealers prospective poker has changed for the best. It is a foregone conclusion that poker is much better for the players compared to even ten years ago. Rayno has dealt almost 30 years in Mississippi, Reno/Lake Tahoe as well as here in Vegas, starting at the Plantation in Reno in 1977

Mike has dealt many tournaments in the afore mentioned areas including several WSOPs. When asked how poker improved for the dealer, he stated "Not being able to smoke at the table at most rooms around the country (boy, this reporter can relate to that... it's the pits having a smoker in the "1" or "10"  seat when you're in the box, I mean you can't change seats or change tables or place a fan next to you).

Also allowing food at the table, (unfortunately not in all rooms as of yet!) helps keep the game full, which helps the action and the size of the pots. More action and bigger pots lead to a bigger toke which leads to a happy dealer. The most significant change however, according to Mike and I'm sure most dealers that have been dealing for more than 25 years, is the change in attitude by management regarding dealer abuse. In the "old days" players could get away with degrading your heritage, questioning your legitimacy, throwing the cards at your chest, or sometimes even your face if their pitching arm was off, not to mention urinating on a dealer that they blamed when they lost a hand, and other abusing that can't be mention in a family publication. In those days the dealer had very little recourse. If they returned the verbal abuse or complained to management they were liable to get fired.  Today however, if a player complains about the dealer over-raking or even looks cross-eyed at the dealer, the player is subject to discipline. Amusingly, one of Mike's pet peeves is women in card rooms. "They whine too much" Mike replied. "Even my own mother and sister complain about bad beats I dealt them", complained Mike. Mike is one of the few dealers that I've seen at this WSOP that shuffles up, keeps his head down and pays attention to the game like a seasoned professional should. When put to the question, "You're stuck in the box dealing high-limit stud for the whole shift, which seven players would you NOT want to see? Mike replied after a little thought...   Puggy Pearson     Stu Unger     Johnny Chan     Ray Zee     Richard Demask     Big Bruce     Yoshi