Tipping for casino buffets: $1 per person?

i always thought it was 10%.

apparently in MD. it's $1 per person from what i saw today. (Buffet was $20.)
i saw 3 tables with different ethicnicity and ages, and all 3 tipped $1/person.

What's customary?

I tip a buck for a comped buffet in tribal casinos.

Hell, all they do is bring a beverage.

Quote: MrV

I tip a buck for a comped buffet in tribal casinos.

Hell, all they do is bring a beverage.

I leave a $5, sometimes a $10 if the attendant was particularly attentive.

I tip $3 if I'm alone. $6 for a party of two, etc.

Unlike a dealer, they deserve to be tipped. A dealer will never get a tip from me.

I tip $3 if alone or $5 for my wife and I (one trip one tray with the beverage) for breakfast, maybe a little more for dinner because the value is more. But really, the service it a drink, and sometimes that's brought by a drink person and not even a 'waitress'. Other than can I have a few more napkins and removal of my used dishes, there really isn't much service. And you have think they know it too, you're eating at a buffet, you want it simple and cheap without fuss, so you are not looking for service.

Does anyone remember the Sahara buffet? You had to get your own drinks.

Depends on people actually. I usually tip $3 total for me and the g/f, even if the buffet is more than $10/ea. Sounds like I'm on the cheaper side here, but I don't generally think buffets are worth $20+/person myself. We only ate buffets in Vegas when we bought a "Buffet of Buffets" pass.

Quote: 1BB

Does anyone remember the Sahara buffet? You had to get your own drinks.

It's like that at the IP too. At least it was the last time I ate there last year. Nothing wrong with getting my own drinks. Sure beats waiting around for her to notice my wave and refill my glass.

Quote: MrV

I tip a buck for a comped buffet in tribal casinos. Hell, all they do is bring a beverage.

Don't they bus your dishware and clean up the table/booth before and after you eat there?

Since it is largely self-service, I don't see the need for the regular tip rate. $1 is cheapskate, I think, but $2 per person, maybe a bit more, is right in my book.

Quote: zippyboy

It's like that at the IP too. At least it was the last time I ate there last year. Nothing wrong with getting my own drinks. Sure beats waiting around for her to notice my wave and refill my glass.

Yes, I enjoyed making my own soft drink concoctions.

I am sure my reply will be viewed as being cheap, but I tip about 10%. The standard at a restaurant where the waiter/waitress takes your order and brings your meal is 20%, so half of that for just bringing a drink and busing the table seems adequate to me. Because I eat at many of the lower priced, local type buffets, like stations, boyd properties and terribles, where the price for both breakfast and lunch are below the $10 range, I will not leave less than $1 per person, which is higher than 10% for lunch ($7.99 range) and actually pretty close to 20% for the breakfast prices. At higher end places like M resort or Palms, my partner and I will leave $3 for lunch and maybe $5 for dinner. I don't eat at strip Buffets. They are overpriced and more for the tourist customers.

You have to remember that unlike a typical restaurant waiter/waitress who is only working a few tables tables per hour, at the buffet, the server is waiting a much larger number of tables.

Quote: SanchoPanza

Don't they bus your dishware and clean up the table/booth before and after you eat there?

My friend, who is a waiter, told me that a seperate individual buses the dishes and cleans up from the drink server. Therefore the split is between 2 servers.

Also, if you order an Alcoholic drink, the bartender is also involved and gets a portion of the tip.

I don't know if this is how it works at a Casino buffet, but this is the routine for a regular restaraunt.

Quote: odiousgambit

Since it is largely self-service, I don't see the need for the regular tip rate. $1 is cheapskate, I think

The buffet costs about eight bucks; or it would, were it not comped.

I am tipping more than ten percent, for someone to bring me water.

Seems fair to me.