How Much Do Casino Dealers Make? Salary & Tips Explained

The words Toke and Tip are exactly the same thing. So why do dealers say Tokes instead of Tips? Because historically speaking, in Las Vegas casinos, tips used to be called a Token of Gratitude and as with everything in life, time wore this phrase down from its original version to the word we use today, Toke. However, not everyone uses the word Toke to describe their tips. In the United Kingdom as well as in other places, dealers prefer to keep it simple by just calling them Tips.

It’s very difficult to calculate how much dealers get paid because not only is every casino different but usually every dealer’s paycheck is different too, depending on the casino’s toke policies, the shift, number of hours worked, whether the dealer signed the Early Out list or not. Many things that can affect the toke rate, the Pencil being a good example. Since the Pencil is responsible for assigning dealers to their tables and whether to send people home or not, if this position is handled inefficiently, then this could lead to having too many dead tables open or by assigning shorter relief strings. By not sending enough dealers home when it’s needed, this will result in having more dealers at work, which means more breaks for everyone but also less pay.

Dealers generally get paid minimum wage plus tips. In Las Vegas, as of 2026, the minimum wage is $12 per hour. However, minimum wage is different all across the world and can range anywhere from 27,093 RUB per month in Russia (which is $1.95 per hour for a 40 hour work week), to AUD 26.44 per hour in Australia (this equates to $18.90 per hour). In America, the money dealers earn from Minimum Wage is primarily used to pay taxes and healthcare, which means that dealers mainly live off their tips. There are four different methods that dealers can be paid: Keep Your Own, Envelope, Check, or Direct Deposit. It’s normal for casinos to pool the dealer’s tokes together, however even though pooled tokes might be the norm, there are still many different ways casinos pay their dealers. There’s the 24-hour Split, the Weekly Split, Two-Week Split, Monthly Split, Shift-for-Shift Split, Pit-for-Pit Split, Table Split, Zone Split and Keep Your Own.

Las Vegas Tokes

It’s difficult to say how much money dealers make since the toke numbers for each casino fluctuate on a daily basis. Especially now, in 2026, as Las Vegas has seen a decrease in visitors. Plus, the dealers and the casinos like to keep these numbers secret, so typically there are no public records of what the dealer’s bring home pay is. The best we can do is look at actual toke numbers from the past, provided to us by the dealers who work in those casinos, and use these samples in order to give us an accurate impression of what dealers make.

When looking at different casinos, it’s easy to notice a tier system. The high-end hotels bring in a wealthier clientele which results in higher toke numbers for those dealers. Whereas low-end casinos tend to bring in a smaller crowd of locals and that leads to lower toke numbers.

High Tier Casinos will make around $70,000 - $100,000 per year with a typical weekday averaging around $150 to $250 per day and on the weekend the averages are around $200 to $400. That comes out to $18 to $31 per hour on the weekdays and $25 to $50 per hour on the weekends. This includes casinos such as the Bellagio, the Cosmopolitan, Mandalay Bay, Venetian and Caesar’s Palace. On event days or holidays, these dealers can bring in astonishing amounts for one day totals. For example, during the Pacquiao and Mayweather Boxing Event in 2015, the dealers at the Aria made $1,500 for just 8 hours of work. On New Year’s Eve in 2007, dealers at the Bellagio made $1,396. And during the Superbowl weekend in 2007, dealers at Caesar’s Palace made $351, $582 and $461 respectively for those three days.

Medium Tier Casinos make on average around $30,000 to $65,000 per year with a common weekday averaging between $75 to $100 per day and on the weekends the averages are around $100 to $150. That equates to $9 to $12 per hour on the weekdays and $12 to $18 per hour on the weekends. This includes casinos such as Bally’s, Green Valley Ranch, Flamingo, the Cromwell, Golden Nugget, Hard Rock, Harrah’s and the Palms. To compare a medium tier casino with a high tier casino, during the weekend of the big Pacquiao and Mayweather Boxing Event in 2015, the dealers at the Cromwell made $258, $168 and $154 respectively. On New Year’s Eve in 2006, the Flamingo dealers made $233. And during the Superbowl weekend in 2015, the dealers at the MGM made $361, $431 and $363 respectively.

