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Tipping in casinos at an all time low

Posted on June 28th, 2010

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Northern Nevada’s gaming industry is experiencing a downward trend in tipping among casino players—something that employees in the gaming industry see as a threat to their main source of income. It is known that casino workers depend heavily on tips as a source of income on top of of their minimum wage. However, big tippers, often called Georges, are getting fewer and fewer no thanks to the recession. It doesn’t help that the state still ranks first in unemployment. CEO Larry Woolf, of Navagante Group of Las Vegas confirms that tipping is at an all time low. “I just think people know that the economy is down and there are less tips” he says. Woolf’s group handles the operation of all Nevada Casinos and resorts including Grand Sierra Resort, the largest in Reno.

This trend is affecting employees in almost all gaming establishments, affecting the whole city. Most of these employees, unfortunately rely on the ever important tip, saying that what they earn from tips make up about 80% of their take home pay. Employees and casino owners can point to different reasons affecting the decline in tip amounts. Some believe that players who tip based on discount amounts on food and not the original prices while others point to fewer casino visits. Ken Adams, a Reno gaming analyst claims “Tips are down because people are spending less in every sense,” Less gamers will mean less tips. The current economy and the trends it is experiencing still counts as big reason why tipping less in the Sin City. “In an economy where everything feels great, there is a sense of abundance and that is where the generosity comes from, but in this economy, people feel differently. People think, I have a little extra money but I’ve got to pay rent so I can’t afford this” added Adams.

A number of casinos have also began pulling out some of its table games and slot machines, naturally the tip opportunity is lost as well, while others reason that tipping is something new, or unknown to players, so their general attitude towards it may not be too generous. The best tippers one would imagine is some hot shot millionaire out for a great time in Vegas, a mogul or any tycoon. This is the case for classier restaurants and resorts. However, for others, the best tippers are the middle class wagers,those you think wouldn’t even bother to tip at all. “It’s funny, we have people who live in the downtown shelters who come in. This one man came in and I said ‘Oh my gosh,’ but he ended up being one of my better tippers of the day” says Keri Griffin, a Club Cal Neva card dealer.

It appears that middle class wage earners, those who live off tips themselves tend to be more generous to fellow tipped workers, as they are more “sensitive” to the whole living condition. Bent, a bartender for 20 plus years shares, “Strangely enough, the ones who don’t have a lot of money, the ones hitting the smaller jackpots, the ones who are trying to make ends meet, they are the best tippers, they really are. I think it is because they are on the same level as us, the same wavelength.” Aside from card dealers and bartenders, some claim that cocktail drinks servers earn the highest in tips. “A cocktail waitress, depending on their stations, can make more than dealers do if they have a good station and a good time frame.” said Peppermill Hotel Casino Marketing Director Bill Hughes.