MGM National Harbor Accused of Taking Waitress’s $76K Tip, Sued for $1.1M
Posted on: May 12, 2026, 07:55h.
Last updated on: May 12, 2026, 09:42h.
- Casino waitress alleges MGM confiscated $76,000 baccarat tip
- Lawsuit claims casino violated labor laws by taking employee gratuity
- MGM National Harbor sued for more than $1.1 million in damages
It’s the dream of every casino cocktail server: a wealthy high roller, fresh from a lucky stint at the baccarat tables, leaves a tip big enough to pay off your mortgage.
For Tajia Mackyeon, a waitress at the MGM National Harbor earning $12.70 an hour, that dream briefly came true — until the casino confiscated the money, according to a new federal lawsuit.
Mackyeon is suing the casino for at least $1.12 million, alleging it violated the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Maryland wage laws by whisking a $76,000 gratuity from under her nose.
The lawsuit argues MGM is allowed to pay her less than the minimum wage only because tips are supposed to make up the difference — and that the casino cannot then confiscate those tips when they become unusually large.
Life-Changing Sum
In the early hours of April 13, 2026, a winning baccarat player at MGM National Harbor placed sixteen high-denomination chips — fifteen $5,000 chips and one $1,000 chip — into Ms. Mackyeon’s hands as a tip, according to the lawsuit. It was more than five times her annual earnings.
The man had been gambling for several hours and had won a significant amount of money while betting the maximum $25,000 a hand.
Mackyeon asked the man three times whether he really wanted her to have the money, and each time he insisted that he did, according to the lawsuit.
The man “was not in any apparent state of confusion or impairment” and continued to gamble for roughly half an hour afterward, suggesting casino management considered him capable of making competent decisions about his own money, the complaint asserts.
“If the baccarat player had bet $76,000 on red at Defendant’s roulette wheel and lost, Defendant would have kept the money,” it states.
Tipping Point
After he left, management demanded the plaintiff hand over the chips he had given her. In the following days, she repeatedly asked about the tip but was met with silence. She later discovered the managers had returned the money to the customer.
The FLSA provides that “[a]n employer may not keep tips received by its employees for any purposes, including allowing managers or supervisors to keep any portion of employees’ tips, regardless of whether or not the employer takes a tip credit.”
“Defendant’s managers knew that the $76,000.00 tip was a life-changing sum of money for Plaintiff … and knew, or recklessly disregarded the high probability, that taking such a sum from her, refusing to respond to her inquiries, and ultimately giving the money to a third party would cause her severe emotional distress,” asserts the lawsuit.
Power Imbalance
The complaint accuses MGM of violating federal labor law, Maryland wage statutes, conversion, civil conspiracy, tortious interference, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
It accuses the casino of exploiting the power imbalance between casino management and a low-wage tipped worker, then refusing for days to explain why the money had been taken from her in the first place.
The $1.12 million in damages includes repayment of the tip, punitive damages, emotional-distress damages, unpaid wages, and attorneys’ fees.
Casino.org has reached out to MGM Resorts International, which is yet to file a response to the complaint.
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