PokerWorks

Why would a skilled and highly rated dealer and casino manager with 15 years of experience be jobless for the past eight months? The dealer in question is Cynthia Fields. You might recognize her name from the many news stories that ran in the past year. Cynthia was dismissed from her dealer job at the Wynn Las Vegas in January 2007 when she challenged casino boss Steve Wynn.

Although casinos deny that they blacklist employees, Fields is starting to get the feeling that she was indeed placed on a list and has a big black X next to her name. "I'll have a great interview and then they'll do the background check".

Once the background check is complete, she never gets a call back. Why wouldn't a casino want to hire someone with 15 years of experience in upscale casinos? Especially when good dealers are hard to come by and they are always looking for hard working experienced workers. Could it be that they are looking at Cynthia as a trouble maker? Are they fearful that a woman with firm beliefs will walk in and try to run things? Maybe they think that hiring Cynthia is too controversial. One thing is for sure, Cynthia Fields didn't let Steve Wynn intimidate her, she fought for herself and for all dealers in Las Vegas and she seems to be paying the price now.

According to a lawsuit that Cynthia Fields filed, Steve Wynn lost his temper during an October 30 meeting and "slammed his fists so hard on the table that water glasses fell to the floor". The topic at hand was a new company decision to add supervisors to the pool of people sharing dealer's tips. This change was controversial because it would drastically decrease the take home pay of dealers by 20%. Wynn stands by his decision because he says that dealers were making more money than their supervisors, thus creating an imbalance making it difficult for him to recruit new management.

The lawsuit went on to say that "Wynn became even more enraged, began to gesture wildly at (Fields) and yelled in her face that he was the most powerful man in Nevada".

Shortly after the meeting, Fields was dismissed from her position at the Wynn.

The National Labor Relations Board found that Fields' complaint had merit and testimony was given last week. A decision isn't expected for at last a month, but at any rate, this is definitely a step in the right direction for dealers. If the Board rules in her favor, Cynthia can expect back wages and it's possible that she could even be reinstated at The Wynn. Would she even want to work at the Wynn again?

I think time will tell, but I for one am pulling for Cynthia and for all of the dealers working in Las Vegas. I will be anxiously awaiting the results coming forth in the next few weeks.