More poker updates... Tipping the cashier

Sorry been playing lots of poker lately and that usually translate into fewer blog posts. Last go round I mentioned how I got angry at a cashier but didn't go into it.

We had just chopped the weekly and we took our tickets to the poker cage, and the new cashier behind the counter said he couldn't pay us out (first time I've ever heard that in all the times I've cashed there) because basically it would be too hard with the change. Ummm... what? A number of us are confused and he told us to find a different cashier. Okay, mental note taken. Mental picture taken. This guy with his attitude and lack of interest in helping us probably wouldn't ever get a tip from me. I'll revisit this.

So, everybody follows me to the middle cashier cage. Not too bad as every window is open and everybody is about to get serviced at once. Even though I'm there slightly first I have the misfortune of running into Sh$$y cashier number two on the day. It was also a male. This one seemed straight, so apparently the bad attitude of Harrahs cashiers is attributed to maleness not choice of sexuality.

He starts looking at the ticket I have to cash and his eyes widen in fake astonishment. "Whoa, did you hit a jackpot?"

"Um no, it's a poker tournament."

He smiled broadly and fakely, "Well congratulations on your good fortune today! That's awesome."

I smell his angle shoot from a mile away. I'm already ticked off about the first guy so no way was this guy's fake niceness going to get him a bigger tip. Meanwhile, the other cashiers are just paying out the winners.

My guy tries to make nice some more "You were really lucky to win all this huh?", and I'm just thinking pay me already. So he comes back with my money, finally, and after the hundos are counted out, he stops and instead of giving me a twenty he breaks it into two tens. Yeah, like I'm tipping this guy $10 on a poker win (meanwhile I'm fully intent on giving something back to the dealers even with their $10 juice on everybody--$870 on that day). Maybe people that hit slots jackpots in their exuberance tip out cashiers money, and maybe if I had won something that was more luck than skill, I would have tipped him more, but I consider poker at the least supplemental income and this guy had nothing to do with me winning.

You want a tell on me? If after a big hand, I don't tip the dealer much, it's because I bluffed the other guy. Suck-outs and big hands get bigger tips. If I have to do all the work to earn the money the dealers aren't going to get much. So, in no way would a cashier be entitled to a chunk of change for winning a tournament in my mind.

I don't know why I even slid him a dollar but I did so. Then he takes the dollar and mocks me, "Ooooh, one whole dollar!" he turns to the cashier next to him, "He tipped me a dollar! A DOLLAR!"

I normally don't lose it but to be mocked for giving a guy money for essentially making change had me blow my cool, I said (and I might be omitting expletives) "You better bite your lip! I'm going to go tip the dealers now and I didn't have to tip you anything. You are lucky you got a dollar." As my wife said, I should have said, "You don't want the dollar? Give it back."

Meanwhile, my invective got the attention of all the cashiers behind the cage who turned to see my dude holding his dollar skyward. I'm guessing complaining about tips is a no-no there, it certainly should be, because he immediately changed his tune. And seemed almost authentically grateful for the dollar. Vermin.

Okay, so now cashiers at Harrahs make that male cashiers are on my s-list. I'll come back to this.

This past weekend I played the tournament and busted in the 30 to 40 range. I played some cash and finished the day a winner even with the loss of the tournament buy-in. Some terrible players at my cash table. For example, short stacked I won a $400 something pot shoving on the turn with A10, a 10 on the board. I got called in three spots, and I was confident I was way ahead. There was a flush draw out there which didn't hit.

Sure enough I scooped the entire pot when pocket nines, K10 and garbage (gutshot straight draw that said the pot was too big not to call) showed their hands. Never felt so safe about a pair of 10s with an Ace kicker in four way action in all my life.

That pot paced me to victory and I took off to go spend part of my Saturday with my family. As I got to the cage, I pocketed some chips (anything over $50 intervals which I add to my freeroll jar at home) and slided the rest to... the guy that didn't want to pay out the tournament the previous week.

As he counts out my winnings, I notice I had an extra white chip in there. Normally, I'll tip at least a dollar whether or not I win. I pay that every time I play win or lose (unless I'm felted), well not today... I look at him and remember what an ass he was last week, and say, "You know what slide that back to me."

"Slide that back to you?" He asks like he's Kurt on the TV show Glee with atonished indignance.

"Yeah..."

He kind of shakes his head.

I put my hand out and he returns it. I was still thinking about tipping the guy because I always like to give people the benefit of the "Had a terrible day" doubt. He then decides to play dirty pool and re-counts every stack taking them out of the tray to do so and stalls taking his time to get some measure of revenge (I guess). I laugh to myself, wait for the money, and then paused as though I might still slide him the dollar... instead I flicked it up and catched it. When I see he's still looking at me, I change my mind and just drop it on the floor, on the outside of his cage, shrug at him, and walk off. Yeah, not one of my prouder moments but I hate lazy people, unwilling to do the minimum of what their job requires, and always looking for handouts, despite being terrible employees.

I worked basically in a fast food joint during the summers in college. I used to man the rotisserie chicken ovens and I would lose weight almost every day just from the sweat of working in that heat. Yet, unlike my fellow employees I worked as hard as could as long as I was on the clock. The only guy to get tips... me. The customers appreciated it. I never expected it but I was always grateful when I got any tip and I got a lot of them. Nobody else did. I don't want to hear bitching about working in some low pay job and having to deal with aholes... I lived it, do your job and you'll be rewarded. Don't and expect something for nothing and you'll be disappointed.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Nice move! I personally have more people at Harrah's New Orleans on my TBFL list. That's TIP BANNED FOR LIFE.

Mostly they include the dealers with their a$$hole attitudes and sense of entitlement. Worst dealers on Earth.

I only wish you had ripped the dollar into 16 pieces right in front of him. Then ripped up a $100 bill...only to tape it back together in the privacy of your own home.

ES
Anonymous said…
I agree 100 percent with this post....rude and arrogent people get no tips regardless if I won $1,000....well said!
Anonymous said…
Great blog! Couldn't have said it any better myself! Keep up the great work my friend.

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