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Monday, April 21, 2008
Tournament Tipping: Don't Stiff Your Dealers
Tournament tipping has always been a gray area in the poker community. Although I'm not an authority on the matter in any way, I couldn't resist the urge to post my two cents.
The issue recently became the center of debate after Brandon Cantu won the 2008 Bay 101 Shooting Star WPT event for more than $1 million and allegedly stiffed the dealers. To make it worse, this was one of the few WPT events of the year where no percentage of the prize pool was withheld for dealers' tokes.
In the old days (long before I hit the felt, or the planet for that matter), nothing was taken out of the prize pool and it was solely the players' responsibility to tip. Dealers relied on these tips for the majority of their income. Players were expected to tip when they cashed in a tournament, and they generally did.
Due to the growing size of tournament fields and number of cases where dealers went uncompensated or undercompensated, casinos started withholding 3% of the prize pool to be distributed among the tournament staff. However, this practice is prohibited by law in some places, including Atlantic City.
San Jose, California, the home of Bay 101, does allow it but requires special permission. Organizers of the Bay 101 event submitted the paperwork too late, and were unable to withhold a percentage of the prize pool tips as a result.
Brandon Cantu: Right in saying it should be clearer to players if a % has already been taken out. But wrong in leaving zero.
After allegations were made that he stiffed the dealers after winning more than a million tip-free dollars, he publicly stated that he assumed the dealers were already taken care of from the prize pool.
Cantu was right in stating that whether or not a percentage was taken from the prize pool should be made clear instead of just being fine print on the structure sheet. He also mentioned that there is a lot of debate about what percentage is the "correct" amount to tip.
However, to my knowledge he has shown no intention of tipping since finding out that nothing was taken from the prize pool. And although there is a lot of debate about what percentage should be tipped, I'm sure that the number is not zero, especially when nothing has been withheld from the prize pool.
Until an industry standard has been reached, it's important for people to make sure our dealers are taken care of. Dealers at Bay 101 still haven't been paid while the club tries to find a way to make things right.
Much like waiters and waitresses in a restaurant, dealers are paid less than minimum wage in most cases. This is based on the assumption they will be compensated with tips as well. If you wouldn't stiff your waitress when you pay your dinner check, you should be dropping something off for the dealers every time you cash in a tournament.
Nothing extravagant is necessary. The standard among those who tip is about 1%-5%, depending on quality of service and whether or not money has already been taken out of the prize pool. It is very important to find out if money has been withheld for this purpose, and how much.
Stout: Make sure our dealers are taken care of.
Personally, I tip at least 3% when I cash in tournaments in Atlantic City and 1% when money has already been withheld for the dealers. If the dealers are great and the tournament is run well, I'll increase the amounts to 5% and 3%, respectively. Before I started playing professionally, I would tip at least 5% every time I cashed.
As I said from the beginning, I'm not an authority on this matter. Tipping is defined as an optional payment for service, and people are entitled to their own opinion. However, I hope that in the future people will be more conscious of whether the dealers have been compensated at all for their efforts.
I hope that after this is published, I will find out that Brandon Cantu has taken care of the dealers who took care of him on his way to a WPT championship so that I can happily retract my statements about him in this blog.
-- Matt Stout
"All In At 420"
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Comment(s) on this article
Matt Stout Jun 5, 2008
Phil,
You are wrong, it is not illegal for the casino to pay the dealers less than minimum wage. It is a legal practice, just like paying less than minimum wage to waiters and waitesses is. They are professions where tips are expected from the customers.
You also miss the point that tips are usually already taken out of the prize pool in most major tournaments. This increases the dealers' dependence on tips from winners.
Noone expected 3-5% from Cantu when he won the event. Noone expected 0% though, either.
And as far as his backing arrangement, I know his backers personally. I can say for a fact that they would have split the tip with him, 50/50.
And finally, you refer to Cantu as "the little man." I hardly consider a man who just received a seven-figure payday "the little man."
censored Apr 29, 2008
Not very objective of you plist!
steve Apr 29, 2008
why not just pay people a decent wage, negating the need for them to hold their hands out begging just to get by.
phil Apr 29, 2008
What aload of croc...
"I hope that after this is published, I will find out that Brandon Cantu has taken care of the dealers who took care of him on his way to a WPT championship "
Took care of him! They did their job, plain and simple, nothing more, the casino should be paying the dealers their dues (not less than minimum wage-which is surely illegal).
And you get on your high horse and expect a man to put over 3-5% of his winnings, 30-50k. What crazy talk...Throwing out Industry standards for tipping, sounds discusting.
Just think that poor old Brandon Cantu could of already given away 50% of his winnings in percentages to other peeps. So should the inustry standard tip! if there indeed was one, be taken from the full amount, his backers percentages also? or just from brandons cut? What about all those lost buy ins brandon has suffered, and his travel etc , can he take those into account before he works out how much he has actaully made, then tip a due percentage?
If the man wants to tip, then good for him. Writing bs about it and acting as if there should be some sort of revolt just makes you seem like a self ritchous swine.
Think how much money the fat cats are making out of these tournaments in advertising rev. theres your cut for the dealers, a nice fat chunk. Expecting the little man to pay up, is backwards Mr Stout.
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