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I never worked anywhere where you didn't give the busboy and/or the bartender a cut. Guys in the kitchen are paid more, and aren't considered part of the floor staff to get any portion of tips.

I worked on the grill at an upscale restaurant, and made $12 an hour. Yes, this was more than what the wait staff made. However, after tips, no way. The wait staff was paid minimum wage, plus tips. It equaled to alot more money than what we in the kitchen were making considering that an average ticket was about $85. Even with splitting money with the busboys, which at this restaurant they weren't obliged to do, they made alot more money than we did working in the hot kitchen. It's a reason I quit the industry. Putting in 10 hours without a break, standing up, for lowish pay wasn't economically viable for me. I get paid more now, and work about 50% as hard. I would come home from shifts on the grill and literally have to soak.

Hmm, I'd love to know what restaurant pays minimum wage. Tipped restaurant workers have a different minumum wage scale that other workers. The most I ever made was somewhere around $2 hr. However, I have worked with waiters who made $200-$400 a night, and bartenders who made $300 and up on a Friday or Saturday night, and that was back in the late 70's early 80's.
From a waitress's perspective, having to face PITA customers and explain/excuse the errors and/or skill of the cook is worth some extra $$$.

"I worked on the grill at an upscale restaurant, and made $12 an hour."

I've never made that much per hour no matter how hard the job was. My last job, which involved a LOT of physical labor and was an overnight job at a hospital, I was paid only $9.50/hour. If I had the same exact job during daylight hours my pay would've been only $8/hour. I was also expected to stay late if my coworkers didn't finish their job to help them finish. If I left when my shift was over and didn't stay to help, no matter how slow and crappy they did their work, I got in trouble. It sucked.