Historically, casino dealers have lived off their tips. Years ago, they shared the tips they made at their tables with the guys they worked with at those tables.
That benefited dealers working peak hours and fostered competition for tips. It also put pressure on players to tip dealers, who cultivated gamblers in much the way bartenders do their good customers.
At Wynn Las Vegas Casino, the system has now drastically changed. In August, Steve Wynn, the CEO of Wynn Resorts Ltd., decreed that, in the case of dealers, the coveted tip pool will now be expanded to include about 220 of their supervisors.
The move is meant to correct a strange inequity in the casino workplace, due to which dealers earn thousands of dollars more than some of their bosses do.
According to Wynn Resorts, its dealers average with tips included close to $100,000 per year in wages when the supervisors typically make far less between $50,000 and $60,000 annually.
Bringing supervisors into the tip pool means that dealers' income will drop, though it is not clear how much. Wynn Resorts says the drop would be ten percent, while dealers contend it will be closer to twenty percent. Managers would see their pay jump to about $95,000 annually with the new arrangement.
According to the company, the change was necessary to hire and retain casino supervisors, yet dealers have been hesitant to speak out. They fear losing their jobs and hurting chances for future employment. Unlike thousands of service employees at many Las Vegas casinos, dealers in Las Vegas are not protected by labor unions.