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Tipping
Let me say at the outset that I don’t believe in tipping unless a service has been rendered in a particularly efficient and pleasant manner. In a casino, tipping is never required. You are in total control as to when, where, and how much to tip.
Something many people are unaware of is that if you give someone a large tip for an instance of extraordinary service, your tip will be shared with the other employees in that service group on that shift. To comply with IRS regulations, all tips must be pooled and taxes withheld by the employer before the remaining money is divided among the workers. So your big tip is first taxed and then the balance is split up evenly between all the workers in that group. Sometimes even the lowest level of supervision shares in the tip pool. This doesn’t seem to bother some people, but it bothers me.
In a restaurant, the tipping situation is well defined. The 15-percent tip has become so standardized that many patrons leave 15 percent whether the service was good, bad, or mediocre. In a casino, however, there are large gray areas. So much so that many people overtip when tipping isn’t even indicated.
Let’s start with the change attendant. Change persons are not normally tipped for making change. So the conventional wisdom is that if a change person provides a special service, a tip would be appropriate. What sort of special service could she provide? I don’t really know. Changing a hundred-dollar bill? But that’s her job, and changing a hundred is not a particularly difficult task. This is probably becoming a moot point, now that almost all machines accept paper currency.
I’ve read in some sites that you should tip a change person who directs you to a “hot” machine. Granted, that would be a special service, but how could she know which machines are hot? And if she really knows, why aren’t her friends playing them?
However, if you walked away from a game, inadvertently leaving your purse behind or some credits in the machine, and the change person chased you down, that would be worth a tip! Of course it’s much easier when you play in an online casino.
After winning a jackpot, you might tip the change person, just because you feel generous. But then, shouldn’t you also tip the person who paid you off and the security guard who accompanied this person? How about the minimum-wage person who cleaned up the coin wrappers and the ashtrays around your machine? Should you tip all these people? Remember that you will probably pay taxes on your winnings. Any tips you give out will be pooled and taxed as well.
The other service provider that you encounter while playing slots is the cocktail waitress. This is a no-brainer. You normally tip her fifty cents to a dollar per drink, depending on her efficiency and the complexity of the drink you order. If you are playing a dollar machine, I suggest you tip at least a dollar or you will look like a cheapskate.
