How much should you tip in Las Vegas, and is tipping mandatory?

Not a legal requirement: Nevada pays tipped workers the full $12 minimum wage with no tip credit. It is still expected everywhere it would be elsewhere in the US, and Strip staff know the customary numbers to the dollar.

The cheat sheet we use

• Casino cocktail servers: $1 to $2 a drink, in cash, free drinks included
• Dealers: a $1 to $5 chip now and then while you are winning, or a small bet placed for them; nothing on a losing session
• Slot attendants: about $20 on a hand pay (a jackpot of $2,000 or more in 2026)
• Valet: $2 to $5 when the car comes back; the parking charge on your folio is the hotel's, not the tip
• Bell desk: $2 for the first bag, $1 each after
• Housekeeping: $2 to $5 a night, left every morning; $5 is the Strip norm
• Restaurants: 15 to 20% of the pre-tax bill, 18 to 20% on the Strip; buffets about 10%
• Bartenders: $1 to $2 a drink, or 15 to 20% of a tab
• Rideshare and taxis: 10 to 20%, or $2 to $5 on a short hop
• Tour guides: roughly 10 to 20% of the price, about $10 to $20 a head on a full-day coach tour
• Show ushers: nothing

Read the check first. Bottle service, cabanas and larger dinner parties often arrive with 18 to 20% already included, and some Strip restaurants print a 3 to 5% "CNF" line that is not a tip. The resort fee is not a gratuity either; none of it reaches the person cleaning your room.

Bring small bills. Housekeepers, valets and cocktail servers are tipped in cash, dealers in chips, and the casino-floor ATM charges a stiff fee. For a couple over three nights it all comes to about $120 before anything you toke at the tables.

The full breakdown, including the $20 trick at check-in, is in our Las Vegas tipping guide.