Let's Talk Tips

Tipping Takes: The Only Vegas Tipping Guide That Doesn’t Lie to You

Dec 10, 2025

Let’s talk tips.

Because holy hell, tipping culture in America (and especially Las Vegas) has gone off the fucking rails.

Every week, I get DMs from people terrified they’ll be bullied online for not tipping “right.” It’s always the same panic:

“Am I cheap?”
“Am I gonna get roasted”
“What do locals do?”
“Is 30% the new normal or are influencers having a stroke?”

Here’s the truth:

There are people who live by “If you can’t afford a 30% tip, don’t go out.”

There are people who brag about not tipping at all.

Both sides are exhausting. And wrong.

I don’t subscribe to tipping everyone, everywhere, all the time.

And I don’t subscribe to stiffing people who actually bust their ass either.

So here’s the real line, the human line, the Vegas Uncomped line:

Tip when it’s warranted. Not when you’re bullied. Not when an iPad spins around demanding 22% for handing you a cup. In short, don’t tip the machine.

Tipping Is Broken - And You’re the One Paying for It

Let’s start with the obvious:

Tipping is no longer optional; it’s expected. Even in places where no one is providing actual service.

In Vegas, unions negotiate higher wages (good for them).

Hotels and restaurants respond by raising prices (good for them).

Then you are expected to tip generously on top of now-inflated, constantly increasing prices (good for… absolutely no one but the business).

That $28 strip-side cocktail?

That $25 club sandwich in the casino café?

That $5.50 hot dog at T-Mobile that takes 10 seconds to hand over?

You’re expected to tip 18–25% on all of it.

Meanwhile…

Service has tanked.

And what I won’t do is pretend otherwise. I’ve been in customer service most of my life, and it’s really simple: you set an expectation, and you deliver it. That's it, there is no huge secret other than that, I’m always baffled that society now thinks it's just ok to tip for shit service and then turn around and bitch about it online.

Let the tip reflect, but also give feedback about it, and not just to get a free dessert or less of a bill, we don't need to be Ken’s and Karen’s either, and you can give it to the server, it doesn’t have to be their manager. Still, maybe don’t eat anything brought to the table afterwards, though. (Have you seen the movie Waiting?) Some people hate feedback, but that’s how we grow. You might save someone’s job…. Just remember to give it in a calm tone with an emphasis on wanting to help.

It’s not a “You suck at your job. I’m not tipping”, it’s more of a “ We didnt get drink refills once, we never got checked on, and had to ask three people to find you, so the experience wasnt that great.” Or it’s a hotel survey that you get and fill out honestly..

If someone gives you shit service…

If they ignore you…

If they mess up the order twice…

If they don’t refill your drinks…

If you literally have to chase staff down the hallway for towels…

You’re not a bad person for tipping accordingly.

You’re being honest.

That’s what tipping actually is supposed to be:

Gratitude for service. Not a guarantee for showing up.

My Personal Vegas Reality Check

If a bellman at NoMad (now The Reserve, “not sure I’ll get used to that one”) is sprinting to grab my cases of water and alcohol the second the Uber trunk opens, that person’s getting a great tip. This has also happened on more than one occasion at Vdara.

If the bell staff at Planet Hollywood are standing around talking while I drag my shit to the curb, and then one of us has to go interrupt their conversation about who they hooked up with last night? They’re getting less, for sure….

That’s not being cheap.

That’s recognizing effort.

If a housekeeper nails service every day - trash empty, towels refreshed, room tidy -they’re getting more.

If someone ignores the room for two days, and I have to chase them in the hallway for towels? Their tip reflects that, too, and this has happened plenty of times, especially since Covid. It’s a huge reason I refuse to stay at Caesars properties, but they don’t have an exclusive on this problem.

Even bartenders:

If I sit at a bar in a speakeasy and you give me one of the best rye old fashioneds I’ve ever had while playing piano covers of My Chemical Romance?

You’re earning your keep.

If you hand me a drink and grunt like I ruined your day?

You get what you earned.

This shouldn’t be controversial. Yet here we are.

“But Jason, What’s the Right Amount?”

So here’s where we ground this in something useful.

These are the actual current tipping norms in 2025 (across etiquette guides, hospitality standards, industry publications):

Full-service restaurants: 15–20% before tax (18–22% is the Vegas new normal)

High-end dining: 20–25%+ before tax

Bars:

$1–$2 per basic drink
$2–$3 for cocktails
15–20% if you run a tab

Buffets / limited service: ~10%

Takeout / counter service: Optional — $1–$5 if you want, I don’t tip on an iPad…

Hotel staff:

Bellhop: $1–$2 per bag
Housekeeping: $2–$5/day ( more if in a large suite)
Valet: $2–$5

Rideshare / taxi: 15–20% (or a flat $3–$5 for short rides)

Those are the industry standards.

Now here’s my standard - the one I live by:

The Uncomped Tipping Scale (aka: The Only One That Makes Sense)

👍 Good service (normal, expected, not above/beyond):

18%

🔥 Great service (attentive, friendly, goes the extra step):

20–22%

💥 Outstanding service (memorizes your drink, remembers your name, hustles, brings free things for you to try):

25%+

💩 Service

0-10% This doesnt happen alot, but on the rare occasion I tell them.

🍺 Basic bar stuff:

$1–$2 per drink (this includes while playing slots)
$2–$3 per cocktail

🍳 Buffet / quick service:

Only tip if someone actually serves you (drink refills, clears plates, etc.)

🛎️ Hotel basics:

Bellhop: $1–$2/bag, item
Housekeeping: $2–$5/day (more for multi-day stays with turndown or extra attention)
Valet: $2–$5 depending on speed/effort

🚗 Ride shares:

15–20% or $3–5, more if they help with bags or give genuinely useful recs, less if they pretend not to talk or ignore you.

❌ No-service or fake-service situations:

No forced-tipping here.

You are not obligated to tip:

for iPad self-checkout
when you carry/seat/serve yourself
when staff literally do nothing
when service is actively bad

Tipping for bad service is where the drama can be, and I know some people say tipping is just part of the cost, well, maybe, but part of the job is to provide good service, so who's really in the wrong here? Also, tipping for fast food, where you go and get your own food at a counter, seat yourself, and pour your own drink, is pretty ridiculous. Even worse, some places have machines now for you to place your own order and pick up your own food when it's done. I’m also not tipping a machine for me to do all its work. If the food is so good you wanna tip the cook, fine.. find him and do it.