Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming December 2015 28 CASINO MARKETING One thing that is very unique to the gaming industry is the high preponderance of tipped employees. Other service industries have some tipped employees but in gaming it seems almost everyone can make tips including, sometimes, managers. A tipping point N ot many casino companies pay close attention to this “customer provided wage contribution,” other than to establish the necessary procedures and record keeping for it, ensure some fairness to tip earning opportunities among employees of the same job classification, and occasionally (usually among casino dealers who keep their own tips), try to ensure that tipped employees don’t earn too much and upset the whole wage scale applecart. Casino companies tend to like, or at least tolerate, such a pervasive tipping culture because, I suppose, the more a team member is tipped, the less a casino has to pay in base salary. Having been a tipped employee at several early jobs in my gaming career, I’m not sure how I feel about that. Dennis Conrad is president and chief strategist for Raving Consulting Co, a full- service marketing company specializing in assisting gaming organizations. He can be reached at +1 775 329 7864 or by e-mail at dennis@ ravingconsulting.com. By Dennis Conrad