What Is A Casino Host

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Casino Tipping by Location

To make this guide as useful as possible, we’ve broken the casino host tipping best practice advice into a number of categories. First, we will describe the different overarching rules based on geography, so you can see easily if your location expects you to be tipping casino hosts or not.

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Then, we’ll divide it down into the various types of casino games and the tipping expectations for each type of game. As you can imagine, this section will only be relevant to users in the ‘Do Tip’ locations, but it’s certainly interesting to read through the rules either way.

UK Casino Tipping: Do

Gamblers in the UK should expect to spend between 10-15% of their gambling budget on tips for dealers, hosts and wait staff. This is a relatively recent change to the expectations on UK-based gamblers, as until 2005 it was illegal for any casino host tipping to take place.

An amendment published in the Gambling Act 2005 made casino tipping legal, as long as the cash is collected and distributed in a ‘tronc’ – a tipping pool for all employees.

Meanwhile, those playing in any UK live online casinos are not expected to tip the online dealers. In fact, some developers of live casino software namely Evolution Gaming – explicitly ban players from making tips.

However, if the opportunity to tip in a live online casino game is available and you have received exceptional service – or won a significant amount of money – a tip could be a nice way to show your appreciation.

United States: Tips Expected

As with much of the USA’s ridiculous service industry, casino hosts are severely underpaid and require tips from patrons in order to make a liveable wage. Gamblers should tip casino hosts 15 – 20% of their buy-in, and you should also budget to tip wait staff, hotel staff, valets, and those making change for players.

This rule is enforced across any American land-based casinos, regardless of the state in which you are playing. Of course, the legality of gambling in the country is also state based, so there could be more important laws to consider before tipping etiquette is considered.

What Is A Casino Host

Australia: Don’t Tip

As will all service industry professionals in Australia, casino hosts in the country’s grand gambling establishments are paid a high wage and do not expect or require tips from patrons to make a living wage. While it is not illegal to tip, it is not expected in any restaurants, bars or casinos.

In fact, tipping in a casino host in Australia is somewhat frowned upon, as it can be considered to be bribery. Some of Australia’s land-based casinos do not allow patrons to tip individual staff, requiring all gratuities to be shared in a pool or be handed directly to management, raising suspicion that large tips are actually payoffs.

Monaco Gratuity Etiquette: Do

In Monaco, patrons are expected to tip 10% to dealers at table games such as blackjack, roulette and craps. However, this is only true at some establishments. Some locations have eschewed tipping in favor for an entry fee charged at the door.

Mainland Europe: Don’t Tip

Host

For mainland Europe, tipping casino hosts is not expected. In countries like Spain, tipping would raise eyebrows and get you a lot of weird looks, it’s just that uncommon. In Western Europe, small tips are possible, especially on hitting a big win. However, culturally, leaving a tip larger than 5% would likely see casino hosts considering you a showoff. Casino tipping etiquette changes as you travel east, and the extra cash is more welcomed.

Tipping Etiquette for Games

Interestingly, there are different rules for casino tipping etiquette based on the different games you can play. Table games like blackjack, baccarat and roulette which require a live dealer to personally host your experience are clearly deserving of a gratuity. Many gamblers consider tipping their dealers to be good luck, and tossing a dealer some cash after a big win at a poker table is common.

However, playing video poker or slots, where there is often less personal interaction, may also require some tipping. For example, if you send a casino attendant to make change for you, you should tip them. If you win a large jackpot or a hand pay sum, an attendant or two will be required to come and personally hand you the cash prizes. They will also bring you any tax forms that your location requires.

What Is A Casino Host

General Tipping Advice

Not all actions deserve to be tipped, and you shouldn’t just go handing out cash for everyone and everything. You know who to tip based on the advice above, but here is a handy list of when a tip would be expected in Las Vegas, the most extreme example we can give. Anything more than this would be considered unnecessary.

When to tip:

  • When asking for a host to make change for you
  • When you win a large sum
  • If you need an attendant for any reason
  • If a Pit Boss comps you a free meal, drink or room
  • When a dealer finishes a shift at your table
  • If a waitress brings you a drink (even if it is free)
  • If a bellhop carries your bags

How Are Casino Hosts Paid

How to Tip Casino Hosts

What is a casino host

Okay, maybe now you know how much money you should be expected to tip each time you gamble all over the world, but how do you hand over the money without it being awkward? There are various options for when to tip and how to indicate who the tip is for.

