Jean Scott wrote:
We have tipped less than these amounts ($20 for $4000 and $50 for
$20,000) in several Strip casinos and never saw any eye rolling.
Some players may tip higher and the attendants can always hope for
more, but they usually act grateful for whatever they get.
I typically tip about 1% of the hit; 1.5% in the casino that I've
frequented longest and the most and where I'm pretty much known on a
first name basis by many of the floor staff (lending it a sort of
"Cheer's" flavor).
I'm definitely a casual, recreational player. I certainly grasp why
those who play VERY actively would tip much more conservatively,
particularly at higher denominations. The bucks really start to add
up and only a fool would toss $100's out with frequency. It's not
even a matter of being frugal.
I'm predominantly a $.50/$1 player, with less than a handful of $2
hits. There's one of those latter occasions (in AC) that sticks in my
craw. I handed over $80 to the attendent (who appeared a senior
member of the floor staff) and $20 to the security guard. The
attendent pocketed the cash with no acknowledgement, just a rather
sour look on his face, and walked away. I resisted the urge to chase
after him and demand a refund.
The most refreshing tipping experience was at an AC casino that,
admittedly, tends to attract lesser heeled clients. I nailed a $1
royal. There was a fair delay in being paid. Eventually, two people
showed up with the money and reset the machine ... clearly running a
circuit through a short staffed floor with several machines to go. I
was paid in all hundreds.
Now that's cause for chagrin since it's suggests the expectation of a
very generous tip. But I pocketed the cash and looked down to dig for
a couple of twenties in my jeans. I secured the bills and looked up
only to see them hustling away to their next handpay. I was stunned.
I chased after them (leaving a couple hundred dollars on my machine
meter). The gleam in their eye when I caught up with them and handed
them the cash made it clear that they truly had expected no tip at
all. That was a first! ... and it left me with the deepest regard for
the casino ever since.
···
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A comment on this thread. Ultimately, tipping the attendents after a
handpay is no different in nature than tipping any other service
employee. You're tipping not only for the handpay but all other
services from which you benefit during play, be it routine machine
servicing, a machine shutdown, the favor of watching your machine
while you take a restroom break, or any other service.
What someone tips should be a matter of their own conscience and not a
matter of obligation ... no matter what the recipient might seem to
expect. And, if you're acting in good conscience, there's no cause
whatsoever to be concerned for their expectations.
It's simply a matter where you should be cognizant that it's expected
that a portion of the employees compensation will be in the form of
tipping for service -- and that you should regard tipping as being in
lieu of a higher product cost or lower quality (whether in the form of
an actual higher price, lower quality service, or poorer paytables).
Don't regard it as unreasonable. Just tip according to what you find
reasonable in that frame of reference ... and by no means tip simply
out of obligation.
- Harry
- Harry
