Well, dealers, it’s put up or shut up time. With legislation that would Steve Wynn’s tip-confiscation policy stalled in the Nevada State Senate, the marbles are on a Saturday-Sunday vote by dealers over whether to unionize under the banner of the Transport Workers Union.
Granted, a pro-union vote doesn’t guarantee a contract, let alone a reversal of Wynn’s rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul tip policy. But at least dealers will have taken the matter into their own hands and will not be at the mercy of distant legislators or the whims of management.
Somewhat rashly, a victory party has already been scheduled for the early morning after the vote. If the TWU and its dealer allies get too cocky, the celebrating will be going on in Steve Wynn’s suite. Given that I’ve run across dealers who’d sign away the right to organize, in perpetuity, if only they could keep every penny of their tips, I wouldn’t put it past a seemingly united group of Wynn dealers to fragment at the last moment of out of self-interest. It’s been Strip dealers’ downfall before.
Still, if Wynn didn’t think he was staring down the barrel of a union victory, why would he turn up on the casino floor on Wednesday, channeling Leo Buscaglia? (Never mind raising ‘inappropriate touching’ issues, the prospect of Steve Wynn bearing down upon you for an unsolicited hug fills me with all kinds of … Ewwwwww!)
Furthermore, Huggy Bear Wynn held mandatory dealers meetings on Thursday and, according to Al Maurice, a leader of the pro-union faction, "he was his old charismatic charming self and as we all expected, he said that he was sorry and that he knew he’d made a mistake. While he said this, he hung his head low and sounded very sincere just like (Mark) Garrity told him to. It was all there the body language and tone of voice. Of course it was all an act and I hope everyone could see through it. There were even a couple of ladies tearing up at our meeting which our union representative predicted."
Excuses allegedly cited by Wynn for his decision include: 1) fatigue; 2) illness; 3) bad advice from other people; 4) being distracted by Wynn Macau; 5) ignorance of the dealers’ unhappiness over the matter; 6) poor communication by shift managers.
He apparently forgot to include "the dog ate my homework."
Wynn’s remorse, feigned or otherwise, apparently only runs wallet deep. When asked if he’d back up his apology with a restoration of dealers’ full tips, Maurice said Wynn "says nothing can be done about that now but we can work as a family and work together in the future." In plain English: no.
It’s hard to square this new Mr. Nice Guy Wynn with the profane, table-pounding, dealer-firing egomaniac who unleashed this confiscatory tip policy on the Strip last Aug. 21 (known among dealers as "Black Monday"). And I know I’m not the only one who thinks Kinder, Gentler Steve will vanish overnight if the weekend ballot goes his way. Whether it does or not is entirely in the hands of the dealers now.
