The nation's first school for casino croupiers will open in Nakano Ward, Tokyo, in April as lawmakers and local governors push to legalize casinos in Japan.

Being a croupier may be a profession unfamiliar to many in Japan, but it is a popular job for youths in the United States, where top-level dealers earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.

In December, Japan Casino School held a session for prospective students.

More than a dozen people, including salaried workers, had their first experience at operating a roulette wheel and took turns playing the role of dealer and players in Black Jack.

"In the severe employment conditions, it is difficult to find that dream job," said a 22-year-old male student at a university in Saitama Prefecture. "I want to give it a try because I like games."

He said he plans to take a one-year course at the school while continuing to study at the university.

About a year ago, Tokyo and four prefectural governors delivered a petition to the central government calling for the ban on casinos to be lifted. Legalizing casinos would generate income and create jobs amid the economic slump, they said.

Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara is one of the proponents of legalizing casinos. The metro government estimates that building casinos in Tokyo would bring economic benefits of about 200 billion yen.

A group of ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers is also preparing to submit a bill to the Diet seeking to lift the ban.

But others point out that casinos will have detrimental effects, simply providing Japan's criminal organizations with a new source of funding.

According to an Internet-based survey of 5,000 people last fall by Hakuhodo Inc., 49 percent of respondents said they support the legalization of casinos and 23 percent said they were opposed.