Is a $77K tip for casino dealers proof we’ve gone tip looney in NJ?

Feel free to write me and tell me if I’m off base on this; I haven’t set foot inside a casino in years. The only gambling I’ve done lately is a Powerball ticket. 
 
But a $77,000 tip for casino dealers? Is this not proof that our entire tipping culture is warped? 
 
Here’s what happened, and this will mean more to some of you than it does to me because again; I’m no gambler. 

A $1,681,458.40 MEGA jackpot on a progressive poker game was won by a woman from Monmouth County. This was after placing a $5 bet at Harrah’s. It was a table game side bet offered at Harrah’s and several other casinos, and part of a $1.68 million MEGA jackpot on a progressive poker game. 

So after winning nearly $1.7 million, the woman tipped out her dealers to the tune of $77,000.  
 
Generous? Yes. Ridiculous? Hell yes. 
 
Now, maybe there’s a code of casino conduct I’m not hip to. Is this expected? I wouldn’t think so. If anything, I think this is a sign of how insanely we’ve bought into this everyone-gets-a-tip mentality. 
 
Restaurant customers now routinely say for awful service they still tip 10 to 15%. Online retail purchases are now offering gratuity sections at checkout. Some skilled tradesmen like electricians and plumbers are now expecting tips. 

Enough already. 

Now considering the hundreds of thousands of dollars they will gouge out of your gambling winnings in taxes (one example is a married person earring $75K annually will only keep $970,179.47, according to this calculator), a $77,000 tip seems absurd. Sure, you tip a couple thousand bucks maybe, but this much? 
 
Part of the overtipping problem comes from the fact we fell into too much of a service economy, and not enough of a manufacturing economy. Part of it is psychological manipulation. Part of it is companies pushing their responsibilities to take care of loyal workers off onto the backs of customers. 
 
But enough of my ranting. I need to go apply for a casino dealer job now. 

Opinions expressed in the post above are those of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Jeff Deminski only.

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