Managing pays well, dealing pays better

Forbes.com offers a list of the most surprising six-figure jobs and  missed the story a bit by including "gaming managers," who "plan, organize, direct, control or coordinate gaming operations in a casino. Formulate gaming policies for their area of responsibility." The article notes that Nevada is the top state for this occupation. Anyone really surprised that being a casino manager on any level has a six-figure compensation?  But Forbes.com missed the more interesting story: At many of the casinos on the Strip there are problems finding dealers willing to move up into management. The reason: Thanks to tip pooling, the dealers already are generally out-earning their supervisors. In fact, to fix this problem Steve Wynn attempted to give his mangers a cut of the tip pool in violation of Vegas tradition. The result: Less than a year later, rallied largely by this issue, Wynn's dealers became among the few on the Strip to vote to unionize.

So yes, maybe it surprising to outsiders that "gaming managers" can break 100k (though I was more surprised when Forbes revealed that the average gaming manager garners only $69,600). But more surprising is that often in Las Vegas staying outside management pays even better. (Photo by Richard Abowitz)