Who in their right mind would deal the WSOP???

[youtalkfunny]

In the WSOP Discussion forum, a poster named Foucault has been posting daily about his deep run in the ME (some of the best posts to ever appear on 2+2, IMO). Here's a link to his last one.

The part that I thought would be of interest to the B&M crowd is when he tried to tip the dealers, after busting out in 279th place, good for close to $40,000:

I fill out some paperwork, including tax forms (I cringe to think at the bite they will be taking out of my prize), and tell the cashier I would prefer a check over casino chips or cash. I'm surprised and disappointed when no one asks me if I want to leave a tip for the dealers, and worse, that when I ask about how to go about doing this, the woman tells me, "I don't know." Tipping dealers is standard practice at a casino, and my understanding is that it is customary after winning a tournament prize as well. I asked one of my favorite dealers about the matter discretely, and he said that 1% would be a good amount, maybe a little less if I won a really big prize (in the context of this tournament, $40K is not a really big prize). I ask the woman if she can find out what I need to do to leave a tip, and she returns to tell me that I can leave cash with her. Well, I don't have $400 in cash on me, so I have to pay exorbitant casino ATM fees to withdraw the money for a tip.

This is really, really shameful. I understand, though don't respect, the fact that Harrah's doesn't feel they need to provide competitive pay and accomodations for dealers at the WSOP. Some good dealers will continue to deal it anyway, just to have the honor of doing so, and from Harrah's perspective a green dealer straight out of training is worth nearly as much as someone with twenty years' experience. Most players will continue to play the event because it is the World Series, even if the quality of the dealing deteriorates. So Harrah's really doesn't have much economic incentive to provide compensation that will attract world class dealers to a world class tournament.

But why make it so difficult for players to leave tips? I had at least 50 different dealers during my four days of play, and felt that all but 2 provided exceptional, professional, and friendly service. I think they deserve tips above and beyond the cut of the prize pool they are getting, and I know that it is in the interest of players to be sure that good dealers feel it is worth their time to keep dealing the World Series.