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By Jack Lipsman
A pivot is
a person or thing on which something turns, hinges, or
depends.
On August 21, 2006 Wynn-Las Vegas announced an
extremely radical change in its tip pooling policy along
with a dictate for a change in compensation for its casino
dealers. This is a pivotal event within the gaming
industry, which, if allowed to stand will have a permanent
and damaging effect on the gaming industry and the State
of Nevada. If the policy stands, it will spread. No sane
person would doubt that. And, once the dam is breached,
which entity within the state will decide the acceptable
percentage of dealer’s tips to appropriate? At present
there is not a single state agency or public employee
willing to step up and condemn Wynn’s radical idea of
redistributing dealer’s tip money to his pit supervisors.
Of course, we know what the Las Vegas dealers think of the
idea; they expressed themselves very effectively by
demonstrating on Friday November 24th in front
of the Wynn Resort.
According to Andrew Pascal, Wynn President,
there exists a discrepancy between the earnings of floor
supervisors and dealers. It is now common, “for floor
supervisors to earn less money than the dealers they
supervise.” The solution to this so-called inequity,
according to Mr. Wynn, is to take lawfully-earned money
away from dealers and give it to the underpaid
supervisors.
But hold on for a second, wasn’t this
money given voluntarily by the players to the dealers?
And, isn’t it true that this money is now the property of
the dealers, who are required by law (if the employer so
directs) to pool this tip money and split it amongst
themselves? Where does NRS 608.160 (the Nevada law
governing tip pooling and distribution) say that an
employer may fish in that pond and pay his management with
the money so obtained? It doesn’t! In fact it expressly
forbids it. Employers are banned from retaining any part
of the tips for their own use or reaping any direct
benefit from the pooling. This is according to the U.S.
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Let us glance back a few years to see
if we can find any pivotal, defining moments in our
country’s history which could shed some light on our
present day dilemma. Theodore Roosevelt, without question,
one of our greatest Presidents, said great corporations
exist only because they are created and safeguarded by our
institutions; and it is therefore our right and our duty
to see that they work in harmony with these institutions.
Roosevelt initiated 44 lawsuits against trusts
(corporations) during his presidency to curb their avarice
and their thirst for power. Sound familiar? A profitable
corporation does not necessarily mean an honest one.
According to Roosevelt, corporations should be regulated
if they are found to exercise a license working to the
public injury. But where are the regulators in the State
of Nevada? Who is examining Wynn’s corporate policies to
see if they comply with state law, or if they are found
to … “exercise a license working to the public injury?”
Back before 1931 Nevada was viewed as
little more than a hokey version of the Wild West. We had
our share of hard drinking cowboys, who loved to gamble
and carouse. And astoundingly, people really liked to come
here to join in our good times. Then our first defining
moment arrived. In 1931 we legalized gambling and all the
stops were pulled out. This was occurring at a time
throughout the country when gambling was perceived as a
vice, a weakness, and in some places, a crime. We
persevered, we refined, we invested and we created not
only a fabulous exciting city, but a change in the
attitudes and sentiments of the American public as it
slowly and surely became enamored with the excitement of
gambling. Now, 75 years after its humble beginning gaming
has become the number one industry in Nevada, an important
industry in America and the world and a pivotal
underpinning of our culture.
We all know that Nevada’s success was
not instant, but grew as we learned how to manage the
tiger we had by the tail. We have made mistakes; the mob
was one, and a big one at that. But, a lot of very smart
and courageous people got us past that. That was
unquestionably a critically defining moment for Nevada.
And, we have had some other major
strokes of good luck. At the risk of further polishing an
already burnished ego, and notwithstanding the ongoing tip
fiasco, on the whole, Steve Wynn represents one of
Nevada’s greatest assets. This does not mean the man
cannot make a mistake. He has, and let us all hope for the
sake of the health of our prime industry, that he himself
will correct it. He has created properties that are the
envy of the world and truly set the standard for any
gaming resort.
It would be a shame if his vision, his
hard work, and his pending summons to greatness would be
dashed on the anvil of misdirected cleverness and greed.
We do not enjoy protesting this policy by causing bad
press and disruption. Lord knows, a five star rating is
not easy to get. But we will persist because we know our
cause is just. Mr. Wynn has stated that because he built
the property he is entitled to ownership and disposition
of dealer’s tips, but that is not true now, nor was it in
the past, nor will it ever be in the future. We fully
expect that Mr. Wynn will step up like a man, recognize
this as simply a bump in the road, and rectify the error.
Then, we can all move on.
***
Jack Lipsman is a
writer and retired casino dealer. He is the vice president
of the International Union of Gaming Employees (IUGE). He
lives in Las Vegas with his wife. IUGE website:
www.iuge.net . Send e-mail to:
dealers@iuge.net
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