Casino Player July 2022

cashed out with on any given day, which doesn’t require official reporting. The U.S.Congress is, in fact, considering raising that reporting threshold. A bill was introduced in the House in March that would raise the reporting threshold to $5,000. Its sponsors note that with inflation, the $1,200 established in 1977 would easily be more than $5,000 today. Last we looked, the bill was still in the HouseWays & Means Committee. Bingo Program With Electronic Bingo, can the jackpot game be pre-programmed so that the jackpot will not be won until they choose for it to be won? —Shirley G. Via the Internet John Grochowski responds: Electronic bingo numbers are drawn randomly and the operator has no control over when the win ning patterns will appear. That applies regardless of whether you're talking about traditional-style bingo on electronic cards, or Class II slot machines where the game is really electronic bingo but the screen displays a slot-style interface. Regardless of the style of game, more than one person has to be playing. Bingo games are not banked by the house.Winners are paid from a pool of wagers made by all players on the system. On each machine, bingo numbers are delivered by a central server that is linked to all machines. But the house has no control over which numbers are drawn and delivered.

of things:How much do full houses pay, and is there an extra jackpot if you draw a designated kicker to go with the aces? In 10-7-5 Double Bonus Poker, where full houses pay 10-for-1, your average return for a five-coin bet is 50.57 coins if you hold three aces, compared to a flat 50-coin payoff if you hold the full house. If you drop to a 9-6-5 or 9-6-4 pay table —all too common nowadays—the average return for holding three aces dips slightly to 50.26 coins, but the reward for standing pat drops to 45 coins. This no longer is in the realm of close calls. Make the game 9-6 Double Double Bonus, and the 2,000-coin bonanza for four aces plus a low kicker takes the average return when holding A-A-A to 63.58 coins, and that towers over the 45-coin full house return. It’s understood that some players would rather take the sure full-house payoff than risk dropping to three of a kind, but the occasional big pay more than makes up for numerous shortfalls.I have drawn the fourth ace after breaking up a full house, including one particularly memorable time when I was splitting play with my dad. He was happy to go along with the decision, and even happier to divide the big payout. Taxing Question A month ago I hit two jackpots within two weeks of each other at Jake’s 58 Casino, Long Island,NY.One was for $1,599.86, for which I was given aW-2G statement.A week later I hit another jackpot on a different machine for $1,925. I was given the cash but no tax form. When I questioned the cashier she stated that one was not issued.Do I still have to claim this jackpot with no tax form?Also, I recently read about the amount of the $1,200-and-up tax threshold being raised to $5,000 and up. Do you know when this will happen? —Joanne Coddington Bayville,NY First, the casino violated federal law in not issuing a W-2G for the second jackpot. The Internal Revenue Service requires issuance of aW-2G form for any slot jackpot of $1,200 or more. As to whether you still have to claim it, all we can say is that the IRS officially considers all gambling winnings income. However, with noW-2G, there is no record of the income. It’s the same as the $200 you

your rewards.

However, rewards programs have be come increasingly sophisticated in use of modern analytics. Spikes and drops in daily wagering are not unusual, and the best programs will pick up on your patterns. As always, a caution: Protect your bankroll. If you have limits going into a casino visit, stick to them and don’t feel like you have to bet extra for the sake of comps. Take and enjoy the rewards you get, but don’t overbet and risk losses outside your comfort zone. Welcome Screens I play IGT Double Double Bonus Poker and the following situation has happened to me several times.After selecting my game from the home screen, I start playing my poker hands and select what cards to hold. Every once in a while,after pressing a hold button, the display goes back to the home screen.I tap the double double bonus icon and the screen displays my game. Problem is, it says “game over” and I’ve lost my hand and wager without ever making a play. Anybody ever have this happen to them? Or, am I doing something wrong? —Alan B. Massillon,OH John Grochowski responds: I’ve not encountered this, nor have I heard of it being a widespread problem. But since it’s hap pened to you more than once, be ready to report any incident. As soon as the game returns to the welcome screen while you’re mid-play, call an attendant and let them know what’s happening. The time for the casino to check on a problem is while it’s happening.Whether your bet is refunded, or the operator finds some other way to satisfy you, and whether the casino then has the software checked will depend on individual casino policy, but they can’t make things right if they don’t know there’s a problem. Holding Aces Everything I’ve read about video poker says that in games that pay 800 or more on four aces, you should break up an aces-up full house to hold the aces alone. Is that true in all of those games? How close a call is it?

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—Anonymous Via the Internet

The closeness of the call depends on a couple

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