There’s a consensus on how tipping should work, but in a city like Las Vegas things work just a little bit different. It’s like a whole different culture. When most of the economy runs on gratuity you’d be better off knowing what these rules and expectations are before going to the city for whatever shenanigans you have in mind. A lot of people work very hard to make your city experience the best it could be, so they should get some monetary appreciation out of the patrons they serve.

Of course, the range of price in Las Vegas is pretty varied. If you want to go cheap, there are plenty of things to do in Vegas without spending massive amounts of money. On the other hand, you can spend thousands of dollars at world-class establishments. Obviously the more you spend in any particular establishment, the more expensive your tips will be, so keep that in mind while you are tipping in Las Vegas.

Tipping in Las Vegas

Generally speaking, fifteen to twenty percent is the understood norm for tipping in Las Vegas. Of course, there are a lot of additional guidelines to consider for specific occupations. If you’re going to be patronizing your first casino in Las Vegas, tipping dealers or slot attendants is handled by small bets for the dealer at gaming tables or regular small tips for slot attendants.

Dining

For dining, there is usually not a legitimate service charge. However, it is still expected that fifteen to twenty percent tips be paid on the pre-tax bill. In cases of overly large groups of eight or more, most restaurants will make this tip mandatory, though they will let you know beforehand. If you're eating at a buffet in Vegas, a dollar per person is considered enough.

Hotel Staff

As for hotel staff, you tip one or two dollars for each bag of luggage they handle for you. If you plan on making use of concierge services, a $5 tip is the appropriate amount to offer.

Taxi Drivers and Tour Guides

Finally, you have taxi drivers and other tour guides. For direct routes, you are expected to provide tips of one or two dollars. You may also use the 15 to 20 percent rule, though you are supposed to do whichever one is greater. For tour guides, you should pay one or two dollars to tour guides for each person at the end of the tour.
Of course, it can get more complicated than that. A lot of people are unsure of whether or not they should tip at all depending on whether or not the service was good or not. Still, no one wants to feel overly stingy by not providing anything at all, even if service is rough. While the above-mentioned rates are average, you are always expected to gauge the appropriate amount based on your requests, bill, service received and interaction.

Valets

That said, we might as well get into some detail not only on appropriate tipping amounts but also in which Vegas situations are appropriate to tip in. First and foremost are valets. In Vegas, it would be in extremely bad taste to not tip a valet. After all, Las Vegas is one of the only cities where these services are provided for free. Those valet drivers don’t get paid, so they completely subsist on tips. That said, it’s a social faux pas to not tip them. After all, those valets are usually running around in rather hot weather to fetch your car at any time. They deserve something at any rate, though it’s usually fewer than five dollars. If you ask for specific additions to the usual service, such as having your car kept in a particular location, you are expected to pay a little extra.

Maids

If you’re going to be staying in a hotel during your stay in Las Vegas, chances are there will be a maid that will tend to your room every day. Needless to say, maids are one of the most thankless employees in the tourism industry. Generally speaking, you should at least tip them between one and five dollars every night. It is, of course, depending on how much work you leave for the maid each day. While you may not be required to tip maids at all in Vegas, it’d be in really poor taste to not give them some gratuity for their hard work, especially if you have kids that leave them with a lot of work on a regular basis.

Bellhop

And of course, we have the bellman. Most of us don’t bring a lot of baggage on our vacations anymore, thanks to the advent of aerial transport. Still, we usually still have a few bags in our care, and someone has to take care of those. That person happens to be the bellman. They’ve got to take care of your bags, so they at least deserve a little something. The general Vegas consensus is that you tip these workers one to five dollars unless your luggage is extremely heavy. If there are extenuating circumstances that make maneuvering your bags more difficult, you should consider paying the bellman just a little extra. On the other hand, some hotel may charge porter fees, and in that case, you may not have to offer a gratuity.

Either way, there are a lot of little nuances to how you tip in Las Vegas. Generally speaking, you should just keep in mind how much effort a lot of these tourism employees put into making your stay as pleasant as possible. A lot of them work hard to provide you with excellent service every single day, and if you appreciate all of the small things they do for you, you should tip them. After all, many of them rely on tips for the majority of their income, or in the case of valets, all of it. Your generosity and appreciation could be all that helps them get through the next week, so rather than be stingy, tip these hard workers what they deserve.

We hope you learned a little bit about tipping in Las Vegas. CASH 1 enjoys sharing Las Vegas travel tips from time to time and remember that if you're needing car title loan requirements or if you need to know about a loan against your car, you can stop by one of our stores or begin applying online.