The
question of whether to pool tips or to let dealers go for their own is an
enduring one. However, at the recently held Global Gaming Expo (G2E) in Las
Vegas, a growing number of table game executives appear to be embracing the
latter, entrepreneurial approach.
“Going
for your own makes for a very hard working staff,” said Dallas Teerlink,
director of table games, Running Aces Harness Park, Columbus, Minn., whose
Minnesota race track property is entirely reliant on table games for gaming
revenue. “They get hands-per-hour up because they are in business for
themselves. If you’re not on top of things, they will try to do things that
they shouldn’t do. But, for the most part, we have a real warm, cozy place
because our dealers are engaged. You walk in the door and you have every dealer
trying to get you to come to their game. Our dealers average tips of $250 to
$300 per day, they work three days a week. Just recently we had a big
progressive go off and the winner gave two racks of $100 chips, which was a
$20,000 tip. Going for your own makes you want to come to work and make what
you need to make.”
Dawn
Clayton, assistant general manager, Thunder Valley Casino, Lincoln, Calif.,
said Thunder Valley pools tips, including in the poker room, but starting in
2014, “we probably need to split that out. The thinking was that we brought
baccarat dealers in to deal poker and since they didn’t have the skill set we
would pool them together. But what we’re seeing a tendency not to push hands if
you’re not going man-for-man. Right now, dealers are going an hour-and-a-half
in the poker room without a break. After an hour-and-a-half, they’re raising
their hand and saying they want a break. When you go man-for-man, after three
or four hours, you’re pushing them to take a break. Also, the friendliness and
the guest service that we really try to instill as part of our culture goes up
when we all take ownership for it. If you don’t produce, you’re going home with
no money in your pocket, so we think it will be catalyst for us to make that
change.”
Debra
Nutton, senior vice president, casino operations for Las Vegas-based Bellagio,
traced the history of pooling dealer tokes back to the opening of the Mirage in
1989. “It didn’t take long for us to put all of those tips on a paycheck and I
think it changed the whole mentality of a dealer,” she said. “When I started as
a crap dealer we went for our own. I think the idea was to take your craps and
21 dealers and hope they eventually became a host. Our biggest fear today is
that they will hustle and ask the customers for money. But the truth is your
dealers really did become some of your best salespeople. Today, you go around
any casino and, say they split tips 300 or 400 ways per day; you’re going to
get a lot of dealers who just don’t care.”
“Now
is a very tough time for tips in Las Vegas; tips have probably gone down 25
percent or more,” Nutton added. “If you take a dealer who was living on $200 in
tips a day, that is probably down to $150 now. I say to every dealer if you
think you should be making $300 a day, you better be putting $300 a day in that
toke box.”
Table experts advise dealers to get out of the pool
November 13, 2012
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