I've found some cage personnel to be very helpful when looking for chips. However, most don't seem to understand what we want in a "good" chip. I usually now buy a rack of chips and take them to a well lighted slot machine and sort through them for the 2 or 3 best to save; then cash the rest back in.

For 25's, you may want to make several trips with less than a rack unless you hit a Royal Flush that day [g]. A couple of times, they've hesitated when I told them what I wanted. When I wanted a couple thousand in $100's at the el Cortez, they called the cage supervisor, and a security officer watched while I sorted them. I didn't have to buy the rack there, though. They trusted me while they watched me I guess.

If someone makes a real effort to help, like looking in the vault for something for me, I'll tip $2-3. I've tipped $5 when they spent 10-15 minutes helping me with different denominations and with tokens. Some seem genuinely surprised to get a tip at the cage; I take it it doesn't happen often.