Although RPJ has effectively dodged the issue, I'd like to address the first thing he said:

*** None of you -- including Jeff Simpson -- get it. This is LAS VEGAS, and tipping makes the world go 'round. These folks DID NOT HAVE TO TIP to have a good time that night, but THEY CERTAINLY HAD TO TIP to get SPECIAL TREATMENT at the WORLD'S TOP NIGHTCLUB (of the moment). ***

Unfortunately, what happened here was extortion, not tipping. There was NO choice but to pay these fees or they would be denied service.

And I confess, I haven't been to Vegas in well over a year, and I really doubt I ever will be there again, as trip after trip of tip-hustling dealers and long-hauling cabbies were topped off on my last visit when I parlayed a $1 hardway bet (under my control) to a tip well over $400, and I didn't even get a thank you. I guess I didn't tip enough to get that courtesy. Not like I was holding out for a McDonalds comp or anything.

Meanwhile, the gambling stakes that would barely even get me a snack bar comp in Vegas gets me infinitely better treatment at the table games in Wa. State. And I have to pay for my own alcohol there? Oh no, paying for a drink with a modest tip on top is SO much more expensive than a free drink that comes with a much larger expected tip to get served more than once every vernal equinox.