Tipping in Las Vegas: How Much to Tip Hotel Staff, Dealers and Drivers

Tipping in Las Vegas is customary for the people who carry your bags, park your car, clean your room and bring your drinks, but no hotel, union or tourism authority publishes recommended amounts. The most credible published guidance comes from the Las Vegas Advisor, whose tipping FAQs were last updated in July 2023. Here’s what it commonly suggests, where the sources run out and how the $20 trick fits in, as of October 2026.

How much to tip in Las Vegas: commonly suggested amounts

The amounts below are what the Las Vegas Advisor commonly suggests in its tipping FAQs (updated July 2023, read Oct. 9, 2026). They’re customs, not rules, and some 2026 travel blogs suggest more.

Service	Commonly suggested by the Las Vegas Advisor	Good to know
Housekeeping	$2–$3 per night; more for a messy room, kids, more than two guests or a suite	$2–$5 when staff bring extras such as towels or a rollaway
Bell staff	$1–$2 per bag	Many guests now give $5 for a couple of bags and $10 for more
Valet	$3 is typical, $5 “a great tip,” $10 lavish	Tip when the car comes back; tips are pooled
Casino cocktail servers	$1 per drink	More if you’re drinking a lot
Cocktail table service	15%–20% of the tab
Buffets	At least $5 for two, sometimes $5 per person	Can be added at the cashier
Slot hand-pay jackpots	0.5%–2%, most commonly 1%	Carry small bills
Dealers	No fixed figure; in proportion to your bets	Tips are pooled by shift
Bartenders, concierge, taxi and rideshare drivers	No credible Las Vegas figure found	The Las Vegas Advisor has no FAQ for bartenders or concierges
Vegas Loop, Monorail	No tipping mentioned in either operator’s materials

How much to tip housekeeping in Vegas

The Las Vegas Advisor’s rule of thumb is $2 to $3 per night, more if the room is messy, you have kids or more than two people, or you’re in a suite or a unit with a kitchen. Add $2 to $5 when staff bring extras such as towels or a rollaway. Leave the money with a note so it’s clearly meant for housekeeping.

That range dates from July 2023, and some 2026 travel blogs suggest $5 to $10 a night, so it may now be on the low side. Treat both as starting points, not a bill.

When to tip depends on how often your room is cleaned. The Las Vegas Advisor, writing when daily cleaning was no longer the norm, says the tip may go just before checkout. Later in 2023, the Culinary Union’s contracts with MGM Resorts, Caesars Entertainment and Wynn Resorts were reported to mandate daily room cleaning, and Circa lists daily housekeeping. If your room is cleaned every day, a daily tip reaches whoever cleaned it that day. We couldn’t confirm how each hotel handles housekeeping in 2026, so ask at check-in.

Need a fridge or a rollaway brought up? Our guide to Las Vegas hotel room amenities covers what’s in the room and what costs extra.

How much to tip the bellhop in Vegas

The Las Vegas Advisor suggests $1 to $2 per bag, adding that many guests now give $5 for a couple of bags and $10 for more. Tip at the room, or when the bellman first takes your bags if they’ll be delivered later. Bellmen don’t pool tips, so the person who carries your bags keeps what you give.

The same goes for bags held at the bell desk. Treasure Island’s FAQ says that for luggage storage, “gratuities are customary and always appreciated by the Bell Desk staff.” If you’re arriving before your room is ready, our guide to Las Vegas early check-in lists which hotels store bags and for how long.

How much to tip valet in Vegas

Tip when the car is brought back. In the Las Vegas Advisor’s words, “$3 puts you in typical territory and $5 is a great tip,” and $10 is lavish; one valet it quoted said locals tip $2 to $3 and visitors $5. Valet departments pool tips.

Free valet still gets tipped. Treasure Island’s valet is free for hotel and casino guests, with a gratuity suggested. At MGM Resorts hotels, where valet costs $40 a day (as of October 2026), the tip comes on top. Our Las Vegas parking fees guide lists which hotels charge for valet and which loyalty tiers get it free.

Do you tip dealers in Vegas?

You can, and dealers count on it. According to the Las Vegas Advisor, dealers rely on tips, called tokes, for most of their income, and tips are pooled by shift. Its guidance is to tip in proportion to your bets, and it gives no fixed dollar figure, so neither do we.

For slot players, the Las Vegas Advisor says many tip 0.5% to 2% of a hand-paid jackpot, most commonly 1%, and suggests carrying small bills.

Small bills matter for another reason. The Las Vegas Advisor points to Nevada Gaming Control Board Regulation 12.060, which says a licensee “shall not accept chips or tokens as payment for any goods or services … with the exception of the specific use for which the chips or tokens were issued.” In other words, tipping non-gaming staff such as servers or bell staff with casino chips is technically against the rules.

