Dealers are generally paid close to minimum wage. They rely on tips, also known as tokes (short for tokens), for the lion’s share of their income.
Other than the rare exception, casinos pool dealer tips by shift. So when you tip an especially helpful or friendly dealer, he or she sees only a percentage of it, anywhere from a third or a quarter to a two-hundredth or so share, depending on how large the casino is and how many dealers there are per shift.
The amount that tips bring in varies from about $45 to $200 per day, again depending on the size of the casino. Occasionally, however, a George (a big tipper, in gambling parlance) can greatly inflate a shift's toke take. For example, Kerry Packer, one of the world's great whales (highest of high rollers), is also one of the world's great Georges. He's been known to toke in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, in which case the dealers on that particular shift can make thousands for the day.
Of course, Packer only plays at the premium casinos, such as Bellagio, Mirage, and (at one time) MGM Grand. Dealers at Slots A Fun or Fitzgeralds downtown won't be getting such tokes any time soon. Dealers work hard to get hired at the premium casinos, known as "having juice," in order to get fatter toke envelopes at the end of the week.
