By Jonathan Zaun
Plenty of people head to the casino hoping to find fortune on their side, but for dealer Sean Ferry of the BlueWater Resort and Casino in Parker, Ariz., finding his place in the poker room proved to be quite fortunate indeed. After growing up in Pennsylvania, playing lively home games that involved everything from razz to midnight baseball, a young Ferry suddenly found himself suffering from the symptoms of acute appendicitis. During his convalescence, Ferry decided to make a drastic transition in his life, packing up and heading across the country to live in Parker.
Today, the 26-year-old Ferry has embraced a career in the gaming industry, and Ante Up is proud to share his story in our latest edition to the Dealer Spotlight series. As a poker dealer at BlueWater, a casino resort on the bank of the Colorado River in Southwestern Arizona, Ferry’s dedication during every down has quickly made him a favorite of regulars.
“When it comes to dealing, I like to apply what I’ve learned from previous jobs as far as my work ethic,” Ferry said. “I always try to be professional, respectful, courteous, patient, attentive and diligent, and I try to learn something new every day. I enjoy applying that to my dealing, finding a way to run my game faster, smoother, be more efficient, and all without sacrificing the comfort of my players or the quality of their time at BlueWater.”
Ferry has translated his childhood passion for card games into a successful start to his dealing career, and as he tells it, this initial experience with poker’s many variants helps him manage the game efficiently and effectively.
“I grew up around poker, and I’ve been playing cards for as long as I can remember,” he said. “We used to get together all the time for cash games, freezeout tournaments, and we would play very interesting games, from pot-limit Omaha/8 to seven-card stud split eight or better, baseball, midnight baseball, little red big red, five-card draw, pineapple, razz, and more that I can’t even remember. We used to have a ball.”
Having traversed an unlikely path to arrive at BlueWater, Ferry remains gracious and grateful when he considers the effect his colleagues have had on his professional development.
“My friends and family have been a big part of my support system through this incredible journey, and the friends I’ve made here at BlueWater have really become a second family to me,” he said. “I have so much love and respect for the people I’ve come to know over the last couple of years here. I have a special love for being a dealer; it’s the most fun and rewarding job I’ve ever done. It’s crazy to think that I get paid to laugh and have fun every single day.”