You can hand a dealer their total tip when you sit at a table, which has the benefit of getting it out of the way first thing. If you are in the UK, and aim to gamble £100, you can simply hand the £5 – £10 to the dealer immediately.

One problem with this method is that you can’t factor in whether or not that dealer will be working your table for the entire time you are there. To counter this, you may hand them a tip right as their shift changes.

If you’re more the type to consider tipping casino hosts throughout your experience, then you can tell the dealer how much cash to keep when exchanging cash for chips. You can also hand them back chips as a tip if they pay you winnings.

Some dealers prefer to receive their tips in the form of wagers. To tip a dealer with a bet in their name, simply place a second chip on top of your own wager, slightly offset, and tell the dealer it is for them. They will receive the winnings from the bet, but not the bet money itself.

If you’re still not sure, the best thing to do is ask the dealer directly. No professional dealer will ever make fun of a player for wanting to hand them money. Ask them what they prefer and how they prefer to receive it. Now that you know the correct expected values, you will know they are telling the truth.

I’ve been doing a lot of web-based training lately for Casino Hosts and I have been reminded why I so enjoy working with Player Development professionals! They show up on time for their appointments, they welcome me with a happy greeting, and they work hard at staying upbeat and energetic in their tone and attitude. What’s not to like?

I’ve also become fascinated by the difference between Empathy and Sympathy.

There is no way for a Player Development professional to build relationships with a diverse set of casino guests without consistently employing a lot of empathy.

What Is A Casino Host For

What is Empathy? In short, having empathy means you can understand how others feel.

The Empathetic Host is focused on really understanding the guest’s situation, attitude, and behaviors.

What Is A Casino Host

This can be done in a number of ways and they all involve close observation and an open mind. There are 5 key skills and they can all be improved with practice.

Host
  1. What is the body language of the guest? What can you deduce from the way they walk, the way they gesture, and the way the stand in front of you?
  2. What is the facial expression of the guest? What can you tell from the shape of their mouth, and the position of their eyebrows?
  3. How do they sound? What is their tone, the speed of their speech, the volume of their voice?
  4. What are they really saying? Behind their choice of words, what message are they really trying to send to you?
  5. And finally, what can you learn by asking open-ended questions? (An open-ended question, such as, ‘Why are you so disappointed?’, can lead to many answers. A closed question, such as ‘Do you want a comp?’, will only lead to one of two answers, Yes or No. Okay! It will always lead to Yes!)

My point is that Empathy, the ability to understand the other person, can be constantly improved upon, by continuing to sharpen our skills in interpreting body language, reading facial expressions, listening for tone, probing for underlying issues, and asking open-ended questions.

Of course, for a Player Development professional, these skills also have to be refined over time to be able to understand people from other cultures, from other backgrounds, from different age groups. This is one of the challenges for a Casino Host when they move cross-country into a different culture, or into a very different Property where the guests have different expectations.

Casino Hostess

Sympathy, by comparison, means feeling compassion, sorrow, or pity.

If my guest is angry because they showed up for the Ham Giveaway Promotion and there is nothing left, then I can have complete empathy but not necessarily sympathy. After asking some open questions, I can realize that they left home too late and they are mad at themselves, but that they want to express themselves as frustrated at the Casino. With this empathy, I can decide on my approach. And without sympathy, without actually feeling sorry for them, I can still use my professional face and demeanor to handle the situation.

If you think about it, having a Big Heart and being Sympathetic to your guests, could lead to your emotions clouding your judgement, let alone to you crossing the invisible line and befriending your players.

I believe that Empathy is the key to successfully developing meaningful relationships with your coded players. And, constantly improving your skills of insight, will lead to more Empathy in dealing with fellow Hosts, working across departments within the Casino, and probably to a promotion because Empathy is key to being a successful Manager.

In conclusion! Empathy means you understand what they are feeling; and Sympathy means your own mood changes and responds to theirs.

I suggest that you constantly refine your ability to be Empathetic and double-check any impulse to be Sympathetic.

Not that it is bad to care but, as a professional, you are in the business of consistency and your emotional reaction (positive or negative!) may lead you to react differently to different people. And that always leads to trouble. So! Use all of your skills to understand but keep your heart in check, and act from your head.

Yours Empathetically,
Jackie P.