Low Tier Casinos normally make around $15,000 to $30,000 per year with a common weekday averaging between $20 to $70 per day and on the weekends the averages are around $70 to $110. That equates to $2 to $9 per hour on the weekdays and $9 to $13 per hour on the weekends. Low Tier casinos typically include downtown casinos, off-Strip casinos, local’s casinos and break-in houses. Some of these casinos include The D, Main Street Station, El Cortez, Boulder Station, Cannery, Excalibur, Luxor, the Stratosphere and Sam’s Town. The best break-in house in Las Vegas is the Gold Coast where dealers average around $100 per day in tokes, or about $30,000 per year. In comparison, during the weekend of the big Pacquiao and Mayweather Boxing Event in 2015, the dealers at the Stratosphere made $67, $56 and $65 respectively. On New Year’s Day in 2015, the Luxor dealers made $85. And on Superbowl Sunday in 2014, dealers at the Sunset Station made $160.

Keep in mind that as the years progress, these casinos will move in and out of different tiers based on a variety of factors, such as new owners, how management runs the property, all the way down to, how many hands-per-hour can the dealers complete. A good example of this is the Hard Rock. They used to be a top tier casino, bringing in $75,000 to $85,000 per year. When they got new owners and new management, the tokes dropped to about $55,000 to $60,000 per year pushing them down to the medium tier.

Tokes In America

There are over 2,000 casinos in the United States and the tier system between all of them is surprisingly similar. As we discuss the various toke rates casinos have, keep in mind that dealers get two pay rates, one rate is for their tips and the second hourly rate is their base pay or minimum wage depending on the location.

High Tier Casinos in America will still range from $18 to $50 per hour in tokes alone. L’Auberge Casino is the highest toked casino in Louisiana and has made a name for itself as a High Tier casino in America. Dealer’s toke rates average from $23 to $35 per hour while the L’Auberge Poker dealers average around $55 per hour as of 2017. However, the base pay for L’Auberge dealers in 2017 was a meager $4.25 per hour. Meanwhile in 2015, over in Cabazon, California, the dealers at the Morongo Casino made $35 per hour in tokes and $8 per hour for their base pay. Over at Palm Springs, California the dealers at Fantasy Springs casino made $25 per hour, or $200 a day in tokes, in 2016. In Ohio, the dealers at Hollywood casino made $17 to $20 per hour in tokes and then $4.90 per hour for their base pay between 2014 and 2016. Then there are a few houses that are teetering on the edge of qualifying as a High Tier casino. Harrah’s Council Bluffs casino in Iowa (as of 2013) and the IP casino in Biloxi Mississippi (as of 2016) both average $18 per hour with a base rate of around $5 per hour.

Medium Tier Casinos range from $9 to $18 per hour, so a casino such as River Rock in Geyserville, California qualifies for this tier since, in 2013, they averaged around $12 per hour in tokes. There are many other casinos that qualify for this tier, such as Harrah’s in Biloxi Mississippi where dealers made between $14 and $18 per hour with a base rate of $5.75 in 2016. In 2015 the Baltimore Maryland casino dealers who worked at the Horseshoe made between $12 and $17 per hour. Another casino that qualifies for this tier is Mystic Lake in Prior Lake Minnesota where dealers made on average between $12 to $18 per hour in 2013, which is between $100 to $150 per day in tokes. Inn of the Mountain Gods casino in Mescalero, New Mexico also averaged around $100 on the weekdays and $150 on the weekends in 2014. In 2015, one state over in Arizona, dealers at Casino del Sol averaged between $10 and $13 per hour for tokes with a base pay of $5.15 per hour. Detroit Michigan dealers are averaging that same amount. MGM Grand dealers made around $13 per hour in tokes and the Motor City dealers made $11 per hour in 2014. In 2016, Kansas Star casino dealers averaged $14 per hour in tokes and $5.75 per hour base pay. In D’lberville Mississippi, dealers who work at the Scarlet Pearl Casino averaged between $13 and $15 per hour in tokes and $5.75 per hour for base pay in 2016. And last, but not least, the dealers who worked at Snoqualmie casino in Washington averaged $15 per hour in tokes with a base pay of $9 per hour in 2012.

