Updated on July 22, 2023
A good tip for a casino cocktail waitress serving you at the slot machines is a dollar every time she brings you a drink, whether it's alcohol, coffee, juice, or water. If you're a heavy drinker, however, and want attentive service throughout your playing session, you might consider a couple of bucks per drink. Some Georges have been known to hand a cocktail runner a $10 or $20 right off the bat, but that can be dangerous. If she already has your money and she thinks you might not give her any more, her service could be spotty.
The same might hold true for drinking at a table in a bar with a group. Say there are four of you and you each have two drinks. And say the average drink price is $7. The total bar bill would be $56. Fifteen percent of $56 is $8.40, while a buck a drink is $8. Not much difference there.
However, tipping is highly personal, based on any number of variables, and most people who come to Las Vegas are served by casino drink runners more than any other tip position.
So in this FAQ, we take a look at those variables.
The main question is: How was the service?
Did the cocktail waitress ignore all her other customers in order to treat you like royalty, pay for a few rounds herself, then go home with one of you? Sky's the limit, baby!
Was she friendly, attentive, and prompt? Did she get all your orders right? Did she clear off the empty glasses and replenish your napkins? Twenty percent of the bar tab would be fair, especially for inflated drink prices; at our $56 example, that's an $11 tip.
Was she polite and professional, providing decent drink service but nothing special? A $5 bill might be about right.
Was she slow and surly or did she seem put-out? Leave her a buck. Or two, if you're feeling George.
Did she spill a tray of drinks on your wife's lap, not apologize, and charge you for the round anyway? You don't need our advice there.
Could she not get anything right, despite trying real hard? Did she then claim it was her first night, the bartender was impatient, and her new high heels were killing her? We'd probably leave her a 50-cent-a-drink sympathy toke for effort and sincerity (even if she was lying through her teeth).
Did you just hit Megabucks and not notice the service at all, good or bad? A nice Benjamin would spread the wealth, make you feel good, and account for one of the 100,000 Benjamins in your pocket (at the Megabucks reset of $10 million).
As you can see, it all depends on the server, your mood, your money, and circumstances. But generally speaking, for two rounds of eight drinks at $50-$60, $5-$10 covers most of the variables.