Some tips on tipping

16 July 2019

By Frank Scoblete

I grew up in Brooklyn, where the size of a man’s tip told you something important about that man. All the big shots tipped like crazy. If you saw the hilarious movie My Cousin Vinny, you know that when in doubt, which was most times, Vinny tipped. He tipped waiters, waitresses and even prison guards. So here’s a tip from me – there’s a certain amount of tipping expected in the casinos, that is, if you get good service. Good patrons tip good service.

Many casino workers are in the service business and that means they rely on tips to make ends meet. For some reason, certain jobs in our society have been deemed jobs where the one served should tip the server. I'm not exactly sure why we tip a waiter who serves us our soup but we don't tip a nurse who serves us our medicine.

I was once a waiter, so I can tell you; those tips were almost the be-all and end-all of my salary, which was, at the time, a mere 90 cents per hour. I've never been a nurse; but I have been a patient and a visitor to the hospital and I haven't once seen a nurse tipped for good service. Perhaps that’s because the hospitals pay the nurses a living wage.

Be that as it may, tips are a part of life for many workers and I am a firm believer in tipping those whose lives depend on tips. I am a Vinny! (In the casinos, good tippers are actually called “George.”)

But how much should one tip those who give us various services?

The following is merely my opinion on how much and who to tip in the casino world. If I've left anyone out, that means that particular job hasn't really crossed my path often enough to be in my consciousness. So I'm sorry if I forgot you.

Valet parkers should get a minimum of $3 when they retrieve your car. Remember valeting it saves you time walking from the garage to the casino, and is safer for your car (usually) and is a wonderful way to avoid some of those bad guys who sometimes show up in self-parking garages looking to steal your car, your wallet and maybe your life.

"I lug therefore I am!" That's anyone who moves something for you from point A to point B. Bellhops should get a minimum of $2 per piece of luggage lugged to room or car. Once in a casino, if maintenance or house keeping brings you something special, like an extra bed or cot, a refrigerator, a minimum tip of $5 would be nice. Some of the things they are lugging, most of us wouldn’t want to lug.

Waiters and waitresses should get 20% to 25% of the pre-tax check if they are friendly and professional. If they are cold and professional, give them 15%. If they are disdainful give them 10%. If they are disdainful, haughty, arrogant, verbally abusive, aloof, just ask them how long they worked in the New York theater district before coming to this casino restaurant and leave them nothing.

The cocktail waitress who serves your drinks should get a minimum of $1-$2 per drink. If you are playing in the high-roller room, you might want to give $3-$5 per drink.

Maître-d's in swanky restaurants that bring you to your table and place the napkin on your lap and give you the wine list are a tough sell to me. There's really no service here that I can see yet for some reason this group seems to expect tips. I'll leave this up to you. I usually don't give anything unless I know that the person actually got me the preferred seating arrangement or held my reservation if I was a few minutes late. Then I give a few dollars.

All the best in and out of the casinos!

[Next week I'll have some more on tipping.]

Visit Frank's website at www.frankscoblete.com.