Saturday, April 29, 2006

As reported by the Press Enterprise: "An ace and a face mean money at the
blackjack table, but for dealers at some Inland tribal casinos, shuffling
cards isn't paying off like it used to. "Next month, Pechanga Resort &
Casino near Temecula will become the latest tribal gaming hall in California
to require table game dealers to pool their tips and split them equally
instead of keeping what they make individually. "That means dealers assigned
to low-stakes tables or slow times of the day will pocket as much as those
who work high-limit tables or during prime weekend hours.

"The change is the result of an agreement between the casino and the
Internal Revenue Service, which requires dealers to report tips as income,
according to a statement from Michelle Schilder, Pechanga's vice president
of marketing.

".The change is good for dealers because those with more seniority can work
daytime hours without worrying about losing out on the best tips, [David
Fendrick, chief operating officer for the Agua Caliente tribe] said.

".But Fendrick acknowledged that some of his 250 dealers were unhappy with
the policy -- and some even quit -- because they like taking money home at
the end of every shift and because some of them now make less money.