Q:
The answer to the 7/18 QoD said chips shouldn’t be used for tips. I have never seen a cocktail waitress tipped in anything BUT. So, how do they escape the rules regarding not gambling in their places of employment?
A:
It was more than eight years ago, back in the earliest days of QoD, that we first addressed this question (7/4/2005) and it’s come up in one form or another as an FAQ ever since. So for all those who missed the original here, once more, is the answer, which comes as a surprise to many.
According to point 4, paragraph 12.060, of the Nevada State Gaming Control Board’s Regulation 12, governing casino chips and tokens, "A licensee shall not accept chips or tokens as payment for any goods or services offered at the licensee’s gaming establishment, with the exception of the specific use for which the chips or tokens were issued, and shall not give the chips or tokens as change in any other transaction." In other words, neither patrons nor the casino can use chips in lieu of money other than for the specific purpose that they were made for at the gaming tables.
The same regulation states that, "Chips and tokens are solely representatives of value which evidence a debt owed to their custodian by the licensee that issued them and are not the property of anyone other than that licensee." That is, chips — just like bank notes — are only a symbolic representation of the actual money you cash in for and win; they are the physical property of the casino and don’t belong to you, and therefore are not yours to give away as a tip to the cocktail waitress, or to the cab driver, or to the stripper at the club he drives you to; neither are they to be used in the casino gift shop or spa, and they are not yours to destroy. They are not to be used anyplace else, nor for any other reason, other than for the specific purpose for which they were intended at the gaming tables.
That said, of course we’ve all seen it happen, or even done it ourselves, and no one seems to object or even know that they should. Hence, we put in a call to Gaming Control for the final official word on this. Here’s what we were told: "It is actually a violation of the Regulations and of federal mint laws. Gaming chips are to be used for the purposes of gaming only. And, yep, drinks are frequently purchased with gaming chips, as are other items, but they shouldn’t be."
So, not only is using chips for non-gaming purposes against the rules; if you do it you’re actually breaking a federal law! However, when compared to the other violations in the casino environment that the "powers that be" must concern themselves with — cheating, theft, armed robbery, underage gambling/drinking, money laundering, prostitution, drug-dealing, counterfeit-currency passing, etc. — this particular infraction doesn’t seem to register too high on the enforcement radar and we’ve yet to hear of a single instance of someone being prosecuted for tipping, or being tipped with, a casino chip. Still, it’s good to be aware, since ignorance is no defense in the eyes of the law, and now you know that if you fail to have the foresight to come prepared with/save some singles in your billfold, you’re toking that cocktail waitress/valet/stripper at your own peril — and theirs! — if you use a chip.
from www.lasvegasadvisor.com
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