Recently casino mogul Steve Wynn decided to change what has been an industry standard regarding pay for the dealers. For the past 50 plus years the dealers in Las Vegas always worked for and kept their own tokes. In years past they went "table for table" and more recently began "pooling" their tokes but they always kept them among themselves. Now however, they are being forced to share with their supervisors.

Fifteen percent is being taken from the dealers and being redirected to Wynn's management personnel. The dealers of course are not too fond of this "new arrangement" and challenged Wynn in court. Unfortunately they do not understand the real issues nor do their attorneys. So now I will spell it out for them in the hope that they use this information to correct what mostly every dealer in Las Vegas thinks is wrong.

First of all the point to argue is one of possession - ownership. Who actually owns the toke money and why. They should never have considered challenging the statutes. Except for one very important point, which I will discuss next week, they are vague at best.

The toke money is certainly the property of the dealers and not Steve Wynn. This is evidenced by the procedures and events that occur during the play and that eventually lead up to money becoming a toke.

A man walks into Wynn Las Vegas and buys $2000 worth of gaming chips at a blackjack table. He starts to play and his first bet is $100 for himself and $25 for the dealers. The money is on the layout and the cards have not yet been dealt. At this point in time whose money is it? It is still the players money. And for anyone at Wynn Las Vegas who doubts this try taking the money from the player.

The cards are dealt and the hand is completed. The player's total is 19 and the house's total is 20. The player loses the bet and all of the money goes into the rack. The money is now the property of Wynn Las Vegas which includes Steve Wynn and EVERY OTHER SHAREHOLDER IN THE COMPANY.

Note that I said that "ALL" the money goes into the rack. There is no segregation between the players bet and the toke bet for the dealers. All of the money just gets locked up.

Hand two now begins and the bets are the same - $100 for the player and $25 for the dealers. Play begins and the cards are dealt. The players total is 20 and the dealers total is 18. Play is complete. The player wins and the dealer pays both the players bet and the toke bet.

After picking up the cards and placing them in the discard rack the dealer takes the $50, thanks the player, and puts the money in the toke box.

It is here at this point that something miraculous happens. It is here that Steve Wynn claims ownership over the money in the toke box. Does it become his money because Wynn Las Vegas owns the box it sits in? No! Just go to any post office, rent a PO Box owned by the U.S. government, and see who owns the contents.

The question is how and when did it become his money?

The intent of the player is for the dealer to get the money. And don't kid yourself for one minute. Intent in a court of law is a very powerful concept. If you don't believe me just go to the U.S. Supreme Court and listen to how many times they talk about the "intent" of the Founding Fathers or the "intent" of the Congress.

Also, the money is put into a toke box and not the rack. If it is really Steve Wynn's money why is it not put with the rest of his so called money in the rack? Why the segregation?

Is it that even though it is all his money he is just in a generous mood on a daily basis and wants to give away $50 million per year to the dealers? No! He is a very generous man but in this case he is not the one being generous. It is the players that make the bets for the dealers that are being generous.

The truth is that it is not his money. It is segregated for a reason that being so the casino can differentiate between house money and toke money. The money is in fact the property of the dealers. The intent of the player and the segregation of the money verifies it. It's that simple. That's the point that should be argued. Period!