I was playing "live" poker for the first time recently, not a tournament. Myself and everyone was tipping for a win. Before putting the tip into the toke box, the dealer would loudly "tap" the toke on top of the metal box, making a loud noise. After I thought about it, I remember blackjack dealers doing this as well. Is this some kind of procedure? The only reasons I can think of to do this is to alert the pit boss/floor manager that a toke is going into the box. I can’t see how it would make a difference to the eye.
I asked the Bone Man of NextShooter.com about this one. He said there are two reasons for the tap. The first is a way of thanking the player for the tip. A good dealer will verbally thank the player making the tip while making the tap. The second is a measure to keep the dealers honest. It has happened many times where dealers pocketed tips in casinos where tips are supposed to be put in a pool. Game security is not my strong point, but procedures like this are put there to make it harder to cheat, and easier to get caught if you do.