In old days, dealers hustled the players

Michele Truell, Las Vegas

Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2011 | 2:01 a.m.

I read with amazement Jimmy Wike’s letter about tip pooling and his opinion of the practice. He neglects to mention that in the old days dealers paid off their supervisors and pit bosses because they, in turn, allowed the dealers to hustle. And I mean ask for bets. This was common practice. Craps dealers and baccarat dealers had to ask and hustle or they didn’t make any money.

It truly is hysterical when he said that pooling tips made it a “disincentive for supervisors to help a dealer earn tips.” I guess that is one way of justifying a supervisor allowing a dealer to hustle or not. I don’t know very many supervisors who helped dealers earn tips. They just let the dealers do it. Today, if a dealer asked for a tip, he would be fired on the spot. And when Wike mentions that not cutting in management with tips has decreased customer service — please, that statement is beyond a stretch. Supervisors are no longer in a position to help. They can’t write comps or anything else.

The gaming world has changed. Dealers do not even make half the money they used to make. As far as polling veteran dealers going back to the old way, everyone would do it if it could be like it was. But those days are over.