Casino dining etiquette, from dress code to chip etiquette
Dinner and blackjack share an address here, and most guests spend the night in both rooms. The floor has its own manners — mostly unwritten, occasionally expensive to learn the hard way. Here's the honest version, written by the floor manager.
The brass door, ten minutes before the floor opens
The dress code, decoded
Smart casual, and we mean it in the literal sense: smart enough that the person next to you isn't distracted, casual enough that nobody's checking labels. Jackets are welcome, ties are not required, and the one hard rule is footwear on the floor — the dealers stand for hours and the floors are polished. If you're coming from dinner, you're already dressed for it.
The second rule is about phones, and it's the one that surprises people: no calls at the tables, ever. It's not the house being precious — it's the other players' money on the felt and the dealer's concentration on the count. Step out to the terrace, take the call, come back. The table holds your seat longer than you'd expect.
Dinner at the tables
Chips go in the betting circle, not toward the dealer's hands — the cameras read the circle, and so does the count. When you win, let the dealer push the chips to you before you stack them. When you're unsure, ask; the dealers would rather answer a question than fix a mistake, and the lesson is free at minimum stakes.
The felt is the one place in the building where everyone agrees to the same rules. That's the whole trick.
— Deb Winton, training week, 2019
Tipping the dealer is done by placing a chip for them — the house matches it into their pool, and it's noticed more than it's mentioned. And the cardinal one: never touch your bet after the cards are out. The dealer will warn you once, kindly. The cameras don't warn at all.
Chips, hands and the unwritten bits
The lounge menu runs the full carte to the tables until midnight — order from your seat and the floor brings it. Most guests eat in the dining room first and let the cage load their gaming credit while they finish coffee; the table number carries from the dining room to the rail without ceremony.
And the budget rule bears repeating because it's the one that makes the night work: set it at the cage before you sit, and the floor team keeps it with you — time reminders, quiet check-ins, no judgement. It's the oldest rule in the room and the one we enforce hardest.
The short version
Smart casual, footwear on the floor — dinner attire already clears the bar.
No calls at the tables; the terrace holds the call and the table holds your seat.
Bets in the circle, never toward the dealer's hands — the cameras read the circle.
Never touch a bet once the cards are out — the dealer warns once, the cameras don't.
Keep reading the house
The full catalogue with prices lives on the price page; every dish is on the menu; the story of the house is on about.
Reader questions
Asked about this piece
No. Tell the dealer it's your first hand and they'll walk you through it at minimum stakes — the lesson is part of the night, and the rule cards are printed at every seat.
Reserved tables start at $10 a hand. The floor runs higher limits later in the night, but nobody is pushed up a minimum they didn't choose.
The lounge menu runs to the tables until midnight — order from your seat and the floor brings it. Most guests eat in the dining room first and let the cage load their credit while they finish coffee.
Set it at the cage before you sit, and the floor team keeps it with you — time reminders, quiet check-ins, no judgement. It's the oldest rule in the room and the one we enforce hardest.
Enough reading
The felt reads better in person.
Book the Casino Royale night and the floor sets the table to your experience level — dinner first, dealer after, lesson included. The maître d' confirms within one business day.