Tipping for casino drinks

I have a favorite bartender at Palazzo and she works days. I go to her and she makes me my key lime smoothies with vodka, heavy in the vodka in a great big cup with a lid. Or whatever yummy concoction she wants me to try. She knows I'm taking it to play slots and I love how she knows I'm not staying at the bar and always makes my drinks to go. When I run out I just go up and she gives me another to return to slots with. Most of the time she sends my husband to find me with a new drink while I'm still on a machine. I tip her $5 each time and my husband who stays at the bar playing poker tips her $5-10 every drink. He drinks fast too. Lol

 

Tip whatever you want. They really don't care when it comes down to it. Volume is what servers are after. Just so long as you tip something.

 

Hmmmm...never really thought about the amount. Here at the Hard Rock - you gotta pay for your drinks - so I probably just round up (anything over $15...keep the change out of $20 (so long as it's not just one dollar)). In Vegas, I'm not entirely certain, but I'm pretty sure I just hand her $5 chips. I tend to sip whiskey, so the frequency is not what it would be if I were sipping soda or ginger ale.

 

You have to pay for drinks when gambling?

 

Anything is really OK. Tips are the grease that make Vegas run, so I would never not tip.

Since I started playing mostly at the same places each trip and started getting the same CWs all the time, I usually start with a fiver for the first one (for a brand name, and they usually lean heavy on it), and then $2 or $3 after that. It's still way cheaper than the bars and I always have booze in the room, so it's not like I'm blowing a ton of money on CW tips.

 

Indeed. You pay for firewater whether you're gambling or sitting at the bar.
Coffee & water are free ... but I still tip more than $1.

Now that I think about it, I probably tip heavier because I'm not paying for the product. Not sure what I'd be tipping if Vegas opted to charge for libations when at the table.

 

What makes you say this? I agree on the volume part, it really is a big deal to them but that they don't care how much you tip them? Really? I generally tip either $1, $2 or $5 and I really can tell the difference in their attitude and service afterwards.

I really don't know but I *think* they expect a tip of $1 and anything beyond that is a bonus for them. That said, I have seen some CWs be amazingly grateful for $1 and some that doesn't even break a smile for $5.

 

Read the last sentence, please.

That size font was not intenial.

 

CW doesn't have to make them so it doesn't matter if it's a water or a fancy drink. Her job is the same, order and deliver. Some people just don't tip. My wife has a reg customer that she does a dye, perm and cut. She leaves $1

 

These tipping threads always go the same way, some innocent traveler asks how much to tip - people say go with a buck, others chime in about giving $2 to $3, others say they give $5, 10 or even the occasional $20...them come the comments calling people cheap for giving 50 cents, etc, almost time for another tipping maids thread.

 

Yep. Always some angry, cheap guy making multiple posts chastising the generous among us and lamenting the fact that he can't stiff the hard working CWs.

 

Yup, a buck a drink pisses some people off.

 

I did read it, that's why the question was phrased "that they don't care how much you tip them" instead of "that they don't care if you tip them".

Guess I misunderstood your post then.

 

Here is a different take on this - I take lots of $2 bills with me and almost always start with them. If the service is quick and the drinks solid, I keep it up. If not, I drop to singles. The key is to make eye contact and be sincerely thankful. That and a $2 bill works much better than a flung $5 any day. I do tip $5 if Mrs. S and I both get served however.

 

Let's not forget, CW doesn't make the drinks, she only orders and delivers.

 

Not quite always accurate - I watched the gals at the one station at Paris & they were doing a lot of the finishing work on drinks - whip topping, garnish, etc. Not making from scratch, but still having to do a bunch of the busy work on the drinks.

My only comment regarding coins is that it does after a while weigh a TON. I was a regular server (Perkins restaurants) for YEARS on the weekend. I came home with $25 or more worth of change a few times & trust me - my hip could feel it & I also ended up with bruises on my thigh a few times from the apron pounding the change onto my leg continually as I was walking- bills are a lot lighter lol. They have their tips on the tray in a glass, however the weight still is something to be addressed after a long shift. That's why I stick to paper. That being said, the one gal at our local casino says she doesn't mind change as she tucks it all in a bucket at home and cashes it in when it fills up for a 'bonus' amount of money above and beyond the bills that normally get spent after a shift. (I did that at Perkins too - that change bucket went for vacation).

 

I always give a dollar to the guy who opens the taxi door.

I am just becoming aware of the fact that some valet parking want flat rates for tipping.

The reason for these two statements is this: I have a hard time believing that a hardened, pro CW is overly concerned with who tipped what. Maybe they do, maybe they don't. I believe a real pro is out on the floor hustling and providing the service which leads to the ultimate goal, increasing gambling revenue from the somewhat inebriated.

 

Don't assume that. They are making non-alcoholic beverages, especially coffee, tea and hot chocolate, which can be time-consuming. Also, with what they have programmed in guns, I would be surprised that the CW's aren't making some of the common alcoholic beverages too.

 

I'm not making special trips to the bank for fancy bills to try and impress a CW. We usually tip $3 for two cocktails and two bottles of water. We get great service at most places. Wife and I are both lightweights so we don't need a heavy pour or refills every 15 minutes.

 

I tip maids but they always get up.