Hi Bob,

Pamela, one of the original croupiers at the Paris that was working the table last weekend was born in Ireland, has no hint of any accent, but I think she is fairly fluent in several languages, French being one of them. Louis, working the table for the first time I've been there since May, is from Hungary, also one of the original table staff. I don't know what other languages he speaks, but his accent isn't false. Allen Banick and he had a very lively exchange Friday night, as Allen had returned from a European vacation last month that included a visit to Budapest. Louis was eager for info about casinos in his home country. Andre, who I didn't see this weekend, is THE MAN at that table. He's the one that remembers every bet I've ever made! <G> He's a young man, I've never asked him about his country of origin, but he is the house expert on European roulette. Very heavy accent, but I'm not sure of the origin.

There are several people who no longer deal the table, most who were schooled in Europe in the game (probably will see most of them at the Aladdin soon). The Paris staff does train strictly American dealers to use French when paying off a win, or counting out a buy-in, just to add flavor to the game, but they don't require them to be fluent in the language if they are good at working the table.

Looking forward to playing that table with you next year!

Bob