What is the proper amount for a wealthy poker player to tip a cocktail server for a bottle of water?
That is the debate that transpired on X thanks to a critical tweet from Daniel Negreanu, who called out an unnamed “millionaire” high-stakes pro for being a bit of a tightwad.
Las Vegas Tipping Culture
The tipping culture in the United States differs greatly from Europe and other parts of the word. This is especially true in Las Vegas where the hospitality industry rules the town. It is customary in Nevada to tip 20% or sometimes higher for a meal or drinks, whereas tipping isn’t always expected in most other countries where bartenders and servers are paid reasonable hourly wages.
For free beverages, which are offered during the Poker Masters series, and all other events at the PokerGO Studio, most poker players tip $1-$2 per drink, and sometimes more for an alcoholic beverage. There are exceptions as some players are more generous than others. Some pros might even toss the cocktail waitress a black chip ($100) if they’ve been running hot.
Negreanu’s issue isn’t with a $1-$3 player being cheap on tipping as he specifically called out an unnamed wealthy pro who was competing in a $10,100 buy-in Poker Masters event. This individual who shall remain anonymous had a $5 bill in his hand upon receiving two bottles of Fiji water, but he apparently went into his pocket to retrieve two $1 bills to leave as a tip instead of the larger denomination bill.
“You had a chance to make a difference for a single mother working her ass off to pay the bills, but you chose the dirty $1’s.,” Negreanu wrote.
The GGPoker ambassador’s tweet was criticized by some, while others agreed with the take. One X user jokingly argued that even Allen Kessler “would have gave her $5.”
“Two free bottles of water and a $1 tip for each? Take the millionaire out of the equation and I see no issue. Include the millionaire and I still see no issue. Not like he stiffed her,” @j_mars57 wrote.
Doug Polk said that he’d just tip the $5, but “I’m not a fan of tip shaming. Tipping a dollar per water is fine/standard. I don’t like getting into territory where we are judging people by what they tip based on the stakes they play.”
Max Pescatori, a four-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, argues that Negreanu didn’t tip shame considering he never mentioned the player’s name.
“Beyond disgusting,” Mike Matusow said about the player Negreanu criticized.
We’d like to know what your thoughts are on the tipping issue.