MY STORY

My name is Darryl Naigan and I have been a dealer in the San Diego market for over 22 years. Whether it was by chance or luck, everyone I know in the casino industry arrived in a unique way. This is my story.

My dad gave me my first casino experience by taking me to Viejas casino on my 19th birthday. I was instantly intrigued by the fast pace high action environment I was surrounded by. My first card game I learned with my pops was Pai Gow. In two hands my dad made $1000! And as we were leaving the table, he gave the dealer a $90 tip. Automatically the wheels started turning in my head. “Wow, $90 for literally less than five minutes of work!” I was super young but not naïve. I knew that this didn’t happen all the time but what if it happened three or four times a night. If it was four times, that meant the dealer would make $360 a night along with their hourly base wage. It definitely piqued my interest. I was surprised that it was possible to make a living off of dealing games. And that’s how my Casino journey began.

I didn’t have a clue how to become a casino dealer so I took my banking experience and applied for a cage cashier position at a local casino in order to gather Intel. My whole intention was to solidify what I had witnessed with my dad on my birthday. AND I DID! As a cage cashier, one of my duties was to cash out the Blackjack dealers at the end of their night. Dealer cash outs ranged anywhere from $40 to $2000 a night. Of course it wasn’t consistent but one thing I did know was that it was consistently better than the hourly flat rate jobs that I had been doing. And the rest is history. In a blink of an eye two decades have passed. The casino industry has not only blessed me financially but has blessed me with lifelong friends, amazing experiences, and an extensive network. Most of all, it has blessed me with an amazing wife and five beautiful children. 

My goal was to gradually transition out of the frontlines to teach and mentor the next generation of local casino dealers. I was constantly teaching new dealers at work and wanted to make the leap to do it full-time at the new school. My vision was to open a school for students who were eager to learn a trade that can be used not just locally but worldwide as well. With the insight and experience I have accumulated over the years, I was able to do so.

I'm looking forward to meeting you personally at our San Diego or Phoenix location and excited to help you reach your goals.