Tipping cocktail servers, bartenders and buffets

The Las Vegas Advisor suggests $1 every time a casino cocktail server brings you a drink, more if you’re drinking heavily, and 15% to 20% of the tab for cocktail table service. At buffets, it suggests at least $5 for two, sometimes $5 per person, which you can add at the cashier; buffet servers keep their own tips. It has no FAQ for bartenders, and we found no other credible Las Vegas-specific figure.

Check the bill before you tip. Some venues add the gratuity for you: food and drinks from MGM Grand’s six pool bars and its Cabana Grill carry an 18% automatic gratuity, according to our MGM Grand review. Look for a “service charge” or “gratuity” line so you don’t tip twice.

Do you tip Uber and taxi drivers in Vegas?

We found no credible Las Vegas-specific figure for taxi or rideshare drivers, so we don’t suggest one here. For fares and pickup points between the airport and your hotel, see our guide to getting from the Las Vegas airport to the Strip. Neither the Vegas Loop’s nor the Las Vegas Monorail’s materials mention tipping.

Is the resort fee a tip?

Not according to anything we found. No hotel we checked says whether its resort fee includes any gratuity, and the published inclusion lists cover things like Wi-Fi, fitness center access and phone calls. Treasure Island’s $49.95 + tax fee, for example, covers free valet and self-parking, Wi-Fi up to 20 Mbps and the fitness center (as of October 2026), yet TI still suggests a gratuity for valet. Our resort fees guide lists each hotel’s fee and what it covers.

The $20 trick: does it still work?

Sometimes, by the Las Vegas Advisor’s account, and with no guarantee. The “trick” is slipping a $20 bill (some use $50) with your ID at the front desk while asking about complimentary upgrades. In a 2019 answer it reaffirmed in June 2023, the Las Vegas Advisor says it “often” works, but some clerks push the money back, because nothing better is available, out of propriety or because of house rules.

Two things limit it now. More hotels check guests in at kiosks, which the Las Vegas Advisor notes aren’t susceptible to it; Treasure Island runs self-service kiosks and Resorts World offers Digital Check-In. And an upgrade depends on what’s free that night, so it can’t happen if nothing is. If you try it, the Las Vegas Advisor’s advice is to decide in advance what counts as an upgrade: a better view, a higher floor or a corner room.

How to get a room upgrade in Vegas without the $20 trick

These routes are published, so you know what you’re getting:

• MGM Rewards Platinum and NOIR: once a year, a standard-room-to-suite upgrade on a direct booking of up to three nights, per MGM’s tier benefits.
• MGM Rewards Gold and up: enhanced room assignment within the same room type (not a suite).
• Booking.com Genius Levels 2 and 3: free room upgrades on select stays.
• Paid add-ons at check-in: Treasure Island’s kiosks and Resorts World’s digital check-in sell add-ons, so you can see the price before you pay.

Loyalty perks usually require booking direct; our guide to the best way to book Las Vegas hotels weighs that against Booking.com, and Las Vegas hotels by owner shows which program covers which resort.

How much to budget for tips on a 3-night trip

Using the Las Vegas Advisor’s ranges, a 3-night stay without a car comes to about $10 to $17 for the hotel staff alone:

• Housekeeping: $2–$3 × 3 nights = $6–$9.
• Bell staff: $1–$2 × 2 bags × 2 trips (arrival and departure) = $4–$8.

Add $3 to $5 each time a valet brings your car, $1 per casino drink and whatever you toke the dealers. If you follow the higher 2026 blog figures for housekeeping, budget more. Our Las Vegas trip cost guide puts tips alongside room, fee, food and transport costs.

FAQ

How much should you tip in Vegas?

There’s no official scale. The Las Vegas Advisor commonly suggests $2 to $3 a night for housekeeping, $1 to $2 per bag for bell staff, about $3 for valet ($5 is a great tip) and $1 per drink for casino cocktail servers. Dealers are tipped in proportion to your bets, and some 2026 blogs suggest more for housekeeping.

Is tipping mandatory in Las Vegas?

Usually it’s your choice, but it’s customary; Treasure Island calls bell-desk gratuities “customary.” The exception is an automatic gratuity printed on a bill, such as the 18% added to food and drinks at MGM Grand’s pool bars and Cabana Grill. Check for a service charge before you add a tip.

What happens if you don’t tip in Vegas?

We found no hotel policy on it. What’s documented is who depends on tips: the Las Vegas Advisor says dealers rely on tokes for most of their income, and valet departments pool their tips.

Can you tip with casino chips?

Not for non-gaming staff. The Las Vegas Advisor cites Nevada Gaming Control Board Regulation 12.060, which bars licensees from accepting chips as payment for goods or services except for their intended use, so tipping servers, bell staff or valets with chips is technically against the rules. Carry small bills instead.

Do you tip the front desk at check-in?

There’s no documented custom of tipping front-desk clerks. What people usually mean is the $20 trick: offering a bill with your ID while asking about an upgrade. The Las Vegas Advisor says it often works but some clerks refuse it, and kiosks have replaced the desk at many hotels.

For more first-trip basics, from fees to getting around, start with our first time in Las Vegas guide.