http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2006/Aug-23-Wed-2006/news/9211902.html
Aug. 23, 2006
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Wynn alters rules on tips
Plan for sharing gratuities upsets casino's dealers
By HOWARD STUTZ GAMING WIRE
The Wynn Las Vegas chief told table game workers
personally, official says
A restructuring of how Wynn Las Vegas manages its
casino soon will leave many dealers there a little lighter in the wallet.
Starting Sept. 1, table game supervisors will share in
the tips earned by dealers, a move gaming industry
insiders said is unheard of along the Strip.
"This amounts to money out of my pocket to pay
other employees," said one dealer, a 14-year veteran
who has worked at the $2.7 billion Wynn Las Vegas
since it opened in April 2005.
"It will cause a lot of disgruntled dealers. You're taking
frontline people and making them unhappy."
The change will cause him to lose at least $30,000 a
year in tip earnings, he said.
Wynn Resorts Ltd. Chairman Steve Wynn and other
executives told table game employees of the pending
changes Monday night.
Wynn had been in China working on preparations for
next month's opening of the $1 billion Wynn Macau.
But he thought the issue was important enough to
make a 15-hour flight to Las Vegas to tell his workers
personally, Wynn Las Vegas President Andrew Pascal
said Tuesday.
A widening disparity between the wages earned by
dealers and casino floor supervisors caused the Strip
casino to alter the structure of its table games division,
Pascal said.
Starting next week, pit bosses and floor supervisors will
be known as "casino service team leaders." Their responsibilities
will cover the operations of specific table games, including
game protection and customer service. The new plan will be
phased in over several weeks.
Gaming Control Board sources said Tuesday they were
unaware of any changes in policy at Wynn Las Vegas.
A source said the casino had applied to change some of
its table game internal controls but did not advise gaming
regulators about what modifications were being requested.
The most controversial part of the restructuring is a change i
n compensation.
Pascal said that Wynn Las Vegas dealers are the highest-
paid dealers in the city, averaging about $100,000 per year
in salary and tip earnings. But the employees supervising
dealers average about $60,000 a year in salary, Pascal said.
"Because of our property, that disparity has gotten wider,"
Pascal said, citing Wynn's emphasis on high-end play as
one reason its dealers' tokes are larger than most Strip
properties. "There was no incentive in the division to
advance and grow.
"Everybody wanted to become dealers," he added.
Dealers who split tips by shifts now will share those tokes
with team leaders and supervisors, who also will receive a
boost in base salary.
The result, Pascal said, will be dealers earning an average of
$90,000 annually while supervisors will be paid $95,000.
"We're still going to have the highest-paid dealers on the Strip,"
Pascal said. "What it does is rebalances the structure of our
table games division and gives a person an incentive to take
on more responsibility."
But dealers said sharing tokes with supervisors is unfair.
Writing anonymously on the dealers Internet forum,
CasinoDealers.net, several Wynn employees said they
were disappointed that their paychecks could be reduced
by an estimated 10 percent to 20 percent.
Some said they were upset by the short notice before the
changes take effect; others said they will apply for different
positions to avoid a pay cut.
"We will continue to go to work, smile, and do our jobs to
the best of our ability. We have no choice," one Wynn dealer wrote.
"The image of 'Steve Wynn' convinced us we were safe,
but the image was just a mirage. I think I will be applying
for a 'team leader' position to minimize the financial damage
that lies ahead."
Another dealer wrote that Wynn Las Vegas mismanaged
its staff and is forcing line employees to share in the burden.
"They say that it is because they think it's only 'right' for
supervisors to make more than dealers because this is how
things are in other industries," the dealer wrote. "Well, dealers
making more than supervisors is how it has always been in
this industry and this didn't become the 'right' thing to do
until Wynn failed miserably to make their employees happy."
MGM Mirage spokesman Alan Feldman said examples exist
throughout the gaming industry of entry-level managers earning
far less than the line workers they oversee. Bartenders and
cocktail waitresses sometimes earn more than the assistant beverage manager.
"The management positions are on a completely different
career path than the line employees," Feldman said.
Harrah's Entertainment spokesman David Strow said that
historically at Harrah's-owned properties, including the
upscale Caesars Palace, supervisors do not share in the
tip pool with dealers.
Wynn Las Vegas will start incentive programs for dealers to
earn annual cash bonuses to supplement their lost income, Pascal said.
Dealers on the Web site said most of the heat from the change
will be felt by table game supervisors, who are receiving a large
bump in pay.
"I don't agree with the way this was handled, but this was the
cheapest way for management to make the floor happy without
it costing the company money," wrote a Wynn dealer. "Steve
Wynn emphasized that he expects near perfection from the
floor staff for this big pay raise."
Wynn Las Vegas operates 140 table games, including baccarat.
Pascal said about 820 table game positions at the casino will
be affected in the restructuring.
The casino's poker room and slot machine area will not be
affected by the changes.
Pascal said the property has operated for several months
without a vice president of casino operations, the executive
responsible for the table game division.
Several other middle management table game positions have
been restructured too. A casino manager and two assistant
casino managers will supervise each shift.
Former pit bosses and floor supervisors will assume new job
duties. Pascal also hopes some dealers will want to move up
to the team leader positions.
He said the concept allows dealers to have an incentive to
increase their responsibility while increasing their wages.
----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==----
http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups
----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =----
FAQ
Search
Profile
Private Messages
Log in
.