You don't really enter the casino business to achieve recognition. You have a stage, the table, and you have an audience, the patrons and coworkers, but the gaming industry is particularly different than other incarnations of entertainment. You don't invent the games, but you have to make them function. If you do your job particularly well, you provide entertainment, regardless if patrons winning or losing. You have to do this while the odds are against every person that walks up to your table to play.

I could tell you about getting large tips-my personal record exceeded what I cleared for six weeks-or when a coworker outdid me (in one shift, a dealer dropped twice what I made the preceding year from a single player). Unlike poker dealers, we don't keep the money; it gets divided amongst all the dealers. I understand a player not wanting to tip Mr. Miserable to my left or Mr. Slow to my right. Even at the nicest casinos, the dealer is paid below, or close to, minimum wage; that's because the casino hierarchy expects patrons to subsidize the dealer's salary. This might sound depressing, but restaurants and bars do the same thing. Depending on whether or not you've ever been in the service industry, you'll look at tipping differently. There's an argument to be had, but before we go there, let me relate a few of my experiences...

As I weigh particularly positive and negative experiences, the positives are less about getting particularly big tips. I struck up a conversation with a gentleman smoking a foreign cigarette that is banned for commercial import. He tracked me down on his next visit to give me a pack of these cigarettes. Big deal? It was, actually. It showed that I made an impact in his enjoying the game and he wanted to make sure I knew it.

Rarely do gamblers (or patrons in any industry) take the time to fill out surveys or contact management about positive experiences. When you've done a great job and an email or letter comes in, bosses love to share these anecdotes and often provide additional compensation. More often than not, a patron shows me that I've done a good job by coming back, remembering my name, saying thank you, and building a relationship. I've earned my share of compliments over the years, some from people I never expected. Knowing that your work is appreciated is the pinnacle of casino achievement. That may not sound like much on the high side but it is if you are a dealer...

What they don't tell you in dealer's school has to do with the lows of the industry.

Try to thank someone for a two dollar tip after he wins a couple thousand bucks over eight hours. It's hard to do. Try to have five cold stiffs on a craps or blackjack game and one player you don't know. On some level you may know that how you treat the five stiffs may influence the sixth's decision to tip or not to tip. You still have to provide a level of service to the five stiffs, so you hold out hope for the unknown, who may also be a stiff. Now you have a table full of stiffs. Would you work harder without hope of additional compensation?

If I'm tired of typing about tipping, I'm sure you're tired about hearing about it. Enough!

Twenty years ago, the industry was more concerned with speed and accuracy. It used to be that the casino ran the game and if a patron didn't like it, oh well. With the proliferation of casinos came a pseudo-commitment to customer service. Gone is the guy with a stopwatch timing a shuffle and sweating the money. Shuffle machines and side bets are employed to increase profits. Now, somebody winning is a good thing (so long as they weren't card counting).

The dealer always has to be on the lookout for cheats-fearing the worst of someone can make treating him with a friendly attitude inherently difficult. It could be a hand signal, a capped bet, a pinch, a claim that someone wasn't paid, a "shot" in craps... With verbally agreed wagers, understandings are inevitable, but if you've spent any time in casinos, you know what I'm talking about. A mistake on either side is forgivable. But if you see a pattern of behavior on your table, get up and get out. Running a shoe down with surveillance is routine; don't get caught counting because someone else is cheating. You are free to comment to the floor or pit, but you also want to limit your exposure.

Seeing someone win an outrageous amount of money is fantastic. When someone buys in for a thousand and gets up ten or thirty thousand, it feels great to be part of the game. What isn't so enjoyable is watching that player blow that thirty thousand back and another five thousand, only to come back the next day and blow another buy-in...

Another buy-in a minute later, from the other pocket, and a depleting roll. "How much am I in for?" It is a legitimate question and it is not necessarily indicative of an actual problem. Or he could know exactly how much he is in for and wants to make sure he's being rated properly. All-in, lose. Buy in $500. Blackjack. FANTASTIC! His eyes light up. Bet $1,000, lose.

His other half comes to visit two more times, shaking, pleading with him to stop. Robert has asked about his buy-ins but hasn't said any phrase for which I can cut him off. I can still hear the stress in her voice. He lost $8,600 that day, every hundred dollar bill from the gambling pocket and every one from his money clip.

That one hurt the most because I could feel the impact of his losing. The thing about casino chips is that they are a step away from currency. A thousand dollar chip is something we see day in and day out. Casino employees are desensitized to the actual value of money. When industry employees implode, it gets ugly. The next patron is a dealer at another casino. How the hell can they lose $10,000 if he only makes 30-60k/year? Is he stealing, running up credit cards, or does he have a side business?

You see people escalate. Maybe a player recently retired and has more free time. Maybe the player sold a house or got a settlement. The player who used to be thrilled winning $300 now doesn't stop until up $3,000 or broke. We hear details through the grapevine when he stops coming in.

In between the extremes of highs and lows is the everyday routine of dealing. In principle I get it: your bet, whether it is $5, $25, or $2,500, deserves to be treated with respect. I know what is intended in the statement, "I treat every customer like a VIP." But you are not going to have a limo waiting for you at the airport with chilled Cristal with a $10 average bet. That's not to say you don't deserve to have a good time. You do. Would you be as interested and as emotionally invested in blackjack if you were only betting $.01? At some higher number, the amount becomes more interesting for the player and dealer. Further, your value to the casino is not your buy-in, but it's also not the sum of all your bets either. (You should never expect to be comped more than 10% of what you actually use.) If you sit out a lot, supervisors have to cut your time. It's a suit's job to keep track of what you actually play.

Smoke is tolerated at a higher level at higher stakes. This is the way of the world. When a high roller lights a cigar, no one says anything. If a guy on a $10 table lights a cheap cigar, players complain, and dealers often make faces. The player did nothing wrong by exercising the freedom to smoke. But what if that player only bets one out of ten hands or has his bets off nine out of ten rolls in craps. Everyone on the table is aware that there are dangers involved with inhaling second-hand smoke. How would you treat a customer who presents an actual threat to your health? Now think of the guy who takes a big drag and then blows all the smoke directly at the dealer's face. You, the patron, can get up and find another table. If you are the dealer you are stuck there.

On the issue of smoke, very few casinos prevent smoking on the casino floor. You may think it fair or unfair that different states have different regulations for different industries. It may be banned nationally in the future, but if you can't stand it, don't enter the industry or if you are on the patron side, find a place with good ventilation or a friendly smoke-free layout. Complaining on the floor will get you nowhere. Write the casino administrator and your Senator.

On the issue of complaints, get the right audience. No dealer sets room prices, comp rates, or the table minimum. If a mistake happens, address it. If you aren't rated fairly, discuss this with a pit boss or host. Would you want to hear someone complain about something that you have no control over?

If your dealer doesn't like the job, he or she should consider finding another occupation, but it is probably not your role as a patron to point this out. I have wanted to suggest this to many dealers when I was dealing, supervising, or playing, but I prefer to show my appreciation by tipping, filling out customer surveys, speaking to managers, etc.

If I didn't enjoy my job, I'd quit. While everything isn't perfect, it's like anything else-you have to take the good with the bad.