Table Games What do you do when a dealer begs for tips?

This happened the last time I stayed at NYNY in June.

I was playing blackjack at one of their two low limit 3:2 shoe games. It was me on third base betting conservatively, and two other 25-ish year old guys betting crazily.

The guy to my left would bet anywhere from $25-$200 a hand, sometimes playing two hands. And he’d usually bet at least $5 for the dealer on just about every hand.

We had a middle aged white male for the dealer. I can’t remember his name (might have been Steve? Don’t quote me on that).

It was a HOT table. We were all on a roll for most of the time.

However, once the table started to cool, the guy in the middle was up about $1500. He stopped betting for the dealer because we had all been losing a few hands.

The dealer starts making comments such as, “You lost that one because you forgot about me!” (As in, had he tipped the dealer he would have won the hand). And for the next hand, the guy put a nickel out for the dealer and he won the hand. The dealer goes “See!”

If I were that guy and the dealer said that to me, I would have went off on him and told him it’s embarrassing to see him beg for tips. But this guy was drunk and he was winning money, so he just listened to the dealer and started betting for him again on most of the hands.

After this, whenever we were placing our bets he kept saying things along the lines of “Don’t forget about me!”

This went on for a while. I started to become really irritated and slightly embarrassed for the dealer. I didn’t want to leave the table because NYNY only has two acceptable BJ low limit tables and the other one was full, so I just stayed, gritted my teeth, and held my tongue.

So the table cools again and we have all basically had enough and color up at the same time. To put the icing on the cake, when the guy is coloring up the dealer says, “Man, you just made $2 grand off of me!” The way he said it definitely had the implication of: GIVE ME ONE LAST BIG TIP BEFORE YOU LEAVE!

I can’t remember if he did give him one last tip.

I think I made like $150 or something. I didn’t tip him a dime. The dealer basically ignored me the whole session. He was very cold towards me. I think he knew I thought he was whoring himself out for tips – I would roll my eyes or make a face whenever he said “Don’t forget about me!”

So what do you do in a situation like this? I’ve played a lot of blackjack, and I’ve honestly never seen a dealer hustling so badly for tips.

 

Leave when it cools, im a craps player these days, BJ is for fun or to kill time
sounds like that guy was killing the fun

 

I certainly understand your desire to stay at the table with both decent rules and low limits. I look for the same tables. In the situation you described. I've would have done the same thing and stuck it out hoping for a change in dealers.

In the summer of 2013, I was playing a similar table at the Tropicana and was winning a small amount. While betting $5-10/hand, I would tip $1/hand fairly often. During a good run, I asked the dealer for change for a red chip and he just placed the chip in the tip spot. No miscommunication. He knew what he was doing. I was so stunned that I just let go. A few hands later, I colored up and walked.

 

unacceptable I'd have taken it off, colored up and told the floor mgr exactly why

 

thats annoying. "you just made two grand off me" is the worst part.
Just like when you go to the cage and cash out a larger amount. "wow nice job" while your cashing out 2500 but bought in for 5k. They just assume you are winning meanwhile you are stuck a large amount overall

 

Exact opposite happened to me. I was playing BJ at the Silverton and I wagered a nickel for the dealer (first tip of the session). The dealer saw the nickel and said, "You want singles?" I said, "No way, that's for you." She was very appreciative. That's classy right there. That just made me want to tip even more.

I don't think I would have had the stomach to play for too long with the asshat dealer at NYNY. Forget that. I wouldn't care if I was winning or not. If it ain't fun then I am gonna move on. Vegas time is way too precious to me.

 

Had a dealer like that a few years back...after a while, he cleared the table out & I was the only player left.

He waited a few hands and started in again about tipping. I remined him that I had been periodically tipping the entire time I was there, but that now I was just going to tip him 10% of my winnings at his table when I colored out.
Dealer: "But what if you don't win?"
Me: "That would be a shame, wouldn't it?"

Tip hustling stopped.
After about 2 decks with no begging, I once again started playing a buck for him about every 5th hand.

(PS - I did win at his table when I colored-up, and I did tip him, although not 10%..I gave him 1 red...and he thanked me.)

 

I think it is obnoxious for dealers to ask players to tip in any form. Now, I believe in tipping the dealers generously during winning runs or when I am up overall at the table, but I will hold back the tips when the table cools or I am down overall at the table. I find this particularly obnoxious because it sounds like the guy you are talking about was already tipping generously when the table was running hot.

The dealer implying he should get an extra tip at the end because the guy made money is also obnoxious unless the guy hadn't been tipping throughout the session, which it sounds like he was.

 

I don't gamble at NYNY so probably never coming back in the front of my thoughts, I would tip the guy with a big smile and say "Ok let's win then!" after he said "You forgot about me" when the previous hand lost.

If I win I can suffer the loss of the tip BUT when my hand goes south I think I would protest his taking my toke (which he has to do) and call over the floor while coloring up. "He said we would win if we only toked so I toked and here I am losing that last hand.....what kind of crap is that?" hoping the floor would ask WTF are you talking about. It would be fun to watch the dealer sweat as the scenario is retold.

Guys (girls) like that are a downer when you are trying to have fun. BUT surely the floor has some idea this is going on if they are observant at all. And if he just shrugged and walked away it would confirm why I don't play there.

