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Suing
dealers welcome at jobs
Wynn president says anti-tip plan pair won't face action
By HOWARD STUTZ
GAMING WIRE
Sep. 23,
2006
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Wynn Las Vegas' president said Friday that the dealers who
filed a lawsuit seeking to end the casino's 3-week-old tip
pooling program are welcome at their jobs.
Andrew Pascal said Friday the Strip resort had not been
formally served with the lawsuit, in which Wynn Las Vegas
dealers Daniel Baldonado and Joseph Cesarz say the
casino's policy, which calls for tokes earned by dealers
to be split with casino supervisors, violates Nevada state
law covering tip pooling.
The dealers are seeking class action status for the
lawsuit, filed in Clark County District Court, on behalf
of more than 500 dealers affected by the new program.
Pascal said he had read the lawsuit.
Pascal confirmed the two dealers are employed at the
casino and said the property wouldn't take any action
against them.
"Of course not," Pascal said. "As long as they come to
work and do their jobs, that's all that matters."
As for the lawsuit, Pascal said he was confident Wynn Las
Vegas would prevail if the case goes to trial.
"We knew (the lawsuit) was a potential course of action,
but we feel comfortable with our position," Pascal said.
"We know it's legal and there is no basis to file the
lawsuit."
Three different law firms -- two from Las Vegas -- filed
the lawsuit. Media inquires were referred to Mark
Thierman, a Reno attorney, who was unavailable Friday.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board
said regulators are monitoring the events at Wynn, but
would only get involved if it was ruled the casino
violated state law.
Dennis Neilander said regulations covering employees'
wages fall under the purview of the state's labor
commissioner, not the Gaming Control Board.
However, if a casino violates state law regarding employee
pay or goes against general labor law, gaming authorities
can act, Neilander said.
"We've been following and monitoring what's happening at
Wynn, but that's all we can do at this point," Neilander
said. "This seems to be a business decision by the
company, not a regulatory matter. The labor commissioner
has ruled that there had not been a violation of state and
local law, but we'll continue to monitor the situation."
Wynn Las Vegas on Sept. 1 began allowing table game
supervisors to share in the tips earned by dealers. Wynn
executives said the move was done to correct the widening
disparity between the wages earned by dealers and casino
floor supervisors.
The program was part of a table-games division
restructuring announced Aug. 21 in a meeting with dealers
and supervisors.
Wynn Las Vegas executives have said the casino's dealers
were earning about $100,000 annually in salary and tips.
The new tip-pooling policy would mean an average pay
reduction of about 20 percent.
Table-game supervisors were given a boost in salary and
were allowed a percentage of the tips to bring their
compensation up to what dealers were earning. The casino
also instituted a bonus program for dealers.
According to the lawsuit, the two dealers are seeking the
wages they lost because of the tip pooling, and they want
the program stopped.
"(Wynn Las Vegas) breached ... contracts of employment by
unilaterally, illegally, and without cause, withholding
certain portions of the ... casino dealers' tip pool and
paying such portions to other persons who were not casino
dealers and were not entitled to such payments," the
lawsuit said.
The dealers' lawsuit was filed Sept. 13, the same day
Nevada Labor Commissioner Michael Tanchek rejected the
complaints of more than 100 dealers about the tip-pooling
program. Tanchek said he didn't believe the casino was
violating state law.
Tanchek said the state's Department of Business and
Industry will continue to look at Wynn Las Vegas' new
policy and investigate any new complaints.
Pascal said the labor commissioner's ruling validated the
Wynn Las Vegas program.
"We weren't impulsive about implementing this," Pascal
said. "We thought it through and looked all the
alternatives. We believe in it, it's lawful and we will
continue ahead with the program. We're already seeing the
benefits."
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