# How do Casino Hosts make money? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 28, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-casino-hosts-make-money/497965 "2009-05-28T20:29:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-casino-hosts-make-money/497965/1 "2009-05-28T20:29:10Z")
I’m watching Las Vegas, since I’ve run out of other shows to watch and I’m quite enjoying it. I’m especially enjoying Sam the Casino Host, but then I started thinking about how she makes money? Well, actually, how real life Casino Hosts make money? Do they get a salary from the Casino they work for? Get a cut of the gambling profits the place makes on their whales? Put a markup on every service they provide? Anyone know anything? ---
**Author:** ![Gus\_Gusterson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85f322/32.png) [@Gus\_Gusterson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gus_Gusterson)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-casino-hosts-make-money/497965/2 "2009-05-28T20:32:50Z")
According to a Google search, Casino Host is generally a salaried position. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-casino-hosts-make-money/497965/3 "2009-05-28T20:41:31Z")
> [@Gus\_Gusterson](#): > > According to a Google search, Casino Host is generally a salaried position. How boring is that. **crosses Casino Host of the list of cool future jobs** ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-casino-hosts-make-money/497965/4 "2009-05-28T20:43:04Z")
In one episode, Sam said that she earned a commission based on how much her clients bet. No idea if that’s true, though, or how common it is. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-casino-hosts-make-money/497965/5 "2009-05-28T20:49:27Z")
I’d bet that it’s a combination of the two. Casino hosts have to deal with a lot more than just the whales. For every one of them, there are thousands of us guppies that have to be catered to as well. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-casino-hosts-make-money/497965/6 "2009-05-28T20:53:33Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I’d bet that it’s a combination of the two. Casino hosts have to deal with a lot more than just the whales. For every one of them, there are thousands of us guppies that have to be catered to as well. That’s probably more like it. ---
**Author:** ![Turble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Turble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turble)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-casino-hosts-make-money/497965/7 "2009-05-29T15:07:15Z")
Casino hosts get a salary and a percentage of the amount their clients bet. A large part of their income also comes as tips; giving someone free first class air fare, a very nice suite, free meals and beverages, good tickets to sporting events and shows, high-end golf courses, etc. has a tendency to make the recipient quite generous. Even those guppies who only get a free room and/or some meals tend to show some appreciation to the guy who gave it to them. ---
**Author:** ![WormTheRed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/bbe5ce/32.png) [@WormTheRed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WormTheRed)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-casino-hosts-make-money/497965/8 "2009-05-29T15:43:00Z")
And Turble’s explanation makes even more sense. **puts Casino Host back on the list of future cool jobs I want**