Tipping for Hand Pay Jackpots

[richard_gum]

Assuming fast friendly service for a hand payout on a video poker jackpot, what is considered a good tip to the slot host/hostess?  
Are you supposed to tip the security person and/or anyone else that accompanies the slot host/hostess that takes care of your hand payout?
 
Thanks in advance for any responses!

[rascal]

Just tip the attendent. Many states prohibit tipping casino security personnel.  Why are you tipping? Because you are "supposed to"? The attendent is doing what she/he gets paid to do. The tip is to encourage good service, so if the attendent goes out of her/his way to be prompt and helpful I will tip them, at the rate of $20 per thousand for normal jackpots. I have only hit one larger jackpot and the attendent was exceedingly helpful with a complicated transaction so I tipped her $500.
It depends on the state, but I have played in a state where the attendents had the aggravating habit of rounding up everyone they could find for a handpay in the hopes of everyone in the crowd getting a tip. This really aggravates me and makes me less likely to tip anyone. Depending on the state, witnesses to the payout are required, but there is nothing that says you have to have 5 or 6 greedy attendents present. Nevada has the smoothest payout system, probably because they pay out the most. Louisiana is also fast, just the attendent and one security person. Mississippi is much slower because they require several witnesses and sometimes everyone has to sit there waiting while an additional witness is rounded up. New Jersey is just the attendent and an associate for jackpots of $2K and under, and the attendent, an associate, and a supervisor for jackpots over $2K. Still, they move pretty fast. (I have never understood all of the required witnesses, because the casinos capture all handpays on camera anyway.)
Again, tip for exceptional service, not because you are "supposed to." The casino is regulated and they will pay you your winnings regardless of whether you tip a million dollars or nothing at all. I am not going anywhere...I have plenty of time to wait for my handpay, so they can't punish me for a low tip by slower service the next time. But give me exceptional service and you can count on a nice tip, always. However, remember that I come into the casino to make money, not give it away, so don't expect me to be the sugar daddy for your entire crowd.  I will tip fairly if a tip is deserved, but I will not sit there like a drunk handing out money to make me feel like a big shot.
 
Playing on the Mississippi Gulf Coast several years ago, I hit $4K on top of some smaller wins and I really needed a simple rubber band for my bankroll. The attendent brushed me off because she said she didn't think they had any. I just walked up to the first cage and asked for a rubber band. It would have taken the attendent maybe 60 seconds to help me out. I remembered it next time I was figuring out my tip.

[Eduardo]

Why do you have to tip them any way? What are they doing other than handing you what you won? I can understand if they were doing other things while you were playing to make your experience more enjoyable but is it really assumed you will tip just for winning?

[rascal]

Eduardo, again, I tip for exceptional service. It must be exceptional! I will not tip the attendant for routire service -- you are right, that's what she/he gets paid for.
 
By exceptional service, here is an example: Once I discovered that I had left my drivers license in my car. The attendant got a security guard to watch my machine, then she got another security person to pick me up at the main entrance and drive me to the outlying parking lot where my car was, and then they drove me back. Of course this was exceptional service. On another occasion when I wanted part of the jackpot in cash and part in a check, the attendant went to a lot of trouble and made several trips back and forth between my machine and the cage to make sure the numbers were correct. Again, exceptional service.
 
But if it is strictly routine, by the book, then no tip. It must be exceptional. I am already giving the casino odds...why would I want to increase those odds by throwing back some of my winnings to them....unless the service is exceptional.
 
If all players would get together on this it would reduce the pressure for uncalled for tips. Tip for exceptional service only!

[hornhighyo]

Back in the "old days"--1995-2000--I lived in Las Vegas and mostly gambled at one "local" casino.  I always played $1 or $2 machines. They used to have "change people" on the floor and I always tipped them well when I had a win. In return, they would "watch" my machine for me if I had to go to the bathroom, etc. They were always very nice and mostly at the bottom of the pay scale.  Now, when so many machines are coinless and no one works on the floor I really do not feel obligated to tip the people that bring the money.  I always tip the waitresses well.

[smokoebird06]

  Seeing as I live here in Las Vegas, I always tip. I look at it this way. If I started out with $100 and hit a $4000 royal( which I did TWICE in July) what is it to me if I tip $100? It's still a whole lot more then I walked in the door with and it makes that slot machine attendent's day, believe me! I know what they make an hour and it's only 2.5% of what I won. So it's no big deal to me , but it is to that attendent.

[bigboy]

 I have only hit one larger jackpot and the attendent was exceedingly helpful with a complicated transaction so I tipped her $500.
 
 
 Oh, really! A little jaded now are'nt we? Them $8000 royals are just piddly sh*t now, huh.

[shadowman]

I tipped $4000 on my last RF ... oh, wait ... that was my wife. Whew.

[wilcoxfun]

I have always wondered if I should tip or not. I don't see any exceptional service. I have to wait for quite a time for all the paper work. I might give a small tip but never anything huge.