Trained blackjack dealer nominated for Chief of Justice of California

Tani Cantil-Sakauye has been nominated for the Chief of Justice position in California by none other than the state governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Tani is a trained blackjack dealer and she would be the first dealer to become a member of the court as well as the first Asian-American chief justice and Filipina justice.

Tani learned to be a blackjack dealer when she was a student and she began dealing at the Lake Tahoe Harrah’s Casino on the weekends as well as the summers. The money Tani earned as a blackjack dealer was used to pay for her law school degree which she obtained at the University of California.

Tani then would earn a job at the district attorney’s office in Sacramento and this would start her long career. Tani commented that she is grateful for the ‘trust’ that the governor has in her as a jurist, a woman and a Filipina. She stated that being nominated to serve on the court is a dream come true.

2010-07-23