Low Tier Casinos range from $2 to $12 per hour and include break-in houses such as the Seven Clans casino in Minnesota where in 2017, the dealers only average between $3 and $4 per hour in tips. In Biloxi Mississippi, the dealers at Boomtown casino average between $8 and $10 per hour in tokes with a base pay of $5.75 per hour in 2016. In 2012, the dealers at Emerald Queen casino in Fife Washington averaged $7 to $10 per hour in tips with a base pay of $9 per hour.

There are many places in the United States where Americans don’t have immediate access to a casino. Instead, what you’ll find are casino parties, where you can pay a set amount to get in and play blackjack, craps, poker and more, but you’re not actually gambling for real money. Whatever you win or lose for that night is fake and doesn’t count. However, on some rare occasions, these casino party dealers do in fact get tipped with real money. At one casino party in Alabama, the tips are placed in the dealer’s toke box and at the end of the night all of the dealers combine their tips together on the table and then sort through the pile. All of the chips and “funny money” are placed back into circulation, and the small business owner will combine the real tip money together and then figure out the total amount that the dealers should get before cutting everyone a check.

Tokes Around The World

There are over 3,000 casinos worldwide and they all have similarities and differences to each other, especially when it comes to paying their casino staff. As we discuss the pay rate for different countries, please keep in mind that the exchange rate changes daily and these numbers are accurate as of late 2017.

In Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, the way casinos distribute tips is completely different than in the United States. The tips are still pooled together but instead of just dealers getting the tips, all of the casino staff is included in the pool. The casino staff in Lisbon is divided up into separate categories based on their position in the company. Dealers would be labeled as Table Staff and Floor Supervisors, Shift Managers and Pit Bosses are included in this same category. Assistant Staff includes all of the cashiers and the last category is called Contínuos and this position assists the Table Staff with maintaining the pit. An example of a few of these job duties includes setting up the casino tables before they open, taking the fills from the cage to the table and cleaning ashtrays. Each category is further divided into letters based on experience. So if an employee had 5 or more years’ experience then they would be considered a letter A. If the employee had between 1 and 5 years’ experience then they would be a letter B and anything less than one year was a letter C. All of the people categorized as Assistant Staff would be a letter D. The toke pool is then divided into equal parts. Employees that are assigned to the letters C and D only receive 1 part, while people assigned to the letter B receive 2 parts and people assigned to the letter A get 3 parts. Here’s a quick example to help demonstrate this range of pay. A vast majority of dealers are assigned the letter A and they would take home €600 in tips at the end of the month. People assigned a letter B would receive €400 in tips at the end of the month, while people assigned with the letter C or D would take home €200 in tips at the end of the month.

Dealers assigned a letter A and are located in the Estoril Zone average around €900 to €1,000 per month. However, the Estoril Zone is considered to have the highest paying toke pool in the country. If the dealer is working in the Algarve Zone and they’re assigned a letter B, then they could expect to make on average around €200 to €300 per month. If the person was assigned a letter A, then they could make between €300 to €500 per month. In Portugal the busy season is July and August and some dealers can expect to see these averages double due to the tourism increase.

In Ghana, South Africa, every casino is different and some casinos let the dealers keep their own tips while at other casinos, they pool their tips together and then split it equally amongst all of the dealers. Dealers are paid once, at the end of the month and management has complete control over their tips. There’s no Toke Committee to represent them. The average amount dealers make per month is 100GH¢, which in U.S. currency is less than $25. One source reported that the highest payment for one month was 170GH¢, which is equal to $37.19.

In Russia and other Post U.S.S.R. countries such as Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Georgia and Lithuania, dealers don’t keep their own tips; instead the tips are pooled together and then split among the casino staff based on the number of points they’ve accumulated. The more points the dealer has, the more money they’ll get paid. For example, a trainee, or a break-in dealer, would have 3 points, while an experienced dealer or an inspector would have 10 points. These points are not set in stone and are in fact subject to change. Management will even use this to punish or reward employees by adding or subtracting points to their status. Russian dealers can gain more points by being faster and working on their hands-per-hour. But they also need to be accurate with a low percentage of mistakes. Policies and procedures are important as well and should be taken into account, seeing how casinos place a high importance on this and want dealers to follow procedures by the book. Another way to accumulate points is by providing a friendly atmosphere on the table, offering good customer service and having a low percentage rate of getting into fights or other conflicts with players.

