Testimonials
Testimonials of people inspired by starting or changing their career with Tony Shelton Dealing School. Our mission is to prepare our students with training and career opportunities.
Tony Shelton Dealing School provided me with the opportunity to follow my poker passion and earn a competitive, flexible living. With over 35 years in management and financial industry, I moved with my wife to Las Vegas for the sun and Vegas lifestyle. I was looking for a job within one of my passions (golf, poker for example), good earning potential and flexible scheduling to allow for travel.
After talking with my wife and James at the school, I decided a Poker Dealer career would meet my new career goals. After a quick and thorough seven week poker dealing course, I was able to secure a poker dealer position at a leading Las Vegas strip poker room. Six month’s into my new career, I’ve had a lot of fun, made good money and met some good friends.
I would recommend the Tony Shelton Dealing School to anyone seeking a poker dealing career, industry leading and respected instruction, good earning potential and flexible scheduling.
If dealing poker table games is something you are looking into as a new career? Then Tony Shelton Dealing School is the best school in Las Vegas! It’s a 6-8 week course & the head instructors name is James. You will learn dealer mechanics and all variations of poker from holdem, stud, Omaha, & draw games. What I liked most about the school is the fact that James keeps his classes small so you actually get the proper & intimate training that you may need for some of the games especially if you don’t have prior knowledge of the game! James has over 35 years of experience in casino/poker/poker dealing so there’s nothing James hasn’t seen nor experienced himself. Another great thing about the school is when the WSOP comes around in May, James will set all of his newly graduated dealers up for an audition! TSDS has the highest number of hirings by the WSOP for new graduates because James teaches the proper way to deal. The final reason I would suggest going to TSDS is due to the fact everyone is close like family. James doesn’t have to but he does let his graduated students come back to visit & refresh their skills if needed! James is a good man & instructor with a abundance of knowledge in the casino/poker industry. I’m also a poker fan/player who thinks of himself as a knowledgeable player but I have to admit after going & graduating from school & just talking to James about poker. I am a better player also! Thanx James!
Transitioning from a 20-year military career was a frightening and confusing task that I recently had to tackle. I decided to make Las Vegas my new home and seek a job in the casino industry while continuing my education at UNLV; neither of which was a simple mission. With the help and assistance of an Army veteran James Kean, the owner of Tony Sheldon’s dealing School “TSDS”, I was able to rapidly complete his course and find a job within 4 months. With no dealing experience, Mr. Kean and his team of professional instructors was able to give me the knowledge and confidence to pass the WSOP audition and work in a poker room in a major casino in the heart of the Las Vegas strip.
When I arrived in Vegas I visited every major dealing school in Las Vegas and spoke with instructors at each. Tony Shelton’s Dealing School was the clear winner. When I spoke with James I could sense his dedication and to-the-point attitude. He made it transparent that in the same way I was choosing schools he was choosing students. James does his best to only choose students who will dedicate themselves. Don’t let this be intimidating it means that he wants everybody to succeed and he wants to know you want to succeed when you attend the school.
When I entered into Tony Shelton’s Dealing School as a student I didn’t expect that my life would change so significantly. Beginning with minimal poker knowledge wasn’t an issue. James, John and the students were welcoming and supportive. The school became a second home and the people inside family. We laughed and debated with one and other. We dealt and played for hours and hours a week. There was no room for failure. There was no room for negativity. TSDS provided me with the tools and advice I needed to succeed.
Since graduating I dealt at multiple Las Vegas casinos. Passing the hardest auditions and obtaining jobs at high profile Casino’s before career dealers and students from other schools. James and John taught me everything I needed to know to succeed as a dealer.
Other than Vegas casino’s I’ve dealt the World Series of Poker. I’ve also been hired for multiple circuit stops on land and sea. I’ve traveled, made friends, made money and enjoyed adventures. I have a great education from Tony Shelton’s. But, most of all I have the memories and experiences I gained because of the school.