Like waiting in a restaurant; be conversational, courteous, and friendly and you will get a lot more than just being an a**. You would think.

 

Don't dealers generally pool tips anyway? Seems like that's a good deterent to tip hustling

 

I've experienced this a lot in my short (10 years) of playing BJ in the casino.

After a guy to my right colored up at a table to leave, think he won a small amount maybe $150 the dealers says "alright sir congratulations on your win, come again. No need to thank me, I was happy to do it....pause 5 sec...no need to thank me at all your welcome sir" It was unreal. I think being the passive aggressive person I am says something like "so you control who wins or loses at the table huh? Here I thought the whole time that math ruled this game...."

I have 100 stories of this happening, but 1 more example. Table is extremely cold, everyone is getting killed. A new player walks up and asks if it's ok they sit down and come in. The table says "no problem it's been bad so maybe you'll change our luck" Dealer says "no one is tipping so if you tip you could change the table" WTF are you serious I'm thinking to myself. New player gets a BJ first hand and then wins another and places a small tip out on the 3rd hand. He wins again, dealer takes the chip and bangs it on the table and yells out "dealer tokes someone understands how this works" I about lost my shit but instead laughed it off and told the dealer bluntly "i dont care if i win the next 40 hands i wont be giving you shit and you'll sit there and deal to me whether you like it or not, said with a smile " He didn't say another word about tips the rest of the time I was at the table.

 

good for you, I toke well when I'm winning or even (these guys make crap for base pay), but hustling like that gets my tip faucet to turn off

 

You did the right thing, play till the table cools and dont give him a dime no matter what you win, begging for tips gets you nothing, and ignoring tip bets(no thanks for a win, or acknowledgement on a loss) gets them nothing as well.

 

NYNY is absolutely awful about this. It's literally the only place I've ever been hassled for tips (which especially grates on me because I'm very, very generous with dealers as a general rule). For me, it was last summer playing roulette; I was betting $10 and had gone fourteen spins in a row without hitting anything. Guy goes, "You know, you could try tipping occasionally. Then you might have better luck."

I colored up and left.

 

When it stops being fun, move on. I've been guilty of staying at a bad table due to low limits or good rules.

The best group of dealers I've experienced is at Margaritaville. They appear to genuinely thank you when you tip and never beg. I only had one bad experience with a craps dealer there criticizing my pressing strategy, but after a quick comment to the pit, the guy was rotated to a different game.

 

I am a small time craps player who seeks out $5 minimum bets and just enjoys the action. I was @ Luxor years ago and the table was hot, hitting on every number imaginable and the shooter had the dice for 45 minutes! The women stick who was attending to my side of the table was very talkative. After every wager I won, I'd just say "same bet" and take my paltry $12 or whatever the point was. This dealer started cackeling at me like a chicken. balk, balk, balk, I was both embarrassed and pissed at the same time. After the table finally cooled and I was ready to color up, I'd won about $350 from an initial 100 buy-in.Granted if I had pressed or parlayed even a few wagers, I'd won well over a Grand! But it got to be more of a "principle" not to press because of her chiding.
After I was getting my black chips, she had he hand out to get a tip after my win, I said "your NOT serious" and walked away and blended into the crowd. I have never felt so small and embarrassed in my life. needless to say, I avoid the Luxor live the plague because of this one incident. :-(

 

I play mainly craps and I am probably guilty of over-tipping in some instances but if I have a good crew I like to hook them up. Especially when I see that no one else is tipping.

I mainly see the dealers hustling for tips or making offhanded comments in the local casinos more so than in Vegas. Other than in Casino Royale I have not seen craps dealers hustling the players.

If I did hear it then I would say something to the effect that I will take care of them as I see fit based on service and overall fun attitudes.

As for what I would have done in OP's situation?

I would have said something to the dealer about his blatant hustling.

 

yes ive run into this problem more locally here in Detroit than in Vegas.

 

That's a good question. I know that the Silverton dealers keep their own tokes (no pooling). I believe the dealers at the Westin keep their own too (I saw a dealer go on break and he pulled his toke box). I would say a majority of casino dealers pool their tips.

 

I play blackjack a fair amount at a local Indian Casino. I prefer to sit at the $25 table because it is usually empty, it is double deck, it pays 3:2, and most of the dealers know me. The dealers are awesome, they never beg for tips, they carry on a conversation, and they root for me to win. I would say I tip about $25 an hour so that doubles to around $50 an hour if we are winning. If I have a good session I will also throw a flat tip out at the end. I was there Tuesday and made about $500 in a few hours of play, as I left I tossed the dealer a $25 chip. She asked me if I wanted change, I said no that's for you, thanks. They treat me well and I return the favor.

Now the table I avoid is the $5 single deck that pays 6:5 and is full of the rookies that are so lost most of the time since they have to hold the cards and do the math. The dealers can get a bit desperate at those tables and it is sad. I played the table with a buddy who was being cheap as it was the only $5 table on the floor that was open. I hit a few hands and tossed out a $1 tip, the dealer collected it and put it in the tip pile. I looked him dead in the eye and said no that isn't how it works, we bet that. If I lose you lose. He looked all offended as he put it back out to bet it, we won the hand. I said see that is why we bet it, you just doubled your tip. The whole time he never said a word to me.