… or maybe not. Dealers at Wynn Las Vegas won a rare victory when Clark County District Judge Kenneth Cory (pictured) spiked Labor Commissioner Michael Tanchek‘s longstanding position vis-a-vis the tip-confiscation policy at the Strip resort. Asking for a third Tanchek opinion on the matter is a waste of time: Why expect him to renounce his informal 2006 ruling and his 2010 formal ratification of same. (Tanchek’s rationale, as articulated to aggrieved dealers: Steve Wynn didn’t keep the money, ergo he didn’t “take” it.) Best to just fast-forward this issue to the Nevada Supreme Court — as Wynn’s lawyers are undoubtedly doing right this minute — and obtain a definitive adjudication of the longstanding dispute, now entering its sixth blockbuster year. Behind all the legal citations, the case hinges on semantics. Did or did not Wynn Resorts obtain a “direct” benefit by redistributing tip income to cut pit bosses and boxmen in on the action. By doing so, the company (which was losing money at the time), did not have to pay aggrieved pit bosses more than a $5K raise — which eventually redounded the benefit of the bottom line.
Whether or not that is “direct” is a question requiring Solomonic wisdom. At the heart of the issue is a Nevada law, NRS 608.160. Its co-author, ex-state Sen. Donald Mello has quite clearly and forcefully maintained to this writer that what Wynn did directly contravenes the intent of the law. Tanchek’s office, in return, told me — in essence — that Mello’s views didn’t amount to a sack of beans and there were no plans to call him as a witness in the 2010 hearings.
Cory’s opinion? “To so hold [as Tanchek did] in the face of the demonstrable evidence of the direct economic benefit to Wynn would be to eviscerate the meaning of ‘direct benefit to an employer.’” The question begged so far is whether or not this week’s verdict impacts the collective bargaining agreement that Wynn LV dealers signed with the resort. In it, the Transport Workers Union capitulated on every crucial bargaining point — especially the tip pool. If they’ve ratified the status quo by majority vote, can Wynn’s dealers realistically hope to wind the clock back to August 22, 2006?
And in some really good news, the legal system continues to tighten the vice around the scrotum of Steve Gibson, persecutor of cat bloggers. When his sham entity, Righthaven, is seized — and it appears to be only a matter of time — will there be anything left worth confiscating, other than Gibson’s infamous headset and sweater vests?