Hi, my name is Christopher. I graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business law from the University of Toledo. Since then, I have worked in a variety of industries before moving to Las Vegas. My passion for poker is what motivated me to research becoming a poker dealer. After extensive research and conversation among the poker community, I decided to enroll in Tony Shelton Dealing School. My first day I anticipated being nervous as I was entering a new environment. My nerves were immediately alleviated when I met James and the rest of the instructors for the first time. The other students were also very pleasant and helpful in the learning process. It truly felt like we were a team helping each other learn. The most important factor to my success was the student to instructor ratio. I felt like any flaw I had was immediately addressed. After only a couple of days dealing, I went to my first audition with complete confidence. I was extremely pleased to find out I passed the audition and had a job. This is a testament of how diligently James works to place his students in dealing positions. Every student I know at the school had a job in place or was currently working. This is undoubtedly the best investment I have ever made. I am truly grateful for all of the help of the instructors and fellow students. I know I made the right choice, when choosing Tony Shelton Dealing School for my poker dealing career.
First of all, I never thought that I would be living in Las Vegas, since I spent most of my life in San Jose, California. Recently, I moved down here in search of a new career, becoming a card dealer. Contrary to my expectations, there were not many dealing schools advertised online in Las Vegas. Before I chose Tony Shelton Dealing School (TSDS), I visited the other schools in person, in order for me to feel the hands-on atmosphere of each school. Intuitively, I felt TSDS would be a good fit for me to develop my new career. My hunch was right. Their training was intensive and motivation oriented, sometimes sacrificing the instructor’s own person time. The outcome was amazing. Within a short period of time after enrollment at TSDS, I was accepted as a WSOP poker dealer for 2014. Without TSDS’s strenuous effort in training, it would have been hard to become a WSOP poker dealer in such a short period of time. Good job TSDS!
Hi, my name is Sunhee. I moved to Las Vegas a couple of years ago from California. Originally I am from Korea. I worked in the restaurant industry before I became interested in being a poker dealer. I knew I needed to choose a good dealer school as the first step into a new career. Several schools came up in the online search results. I assessed the company introduction, mission statement, history, reputation, comments and instructors of each school. After comparison I was attracted to Tony Shelton’s Dealing School, probably because the owner has several decades of poker dealing experience. I decided to bet on that school as a starting point for my new career. I signed up for the class right away. The staff were so nice and all instructors very helpful. My instructor, James Kean, was very passionate in an effort to try to teach us everything he knows. Finally and thankfully, I was able to pass the WSOP audition for 2014. Now I am so excited to be a poker dealer in the World Series of Poker tournament. Thanks Tony Shelton’s Dealing School!
Before I came to this school, I knew next to nothing about poker except that I enjoyed watching it on TV. I wanted to understand it better and decided to take my interest seriously and go to school. I am now confidently and profitably playing at various poker rooms after only 3 months of TSDS’s free classes.
Hello and many thanks to everyone at Tony Shelton’s Poker School !! My name is Iana and I want to let anyone interested in a career in poker dealing to contact the very professional staff at Tony Shelton’s Poker School located in Las Vegas. I came to the United States from Ukraine in 2010 and decided I would like to try dealing as a career. I spoke english pretty well but I had no idea how to play poker and did not know anything about the terminology used around the casinos or in the poker rooms.I literately could not even spell “POKER”. With lots of help and patience from James Kean and the other instructors I was able to complete the courses in 7 weeks. Then I was hired to deal my first tournament within 2 weeks. I feel certain that I would not have had this opportunity if it were not for the Tony Shelton Poker School. I urge everyone to take a chance and start your career in this very lucrative industry.
I was referred to TSDS by a floor manager of a local casino while I was working as a tradeshow model at the WSOP. I honestly knew nothing about poker except that a royal flush was the best hand possible. When I finally made the decision to approach James Kean about dealing, he informed me that I must learn how to play before I could deal. After 3 months of just learning how to play, I was already online whooping butt and the transition to dealing was a breeze. TSDS has made me so excited to cross over to poker from the nightclub industry, where I have been for the past 14 years. Thanks to the top notch instruction provided by TSDS, I am 100% confident that I will do very well as a professional dealer.