[Digs]

You're making it sound like casino's are making huge $$$$$$$$$ from their poker rooms, and that normally competitive forces like online competition etc are at work here.

They're not. Slots and table games make SO much more money. That the profit from the poker room is probably a joke in comparison. I don't have numbers at my disposal, /shrug just think about it for a minute.

So if everyone stopped tipping dealers, and casinos had to pay more for dealers that could run a game (remember the efficiency at which a dealer runs a game has a large impact on your $/hour), when the poker room started not to make their revenue goals and soforth, the casino wouldn't be in a crunch because of competition. They would pass the buck to the players.

The point of the poker room is to get players in the casino with lots of money, and make a modest bit off of them while they're not playing table games and slots.