The Anti-Tipster

25 February 2020

By Frank Scoblete

FROM HAROLD: I’ve read a lot about tipping casino people such as parking attendants, bellhops, cocktail servers, dealers, maids and even hosts. This tipping has gotten out of hand. These people all get salaries and if they don’t like what the casino pays them, they are free to move on. Nobody forces them to work jobs where they complain they don’t make enough money.

I pay for my hotel room and my meals and I want my money to be used for gambling, not for tipping people in jobs that any person could do with half a brain. Seriously, how hard is it to wheel luggage into an elevator and bring it up to some room? Hosts? Tip hosts? Most players don’t have hosts!

I believe in the non-tipping European model and also when I was in Japan no one tipped waiters at all. No one tipped anybody. That is the way it should be. Why bug the patron for more money when he is paying more than enough money already? My maid makes my bed and scrubs down the bathroom; how hard can that be? Some of my maids don’t even speak English. What the heck is that?

So I do not tip. I do not tip anybody at all. I do not tip waiters either. They carry a plate to your table and that is supposed to be a big deal? I don’t tip my doctor or dentist and they want me to tip a waiter? Nonsense; it is all nonsense. It is based on the greed of the working man who doesn’t feel grateful that he has a job at all.

So what do you think of that Mr. Scoblete? And by the way are you some kind of expert on tipping? Do you have a PhD in the field? Why do you think you should have anything to say on the subject?

I await your answer.

FRANK RESPONDS: This is a well-written letter and at first I thought it was a joke until I spoke to you on the phone. I’ll take the last paragraph first. I do not have a degree in tipping; I don’t know if there even is such a degree.

I do know that certain jobs do not pay the minimum wage because tips are considered part of the pay. Other jobs might pay somewhat more but again tipping is considered part of the pay. That is how the economy exists on such jobs; tipping is essential to make a living. I worked as a waiter during my college years and getting tipped was the life-saver for me.

So I base all my recommendations on my experience. Low-rollers can tip lower than high-rollers; of course, that makes sense. It seems to me that you are a low-roller; no sin in that. Will a few bucks here or there really hurt your bottom line? If so, sit out some hands at a table game and use the money you would have gambled for some tips. Slow down your slot play a little bit and you can raise the money for some tips. I don’t think such things are a hard to do.

We aren’t Europe and we aren’t Japan. Until businesses decide to pay their employees more, tipping is essential.

Anyway, that’s my opinion.

All the best in and out of the casinos!

Visit Frank’s web site at ww.frankscoblete.com. His books are available on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, Kindle, e-books and at bookstores.