The Secret Perks of Dealing Cards: Gifts to Casino Dealers Revealed
Gifts! Who doesn’t love to receive gifts? Well, did you know casino dealers not only get tips, but sometimes we receive gifts as well? It’s true! Some of the gifts dealers have received have come from far away lands—like this beautiful, intricate, hand-crafted wood fan from Japan. Some were homemade like a banana leaf origami flower. And some were simple, like a bottle of wine.
All of these seem pretty harmless, right? I mean, I loved the horseshoe-shaped necklace from the casino gift shop that an older couple gave me! But, be careful, because even though some casinos allow players to give their dealers gifts, other casinos forbid it. They think tokes are enough, and some dealers agree, even saying the best gift a player ever gave them was the gift of leaving. And if you don’t know what I mean by tokes, check out our video on Dealer Tokes up here.
Casino Rules for Gifts and Dealers
So as a dealer, how do you know what your casino’s rules are regarding gifts? If you don’t know your house rules ahead of time, you can always call over your floor supervisor and ask them if it’s okay to accept a gift.
Be prepared: if your casino allows gifts, you could receive just about anything. As you probably know, players can be very… creative.
Gifts Can Be Anything
A Lucky Lady once gave a dealer her lucky coin. Like, wow! Kind of a huge deal? It must’ve been a great game—or a terrible game, if you know what I mean.
Not so much bizarre as delicious: a player once gave their dealer lobster, steamed from the 5-star restaurant. Not like, at the table or anything, but they sent it to the break room for high limit dealers! My mouth is literally watering just thinking about it. I mean, I’ve had lobster, but from a 5-star restaurant? Yes, please!
Food is actually a really popular gift. Y’know, wine, cookies, snacks, beer, and so on. You know what food is. But one time, a dealer was given homemade baklava and he said it was the best they ever had.
Examples of Gifts
One of the most bizarre gifts I’ve heard of that was both food and weird was a rubber chicken that dispensed tootsie rolls! An older lady won the jackpot and later she came back in with a huge box full of rubber chickens stuffed with tootsie rolls and passed them out to everyone. What do you even do with a rubber chicken? The tootsie rolls, yeah, I get, but rubber chickens? Lemme know in the comments what the strangest gift you ever received was.
Forbidden Gifts
A less weird, but on the same tacky level as a rubber chicken is, I heard a Baccarat player offered to take their dealer out to dinner using a comp from a rival casino. It’s like using a coupon on a first date. Make a girl feel special at least.
I kid, I wouldn’t go to dinner with a player because most casinos actually forbid dealers from going out to dinner with their players. And I’m careful with what gifts I accept anyway, especially food. There are many ways someone can manipulate food and drinks to make them unsafe, and as a dealer taking their money, I don’t want to put myself in danger with a player seeking revenge. If you do accept food, double check with your floor and be careful!
Special Clothing
Outside of food, some players give clothes. Another casino dealer was dealing to a player who was wearing the coolest sweater with diamonds, clubs, hearts and spades on it. They mentioned it to him because they could not stop staring at it and he took it off and gave it to them! Right then and there! I mean, what a perfect gift for a casino dealer, am I right?
Someone else had a similar experience with a guy’s funny t-shirt. They told him they liked it, and he gave it to them. Literal shirt off his back. They were working in the player’s club and was able to trade him for another shirt, so he wasn’t sitting there shirtless!
Another clothes gift someone received was when they were promoted to a dual-rate floor position. One of their players gave them 5 neckties that she made for high-end boutiques in New York! It might not seem like much, but this was back in like, 2004, so a long time ago, but they retailed for $80 each. I looked it up—That’s $132 today! Oh man, inflation’s insane!
Meaningful Pictures
This isn’t so much a gift your player gives you, but one you give your player: a picture! It’s a great way for them to remember their trip if it’s their first time at that type of table or if it was a big win. If a player asks to take a photo with you, always ask your floor supervisor for approval, and clap out, before stepping away from your game. And if they say yes, make sure you take the picture away from the casino tables since players are not allowed to take pics of the game or casino pit.
Gifts are Seasonless for Casino Dealers
As a dealer, there’s not really a season as to when you can expect gifts. It’s kinda all year round—except Christmas, weirdly. In fact, December is one of the worst toke months for dealers in general. The first two weeks of December in Vegas are usually great because the National Finals Rodeo is in town and the cowboys tips well, but Christmas is beyond slow. New Year’s, though? Great day for tokes. Starting the new year off right!
What If Your Dealer Says No?
And if you’re a player who wants to give a gift to your dealer, don’t be offended if they say no. As you can see, there are a million reasons they could be saying no, and most of them aren’t personal! More than likely, it’s against casino policy to accept gifts. Trust me, your dealer will appreciate a thank-you and a great toke instead.