Other departments, such as the hostess or the cash desk, follow this same procedure for tipping. At the end of the month, employees will be paid in accordance with the points they’ve accumulated and the number of hours they’ve worked. For example, let’s compare an experienced dealer with 10 points who’s worked 100 hours in one month, to a trainee with 3 points who’s worked 300 hours in one month. The experienced dealer would make around 57,000₽ or $1,000 in one month while the trainee would make around 45,000₽, or $800, in that same month. So let’s now take a look at the real numbers Russian dealers make. Inexperienced beginners or trainees average around 11,000₽ or $200 per month while more experienced dealers can make between 28,000₽ to 45,000₽, or $500 to $800 per month. These are good numbers seeing how the average Russian salary is between 20,000₽ to 30,000₽, or $350 to $500 per month. This is a huge increase from the 2000’s when the average Russian salary was 3,000₽ to 5,000₽, or $60 to $80 per month. These numbers are what the dealers take home since all taxes are paid for by the company in which the dealer is working at.

In many countries around the world, tipping is normal and socially acceptable. There are only a handful of places where tipping is illegal, and the United Kingdom was previously on that list until the late 2000’s. Although tipping is currently allowed, this courtesy is seldom exercised since tipping is still not seen as a common practice like it is in America. But what is similar to America is that every casino is different and each one has its own tip averages and procedures for how those tips are distributed. Dealers and other casino staff are placed on a tronc system which is the same system that bartenders and waitresses use in the U.K. The tronc collects all of the tips from all of the different departments and pools them together. This includes the poker room tables, the casino tables, the bartenders, waitresses, even to the receptionist. Again, this may differ from casino to casino, as some companies will let a specific department, such as the bartenders, keep their own tips. Once all of the tips from the different departments are collected, their distribution is based on the casino staff’s particular contract. Contracts are based on the number of hours worked per week. For example, if they have a 16, 24, 32 or a 40-hour contract. The people who are on the 40-hour contract are considered to be Full-Time, while all of the other contracts are Part-Time. The contract states multiple stipulations, one of them being how much base pay the casino staff gets paid and this amount varies depending on their role. For example, a croupier will get £8 per hour while an inspector will get £9 per hour. In the United Kingdom, an inspector is equivalent to a Floor Supervisor. The casino staff will also get a percentage of the tips; the percentage depends on if you worked on a particular day or if it was a holiday, how many casino staff were working on that day and how many hours per week is worked, for example Full-Time workers will receive a higher percentage than Part-Time workers. The casino will also take 5% from the tip pool, since casinos typically see tips as “money lost” and not simply a gift given by the players. But keep in mind that every casino is different and some casinos might have different percentages, contracts and base pay than others.

In the United Kingdom, London dealers make the most money in tips plus they have a higher base salary, but this makes sense seeing as the cost of living is much higher. Depending on the casino and whether the croupier is a trainee (otherwise called a break-in dealer in America) or an experienced croupier, London dealers make anywhere from £1,500 to £2,000 per month for the base wage and between £400 and £500 per month in tips. In comparison, croupiers in Cardiff, Whales make £65 to £85 per month in tips. An Inspector in this location would average around £70 per month. Private Clubs and some of the bigger Clubs tend to make more money in tips. Generally, trainees in the United Kingdom average around £14,000 to £18,000 per year while more experienced croupiers make £20,000 to £25,000 per year.

Dealers can make more working on Cruise ships then they can by working in the United Kingdom, since on a Cruise ship the toke numbers are generally higher and the dealer’s earnings are tax free. Every Cruise Line is different but some dealers work approximately 40 hours per week while other dealers work 7 days a week. Typically the Cruise Ships guarantee a minimum of $1,000 per month, but that depends on how much the dealers make in tips. Tokes can range anywhere from $30 per day to $30 in two hours. On average, the dealer’s tips range from around $400 to $900 per month; with the dealers total take home pay equaling $1,000 to $1,500 per month.