Casino Player August 2022

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Casino Player America’s Premier Gaming Magazine print • mobile • online VOLUME 33 • ISSUE 3 P R E S I D ENT & CH I E F E X E CU T I V E OF F I C E R Derek James P UB L I SH E R & E D I TOR I A L D I R E C TOR Lisa Robertson-Dziedzic P R O D U C T I O N D I R E C T O R Diane Stevens-Gillan S E N I O R E D I T O R S Sean Chaffin

PLAYERS TALK

Taxable Slot Jackpots I love the information provided by Strictly Slots and Casino Player magazines. I have several issues regarding Congress possibly raising the taxable threshold to $5,000. My wife and I play the $2.00 Double Dou ble Poker machines, which means our current hand-paid jackpots for 4Aces (with or without a kicker), 4 deuces, threes or fours with a kicker will not mandate a W-2G. Does that mean that the $1,600 or $4,000 jackpots will be credited directly into my machine? If so, the “floor workers” who normally would receive tips for hand pays would lose that benefit.Also,some machines currently only allow a maximum amount of credits before they eject a ticket.Another interesting feature of having a large amount of money in the machine as opposed to the hand pay being in your pocket, would now require a lot of discipline not to keep playing with your winnings! The new feature makes for some interest ing features but not receiving those W-2Gs makes it easier on the pocketbook! Your thoughts…… —Ange B. Somerset,NJ An increase in the tax reporting requirement to $5,000 would mean jackpots of up to that amount COULD be credited directly to your machine. It doesn’t necessarily mean they WOULD. It would be easy enough to adjust soft ware to put larger jackpots on your credit meter. However, changes in the way jackpots are paid would have to be approved by state gaming boards.There likely would be a period of different regulations in different states. In addition to tax reporting requirements, there’s an anti-money laundering aspect to how much money is allowed on a credit meter. That’s where your question about automatic ticket printouts comes in. Many casinos set $3,000 as a minimum to report large transactions in order not to run afoul of money laundering operations. So any win on a slot or video poker machine that would push the meter over $3,000 is printed as a ticket instead.If that remains in effect, then you’d often see jackpots printed out or paid by hand instead of going on the meters. Certainly, a decrease in hand-pays would decrease tipping situations for slot personnel. You also are likely correct that putting large amounts of money on the meters would increase impulse wagering with money that otherwise wouldn’t be put to risk. As always, it must be said that even though a jackpot doesn’t trigger a tax form

before the player can get paid, the IRS still considers the money taxable income.Reporting is up to you. Table Games vs. Slots I read the Letters to the Editor department every month. My question is, mostly all of your letters are about slot machines.Is this because you don’t get any questions about other games or are the slot machine questions just more interesting? —Art Via the Internet Because the casino floor makes up 70 percent slots, we get more questions relating to slot machines than table games; however, we try to publish as many questions and answers from readers each month as we can. If you have a particular question in mind, ask away and we will do our best to find the best correct answer to it. In fact, a question regarding the house edge in roulette was sent in recently.See below. Leftover Machine Credits We have received many thought-provoking tips from your publications; sensible advice that has enhanced our time at the casinos.While in the casino,we often see random cash tickets of a few cents or more set upon machines or in the area around the machines that previous players have left behind, rather than bothering to cash out such small amounts. Is it legal to pick those tickets up and use in a machine you choose to play?What about find ing credit balances or promotional credits left in a machine? —Dave Via the Internet Quick response—no. If the ticket is just hang ing around on top of a machine or lying on the floor, it is the same as if it were a chip on the floor. It belongs to the casino. It is consid ered the casino’s money. Credits left in a machine are a hazy issue. The casinos think those credits belong to them, and they do, but casinos have rarely (or never) arrested anyone for playing them.We do not want to give you advice to do something illegal so you have to go your own way in these mat ters. Roulette House Edge In a past article, I think you made a major mistake when it comes to roulette.The house edge on theAmerican wheel is 5.26 percent and it stays at 5.26 percent no matter what bets you make (except the multiple monster of 1, 2, 3, 0 and 00), be they inside bets which are directly on a number, or outside bets on even-money

Karrie L. Zukowski C O P Y E D I T O R Lon Rozelle

Jack Clayton John Grochowski Steve Kieva Frank Legato Kara Miller Jack Clayton John Grochowski Steve Kieva Frank Legato Kara Miller

Patrick Roberts Frank Scoblete Jerry “Stickman” Stich Tim Wassberg Sharon Harris-Zlotnick Patrick Roberts Frank Scoblete Jerry “Stickman” Stich Tim Wassberg Sharon Harris-Zlotnick

C O N T R I B U T I N G W R I T E R S

N AT I O N A L S A L E S D I R E C T O R Karrie L. Zukowski A C C O U N T I N G M A N A G E R Jocelyn James C I R C U L AT I O N M A R K E T I N G D I R E C T O R Maureen Robertson C I R C U L AT I O N D I R E C T O R Jessica Taylor C U S T OM E R S E R V I C E CUSTOMER SERVICE: 800-969-0711 customerservice@casinocenter.com O F F I C E S ATLANTIC CITY: 333 E. Jimmie Leeds Rd., Suite 7 Galloway, NJ 08205-4123 (609) 484-8866 • Fax (609) 645-1661 LAS VEGAS: 1137 S. Rancho Drive, Suite 110 Las Vegas, NV 89102-2259 (702) 736-8886 • Fax (702) 736-8889 Casino Player (ISSN 0001-8152) Casino Player is published twelve times a year, one issue per month, by Casino Player Publishing, LLC. 333 E. Jimmie Leeds Rd., Suite 7 Galloway, NJ 08205-4123 BASIC SUBSCRIPTIONS Basic subscription prices do not include shipping & handling. Subscriptions: one year (12 issues) $24; two years (24 issues) $37; three years (36 issues) $53. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Casino Player, 333 E. Jimmie Leeds Rd., Suite 7, Galloway, NJ 08205-4123 Periodicals postage paid at Galloway, NJ, and at additional mailing offices. © 2022 Casino Player Publishing, LLC. All Rights Reserved. No portion of this publication can be reproduced without expressed written permission of the Publisher. Casino Player magazine is a publication of Casino Player Publishing, LLC owned by Casino Player Media (CPM). Not responsible for typographical errors. READER’S ADVISORY: Readers are recommended to make ap propriate inquiries and take appropriate advice before sending monies, incurring expense, entering into any binding commit ment, or wagering any sum in relation to an adver tisement, ar ti cle, column or other feature published in Casino Player. Casino Player shall not be liable to any person for loss or damage in curred or suffered as a result of his/her accepting, offering to ac cept, or following an invitation, advice, or other recommendation contained in any adver tisement, ar ticle, column, or feature pub lished in Casino Player . The views and opinions expressed by the writers and columnists of this magazine are not necessarily representative of the views of its management and employees. BET WITH YOUR HEAD, NOT OVER IT! PROBLEM GAMBLING? CALL 800-552-4700 Samantha Cooper I T D I R E C T O R Robert Walden

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