I've been a regular at Aria since its opening and have gathered some information via table chatter. I mostly don't post here because I think you're all a bunch of nerds and you're ruining poker--kidding!*--but I also feel sunlight is the best disinfectant, and the current situation could use some.
Everything below is second-hand and should not be considered authoritative, though I believe it is correct.
A couple weeks ago two tourney directors were caught stealing from other employees. I presume the guesses in this thread about tips being diverted are correct. Yes, Aaron was one of the two.
On their way out the door, Aaron and/or the other guy decided to say, "Yeah, well what about this and this and this?"...indicating indiscretions with respect to comps and the people who issue them.
Apparently this led to scrutiny of comp abuses on all levels, some of which were on the level of a player being several dollars short and the floor comping the whole meal as a courtesy. I myself have benefited from such a courtesy.
Whoever was doing the investigating seems to have taken a scorched earth approach, running off a massive portion of supervisor-level staff and their underlings.
There are suddenly new safeguards for comp issuance, such that a player now must present ID and player's card for every transaction, and only the shift supervisor may issue it. Previously, any lowly chip runner could deduct comps from any seated player's account, holding the card or not. The opportunity for abuse/theft seemed obvious all along, and I suspect some amount of unauthorized use and/or theft is at play.
I cannot speak to each individual case, but I will say that Leon Wheeler, who is one of the departed, is hands down the best floorperson I have encountered in my life. Fairness, diligence, professionalism, you name it. Yes, I saw Leon extend minor courtesies with comps--nothing even close to unscrupulous in my opinion. I would entrust any amount of money to him without thinking twice.
Although I know relatively little, the fact that Leon is involved makes me suspect that at least some people are getting unfairly and brutally fucked. Whoever hires Leon next is getting a bargain at any price.
There is some speculation that lavish over-comping is a factor. If this is true, it would seem mostly to involve the ridiculous comps that roll into the Ivey Room on a nightly basis. That is the game where the president of Aria occupies a seat, and he certainly understands if not openly encourages the comping routine. In any case, he is 100% the beneficiary of the floorpeople keeping the whales happy, probably to the tune of an amount of money that makes annual floor salaries look like a joke.
If the speculation re: over-comping is at all correct, it's disgusting and embarrassing that it's the wage-earning floor staff walking the plank.
Good luck to Leon, and any other honest people who got caught in the crossfire.
As for the tournament thieves, it would be nice if these dipshits got prosecuted for once, rather than popping up in another casino six months later--as is Vegas tradition.