Sec. 36.03.10.49. Acceptance of Tips or Gratuities

A. Except as otherwise provided in this regulation:

(1) A supervisory video lottery employee of a facility is prohibited from soliciting or accepting a tip or gratuity directly from a player;

(2) A video lottery employee is prohibited from soliciting a tip or gratuity from a player; and

(3) A facility operator may permit an employee who is authorized to accept a gratuity from a player to accept a gaming ticket if the gaming ticket is redeemed:

(a) At the cashiers’ cage; and

(b) With approval of the employee’s department supervisor, if the amount of the gaming ticket exceeds $100.

B. At least 30 days before table game operations are to commence, a facility operator shall submit to the Commission for approval internal controls relating to the acceptance of tips or gratuities by dealers at banking and nonbanking table games.

C. Except as provided in §G of this regulation, a dealer shall immediately deposit all tips and gratuities into a transparent locked box reserved for tips and gratuities, and:

(1) If roulette chips are received as a tips or gratuity, the marker button indicating the specific value of the roulette chips may not be removed until after the dealer, in the presence of a floorperson or above, has converted the roulette chips into value chips which shall then be immediately deposited in the transparent locked box reserved for tips and gratuities;

(2) Tip and gratuities shall be:

(a) Collected and accounted for at least once each gaming day; and

(b) Placed in a common pool for distribution pro rata among all dealers in accordance with §E of this regulation; and

(3) A facility operator may include dealer supervisors in the common pool described in §C(3) of this regulation.

D. Upon receipt of a tip or gratuity from a player, the dealer shall extend the dealer’s arm in an overt motion and deposit the tip or gratuity in the locked box reserved for tips and gratuities.

E. Tips and gratuities placed in a common pool shall be distributed pro rata among the dealers in the pool based on the number of hours worked and based on any standards for distribution established by a facility operator, which may include:

(1) Hours of vacation time, personal leave time, or any other authorized leave of absence in the number of hours worked by each employee; and

(2) Different full-time or part-time employees.

F. A distribution of tips and gratuities from a common tip pool shall occur no more than once every 7 calendar days.

G. Notwithstanding the requirements in §C of this regulation, a facility operator that offers the game of poker:

(1) May establish a separate common pool for tips and gratuities received by its poker dealers; or

(2) If it allows a poker dealer to retain the poker dealer’s own tips and gratuities:

(a) Shall require tips and gratuities received by a poker dealer to be deposited in a transparent locked box assigned to the particular dealer; and

(b) Shall require that the transparent locked box be moved from table to table with the dealer.

H. If a facility operator elects to follow the requirements of §G(2) of this regulation, at the end of the poker dealer's shift:

(1) The dealer shall take the transparent locked box assigned to the dealer to a cage cashier; and

(2) The cage cashier shall open the container and count the tips and gratuities in the presence of the poker dealer, and record the total amount of the tips and gratuities received by the dealer, and:

(a) Return the tips and gratuities to the dealer; or

(b) Retain all or a portion of the tips and gratuities for inclusion in the dealer's paycheck.

I. If a facility operator elects to follow the requirements of §G(2) of this regulation and has established a gaming industry tip and compliance agreement, §H of this regulation does not apply.

J. A facility operator shall specify in its internal controls how dealer tips and gratuities will be reported to the Internal Revenue Service.