Seven years spent working at one of London's leading casinos has taught Scott Theobald a thing or two about gambling.

The 34-year-old from Addiscombe, who has seen punters win and lose a million pounds, became a croupier after he was made redundant from his job at BT.

Before he got a job at a plush Mayfair casino in central London he underwent a tough eight-week training programme.

He says: "I was taught all aspects of the job from shuffling and dealing cards, setting down chips and learning the five or six games that are played in casinos.

"There's a lot of calculation that goes on in the croupier's head so it helps if you are good at maths.

"You have got to be on the ball, particularly when people are playing with such large sums of money.

"It's not unusual to see people play £10,000 or £20,000 games.

"I've seen someone win a million pounds and seen others lose half a million in a night. At the end of the day it's all down to luck."

Over the years Scott has seen many a punter trying to cheat their way to the jackpot. He says: "The most common scam is people miscalling bets when the dealer's not on the ball, saying: I said 13 not 30'.

"The more sophisticated scams happen at the bigger casinos. There was one at the Ritz a few months ago where gamblers were accused of using lasers to read the roulette wheel.

"But overall it's very difficult to cheat. The surveillance equipment is very sophisticated it has to be."

But do croupiers ever get tempted to slip a chip or two into their pocket?

"No, never" laughs Scott. "Besides, I never see it as money. You never really see chips as real currency.

"If you put a £20 note down on the table and lost it, it would bug you, but it doesn't seem real when it's a plastic chip."

Under the UK's gaming laws, croupiers are not allowed to gamble in casinos in this country.

However, Scott admits he enjoys the odd flutter when abroad, adding: "It's a bit of fun, but take the money to lose.

"If you go to a casino with money and you can't afford to lose, you shouldn't be in there."