The case for tipping Win has been dismissed
The case for tipping Win has been dismissed
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A district court judge on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by two dealers in Wynn Las Vegas that was filed to end Streep Casino's recently implemented and controversial tip-pulling policy. The dealers' lawyers said they planned to appeal the ruling to the Nevada Supreme Court.
Judge Douglas Herndon said there was no employment contract between the dealer and Wynn in his decision, meaning Nevada law allows employers to change their tipping pooling policy. Mr. Herndon noted that the company was not taking the tip away, but broadening the pool of workers sharing the tip.
"The judge followed the same argument and agreed with the precedents we cited earlier," said Brian Cohen, a senior fellow at the Las Vegas law firm Kamer Zucker & Abbott who examined the law related to the plan devised by Wynn executives. Casino lawyers have previously called the policy "ironclad" and said the company was acting within the law in implementing a new tip pooling program for casino dealers.
"The court explained in every way that Wynne was within the right to change the tip pooling policy," Cohen said. "It was legal under the law, and the court agreed with our interpretation."
Reno lawyer Mark Tierman, who represents dealers along with Leon Greenberg and James Kemp, said an appeal would be filed in Nevada's Supreme Court but the matter could take six months or a year to be heard.
Tierman believes the judge made a mistake in his ruling.
"Basically what the court has said is that individuals cannot sue for their own tips. It is ridiculous," he said. "Employers cannot retrieve someone's money and put it in their own pocket."
Wynn launched a tip pooling program in September in which table game supervisors share tips earned by dealers. Wynn's executives said the move was aimed at correcting a widening pay gap between dealers and casino floor supervisors.
Some of Wynn's dealerships have estimated annual takeaway wages will be cut by 10% to 20%. Table game supervisors have received pay increases, and a percentage of tips have been allowed for dealerships to raise compensation for the income they earn.
The casino also offered a bonus program for dealers.
Game insiders immediately saw the move as controversial because it excluded typical casino policies in which dealers collected, pooled and distributed tips from casino floors. Wynn plays significantly higher-end casinos, so the range between what dealers got and what a paid casino supervisor took home was much wider than other Las Vegas resorts.
Not long after the policy was implemented, more than 100 Win dealers filed a formal complaint with the state labor board about the program, which rejected their protest on Sept. 13.
Dealers Daniel Baldonado and Joseph Césarz said the casino's policy violated Nevada law dealing with tip pooling. The lawsuit suspended the tip pooling program and asked dealers to pay wages lost due to the policy.
Valdonado and Cesarz are still employed in casinos.
Herndon dismissed the complaint in his ruling, saying the case law, which dealt with changes to tip pooling at Caesars Palace nearly two decades ago, was enough language for Wynn to implement the new program with dealers.
At the heart of the problem was taking away some of the dealers' tips and giving money to casino supervisors, Tierman said.
"Supervisors aren't there for customer service," he said. "They're making sure dealers are doing their job. With this (tip pooling program), you get divided loyalty."
Herndon granted class action status in the case before dismissing it. He also dismissed Wynn Resorts chairman Steve Wynn and Wynn Las Vegas president Andrew Pascal as defendants in the lawsuit.
Pascal, who attended the hearing, later said he hoped dealers would end legal action. He said company leaders had thoroughly investigated the matter before implementing the new policy.
"We were comfortable and continued to feel comfortable that nothing illegal was being done," Pascal said. "We hope that today's ruling, along with the Labor Relations Board's ruling, will send a message to employees that we were within our legal rights, and we want to move forward and make the most of the current situation without backing down."
Pascal said the casino has not lost any dealers because of the new policy. He added that more than 30 dealers have applied for open casino floor supervisors positions.
Since the program was established, dealers across Las Vegas have expressed concern that other casinos may follow Win's lead. The day after Thanksgiving, dozens of dealers marched in front of Win Las Vegas in protest at the tip-pulling program.
So far, other casino operators have not moved toward enacting similar policies.
"We are recording that we will not implement the program," said Alan Feldman, a spokesman for MGM Mirage, where the casino company operates 10 strip resorts.
On a website maintained by Wynn dealers to inform fellow dealers about all events in the case, the statement said the lawsuit would continue despite Herndon's ruling. 무료슬롯사이트
"How did it go across the board? It was the first step and it never ended," he said in a post on www.wynndealers.com . "We knew all along that no matter who lost, this case would be appealed to the state Supreme Court. We had our practice and now we have seen ourselves confront."