US Dealer Championships Introduced at G2E 2025

^{Inside G2E’s massive expo hall, dealers from across the country competed in the first-ever U.S. Championship. (Photo: @GlobalGamingExpo on X)}

LAS VEGAS 一 This year, the Global Gaming Expo (G2E) not only celebrated its 25th anniversary, but hosted the first ever U.S. Table Game Dealer Championship for table game dealers across the country.

Elleonor Hoffman of the Graton Resort and Casino in California was named the winner, and when her name was announced, the room erupted in cheers and clapping. She dropped to her knees upon seeing the check for $5,000 waiting for her, visibly emotional when she accepted the trophy. It made for a heartwarming end to a three-day competition that celebrated the artistry, skill, and attention to detail that go into running table games on the casino floor.

Vegas Local Books a Win for the Bay Area

Hoffman spoke with Casinos.com right after her win. Perhaps surprisingly, she's a Las Vegas native who moved to the Bay Area specifically for the job at Graton, located about 45 minutes from San Francisco. 

She talked about how she spent more than two decades working in casino games aboard Royal Caribbean cruise ships. After returning back to Las Vegas, she hoped to find a job on the Strip, but struggled to land one after so many applications. That might change now that she's been crowned the best table game dealer in America.

Elleonor Hoffman of Graton Resort & Casino holds her championship trophy as fellow finalists Madalina Restia of The Cosmopolitan and Marko Vekovic of Encore Las Vegas look on with their checks. (Photo: Vanessa Alves-Johnson / Casinos.com)

 “I wanted this trophy more than the money,” she said. “Now that I have it, my feeling is bigger than the world. Vegas is my home, but winning this for California, that's a big deal.”

She credited her success to all of her practice and training with her coach, but she just followed her gut instinct and did what she always does best, and it showed with the way that she engaged with the judges during her rounds and always kept a smile on her face.

Dealer Championship Comes to the US

This year's event marked the first time that the Dealer Championships were ever held on a national level in the U.S. Inspired by the long-running European Dealer Championships, it made its debut in Las Vegas at G2E, in the heart of the casino world.

34 competitors came from across the country, representing tribal and regional casinos along with several Las Vegas megaresorts. The judging panel was made up of various gaming-related experts, including table game directors, casino managers, CEOs, and even former iGaming Control Board inspectors. They scored each participant in several different categories including their guest interaction skills, technical skills, and overall management of the game to determine finalists.

The 3-day competition began with a practice round in front of the judges before moving into official gameplay on Days Two and Three. Day Two tested the dealers in rounds of blackjack and roulette, and Day Three kicked off with a cheque-racking skill contest, which tested how quickly and accurately the dealers could stack chips by the same color and denomination. After that, the 34 competitors were narrowed down to 12 finalists, who faced off in yet another round of blackjack and roulette before the top three were named. 

Elizabeth Ghafarshad of the Horseshoe Casino cheers on Vivian Herrera, a dealer from Downtown Grand, in the cheque racking competition. (Photo: Vanessa Alves-Johnson / Casinos.com)

The effort to bring this event to G2E was spearheaded by Barbara Woodo, a table games executive at MGM National Harbor, who personally spent $6,000 of her own money to travel to the Netherlands with her husband to study the original competition and help design this one.

Each participant received a two-night stay at The Palms, thanks to Yaamava’ Resort & Casino, while the top three dealers earned cash prizes -- with $5,000 going to the winner, $3,000 going to the runner-up, and $2,000 for third. The champion also received their own trophy, with another sent to their home casino for display.

Celebrating Faces Behind the Felt

Even though it was a contest, the atmosphere felt more like a celebration of people behind the tables rather than something that would pit the dealers against each other. The makeup of the competitors was just as diverse as all the casinos they came from, and the camaraderie was really heartwarming, to say the least.

Vivian Herrera from the Downtown Grand was one of the only dealers from a downtown Vegas casino in the competition. Having been at the Grand only a month, she was a relative rookie and had to face off against veterans who had decades in the profession. 

Madalina Restia was one of the early standouts, representing The Cosmopolitan. She won the cheque racking contest with her quick speed of 1 minute and 40.8 seconds. Her poise and energy were eye-catching because she was able to move quickly through her rounds and keep the judges smiling. When they won, she would celebrate them, and even when they would lose, she would encourage them to keep pushing. It was no surprise that she finished in second place, so we can imagine how skilled she must be when she's actually on the casino floor.

Dealers Elizabeth Ghafarshad and Brianna Albin shared their experiences in having competed in the first championship.  Ghafarshad, representing Horseshoe Las Vegas, entered the table-games industry less than two years ago after a career in real estate in Idaho. Albin, representing The Palazzo, has been dealing for eight years and she got her start in her early 20s doing table games at casinos like the Golden Nugget.

Brianna Albin, a dealer at The Palazzo, focuses in on her round during the Dealer Championship. She pushed through her rounds well, despite fighting off the nerves. (Photo: Vanessa Alves-Johnson / Casinos.com)

This competition really helped to show why people love table-game dealers. It not only adds to the fun of the game you're playing in the casino, but each dealer has a different story in the way they go about things to add even more to the experience than just dealing the cards.

A Memorable Finish for G2E 2025

Alongside Hoffman’s first-place win were Restia (from The Cosmopolitan) in second, and Marco Vekovic of Encore Las Vegas in third. It was a surprise for many to see a casino outside of Las Vegas take home the first-place trophy, but a welcome reminder that there are so many talented casino professionals and great casinos far beyond the strip. 

The event wrapped up with an open bar and loud applause for everyone who attended, and it would be great to see the competition return at next year's Expo with some new faces (or familiar ones) competing for the prize. The Dealer Championship proved to be one of the most engaging events of G2E 2025, giving attendees a chance to step away from the bustling expo floor and celebrate some of the most important people in casino entertainment.