Slot Machine Hand Payout Tipping

Why do people tip the attendants who pay out hand jackpots on slot machines? These people do absolutely nothing except pay you the money. They had no role in you winning or pointing you in the direction of what they believe is a "hot machine"(that is, even if those exist)They really don't even need to be there. Why do you need a hand payout these days when all the machines dispense a ticket that you can redeem at the cashier or a kiosk?

The hand pays I have experienced are required due to IRS requirement of the issuance of a W2G. The attendants get your ID, develop your W2G, and bring you your cash or your check if you so request. It is as logical to tip these attendants as it is to tip your blackjack dealer. I tip about 2% if the service is good and maybe less if the service is slow or spotty. Any payout of less than $1200 should not require a hand pay unless you are playing very old video poker machines which are fun but pretty hard to find these days.

Slot managers sometimes set machines located in high traffic areas to have hand pays lower than $1,200....I've run across a couple. The theory is that management wants other people to see the payout (flash the cash) to generate excitement on the floor.

I'm with you, though....I don't like having to wait for a payout under the W2G limit, and feeling obligated to tip someone when I should have just been able to cash the TITO out at a kiosk. It happened to me just a couple of weekends ago for a royal.

Only handpays I've had in the last few years have been the over $1200 ones. Sure they are paid to do their job. But if they are quick to respond, take care of the paperwork in an expeditious manner and are friendly they get a tip for good service. Usually give the responding attendant $20 for a 2K and 4K win.

I tip for a hand pay if the bring me the last 100 in 20's. if they don't break it down i'm not gonna dig for a 20.

I tip for a hand pay if the bring me the last 100 in 20's. if they don't break it down i'm not gonna dig for a 20. the smart ones always break it down and I always tip.

Slot personnel work hard to make the slot experience enjoyable. They monitor the floor, make sure things are in working order, and generally keep the atmosphere pleasant. They also receive terrible pay. And so to make up for that, we tip them. The only reason they take these jobs is for the tips.

It's a fool's game to try and parse the logic of tipping. But for good or for bad, it's what we've decided to do as a society. And anyone who doesn't know that and shirks this social obligation is, at best, a thoughtless cheapskate.

Most of us find it simplest to tip them when we're being paid by hand. If someone finds another moment to tip them, more power to them.

But these folks work for tips, and we should all realize that when we agree to accept their services, which we do when we decide to play. Complaining is fine. But someone who isn't willing to oblige by this longstanding social obligation to tip slot personnel shouldn't play slots (or valet park or eat in restaurants or take taxis or buy haircuts or . . . ).

I tip because it makes me feel good to make someone's day.

For those people that tip these people does that mean that you also tip the attendant at the cashier cage when they convert your chips for cash? To me it is the exact same situation.

Generally not, no, but some people do. From my understanding of how casinos work, cashier pay is much higher than slot attendant pay, in part because people don't generally tip them.

That's really a key to Vegas tipping. Knowing the difference between how people are paid. Some jobs are amenable to tipping because guests interface with them directly (valet, housekeeper, waitress). Others aren't and so their income relies less on tips (guy who sweeps up garage, hotel plumber, line cook).