Sahara LV - $2 Dealer Pool?

pismeyer · #1 12-27-2006, 07:52 PM

I was reading a trip report on AVP about a tournament a guy entered and this is what he wrote:

[ QUOTE ]
Then we headed over to Sahara for their nightly 7pm NL tourney. ($40 + $20 add-on + $2 for the dealer pool?) This was my first ever live NL tourney, and the only ones I’d played online were crappy freerolls. Therefore I was pleasantly surprised when I busted out around 20th place out of a field of over 130, though they only paid ten places. (Note that the remaining players, once they were down to eleven, voted to take $60 from the first-place prize and award it to the player who bubbles out.)

[/ QUOTE ]

What is the $2 Dealer Pool for?

I'm assuming it's for the dealers that do not get to deal at the final table and therefor do not get to "share" in the tipping from the final players that get paid (that is, if they tip at all). I could be wrong, so please, help me out, it's been over 9 months since I've been to the promised land.

P.S. - My plane lands 03/16/07 10:35pm Pacific Time, and I will be seated at a table by 11:45pm if all goes according to plan.

Thanks, P [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

RR · #2 12-27-2006, 08:02 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I was reading a trip report on AVP about a tournament a guy entered and this is what he wrote:

[ QUOTE ]
Then we headed over to Sahara for their nightly 7pm NL tourney. ($40 + $20 add-on + $2 for the dealer pool?) This was my first ever live NL tourney, and the only ones I’d played online were crappy freerolls. Therefore I was pleasantly surprised when I busted out around 20th place out of a field of over 130, though they only paid ten places. (Note that the remaining players, once they were down to eleven, voted to take $60 from the first-place prize and award it to the player who bubbles out.)

[/ QUOTE ]

What is the $2 Dealer Pool for?

I'm assuming it's for the dealers that do not get to deal at the final table and therefor do not get to "share" in the tipping from the final players that get paid (that is, if they tip at all). I could be wrong, so please, help me out, it's been over 9 months since I've been to the promised land.

P.S. - My plane lands 03/16/07 10:35pm Pacific Time, and I will be seated at a table by 11:45pm if all goes according to plan.

Thanks, P [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

It appears ou misunderstand how tournament tokes are typically divided. The dealers' share is divided by the number of "downs" dealt at all tables, not jsut the final table. The $2 is in this toke pool and is added to what the winners leave.

bav · #3 12-27-2006, 08:24 PM

In a tournament, everybody shares tokes equally. If you try to give a specific toke to a specific dealer, if the guy takes it he will hopefully be putting it in the pool, not in his pocket.

The $2 the Sahara dealers get is pretty sad, and they seriously depend on the generosity of the final table players to leave something extra. Last night had 111 players at 9 or 10 total tables (the extra players were alternates and bustouts who bought back in). So figure 10 tables were running for 1.5 hours, then started breaking. Final two tables happened at 10:30pm, so in the span of about 2 hours they went from 10 to 2 tables, averaging about 6 tables for those 2 hours. So we've got about 27 table-hours so far, and the final table typically ends after midnight (I didn't last that long). But a total of about 30 table-hours of dealing. And they share $222 for that. Or like $8/hr? If my assumptions and math are right.

Be generous to the Sahara dealers if you money.

AngusThermopyle · #4 12-27-2006, 08:48 PM

From allvegaspoker, $14 of the original $42 goes as "admin fees". Seems like it is Management who is the main problem for the dealers.

AllVegasPoker · #5 12-27-2006, 09:05 PM

The admin fees for poker tournaments in many Vegas card rooms are pretty high. Some are 30% or more of the original buy-in. But regardless of the admin fees, the dealers do depend heavily on the generosity of the final table.

If you're fortunate enough to cash in a live tourney, please keep the dealers in mind. Dealers sometimes get the shaft from internet poker players who don't understand how the wheels of Vegas turn.

Photoc · #6 12-27-2006, 09:16 PM

[ QUOTE ]
In a tournament, everybody shares tokes equally.

[/ QUOTE ]

No they dont actually. It's divided into shares on a per down basis. If a dealer gets 5 downs in a tourney, they get 5 shares vs another one who may get 2. So the dont share them equally. The shares are broken out equally only, but as I said, people get different amounts of shares or downs.

pismeyer · #7 12-27-2006, 09:19 PM

Thank you kind sirs.

I honestly did not know how the tokes/tips were distributed. I have only cashed a few times, and each time I felt I was more than generous to the dealer(s).

P [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

bav · #8 12-27-2006, 09:40 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
In a tournament, everybody shares tokes equally.

[/ QUOTE ]

No they dont actually. It's divided into shares on a per down basis.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah... that's what I meant by equally. They make the same amount per down.

bav · #9 12-27-2006, 10:14 PM

[ QUOTE ]
From allvegaspoker, $14 of the original $42 goes as "admin fees". Seems like it is Management who is the main problem for the dealers.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think that's actually $12 to the house and $2 to the dealers. And since almost everybody does the $20 add-on, it's really a $62 tourney with $2 to the dealers and $12 to the house. 14/62 isn't a terribly high rake for a small buy-in tourney. For comparison, Caesars 11pm tourney is $70. $50 into the prize pool, $10 to the house, $10 to the dealers. 20/70 is more painful.

AVP kinda doesn't do justice to the Sahara tourney. They show the overhead as $14 out of $42 for 33%, while for Caesars they show the overhead as $10 out of $60 for 17%. In reality, it's 14 out of 62 for 23% vs 20 out of 70 for 29%. Sahara wins the 11pm tourney challenge.

pig4bill · #10 12-28-2006, 03:57 AM

[ QUOTE ]
And they share $222 for that. Or like $8/hr? If my assumptions and math are right.

Be generous to the Sahara dealers if you money.

[/ QUOTE ]

With salary that's about 30 grand a year? Is that so horrible for such a job? Yeah, that won't buy a big house and new BMW, but most people can't afford those either. I tip as much as the next guy, but it seems like an exaggeration to portray dealers as destitute if they only make 30 grand a year. I have friends that are skilled laborers (carpenters) that don't make that.