Biggest payout you've seen?

I was at the casino the other night and saw a guy hit the Crown Treasure on one of those Shufflemaster Blackjack machines. He had $20 up and got a $20,000 payout. They had just put in those machines recently. I was shocked and immediately thought he had rigged the machine somehow .. who bets that big on a sucker bet? But they paid him.

What's the biggest one-time payout you've seen?

Surprisingly, I see MANY people bet $100 on the Royal Match, epsecially at Parx in Philly. Most PA Casinos allow larger bets on those machines, up to $300-400. In Phila, it's maxed at $100 and the side bet is also $100, so I see people put the max on both. Most of the time they burn through their bankroll very quickly, but there are certainly worse bets in the casino than that particular one.

I did see someone hit the Crown Treasure with 6 chips ($30) up within the last year. If you don't want to mess with taxes, don't bet more than $47 or else KQ Suited will get you the IRS.

Quote: cclub79

Surprisingly, I see MANY people bet $100 on the Royal Match, epsecially at Parx in Philly. Most PA Casinos allow larger bets on those machines, up to $300-400. In Phila, it's maxed at $100 and the side bet is also $100, so I see people put the max on both. Most of the time they burn through their bankroll very quickly, but there are certainly worse bets in the casino than that particular one.

I did see someone hit the Crown Treasure with 6 chips ($30) up within the last year. If you don't want to mess with taxes, don't bet more than $47 or else KQ Suited will get you the IRS.

Are the taxes based on each time you win a specific dollar amount, like a single pull on a slot that wins the jackpot, or do they apply the same percentage on all of your gambling wins over the year? If you were to win amounts small enough to stay under IRS territory but one several times over the year would you still get screwed?

Biggest single win I've seen came on a craps table at the Tropicana in AC. I was playing in the morning and this drunk and his buddies roll up to the table. And I mean belligerent drunk with a NY accent (he kinda looked like John McClane from the Die Hard movies.. haha). Anyway, guy drops $1K on the table and proceeds to bet $100 a pop on the center table bets. Needless to say, he loses his buy-in in about 5 minutes flat. All the while being loud and obnoxious. So the guy drops another $1K on the table and proceeds to make the same bets. This time he hits an 11 for $1500. Ok, so he won most of his money back. Well, as drunk as this guy was, he decides to PRESS his 11 to $1K. What does the shooter throw out on the very next roll... another 11! This guy wins $15K and walks (or stumbles) away.

Quote: derik999

Are the taxes based on each time you win a specific dollar amount, like a single pull on a slot that wins the jackpot, or do they apply the same percentage on all of your gambling wins over the year? If you were to win amounts small enough to stay under IRS territory but one several times over the year would you still get screwed?

[http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw2g.pdf]Form W-2G and its instructions describes reporting for gambling in detail.


Box 1. The payer must furnish a Form W-2G to you if you
receive:
1. $1,200 or more in gambling winnings from bingo or slot
machines;
2. $1,500 or more in proceeds (the amount of winnings minus
the amount of the wager) from keno;
3. More than $5,000 in winnings (reduced by the wager or
buy-in) from a poker tournament;
4. $600 or more in gambling winnings (except winnings from
bingo, keno, slot machines, and poker tournaments) and the
payout is at least 300 times the amount of the wager; or
5. Any other gambling winnings subject to federal income tax
withholding.

Thus, most table game players are not reported to the IRS. 25% withholding is required when the winnings are over $5,000 and are not from bingo, keno, or a slot machine. If you fail to give your Social Security Number at payout, there is a 28% backup withholding. Gambling losses are deductible only to the extent of gambling wins. You are supposed to report all income received during the year, but it makes it easy for the IRS to check when the payee reports the income to the IRS.

I have a question on top of this about the 28% backup withholding. Does this mean that if I won 10k on a slot machine, I could walk away with 7.2k without dealing with taxes?

Quote: ahiromu

I have a question on top of this about the 28% backup withholding. Does this mean that if I won 10k on a slot machine, I could walk away with 7.2k without dealing with taxes?

You're still liable for reporting the $10,000 as income at the end of the year. If you fail to provide your SSN when you win, the casino will deduct 28% and send it directly to the IRS.

However, this means you would have to report the $10,000 as income but have no means of proving that you paid 28% of it in taxes. That's a lose-lose situation for you.

If you are a US citizen with a SSN, it's best to give them your SSN and get the W-2G. Even with a W-2G, you can opt to have taxes taken out if you wish.

Quote: JB

You're still liable for reporting the $10,000 as income at the end of the year. If you fail to provide your SSN when you win, the casino will deduct 28% and send it directly to the IRS.

However, this means you would have to report the $10,000 as income but have no means of proving that you paid 28% of it in taxes. That's a lose-lose situation for you.

If you are a US citizen with a SSN, it's best to give them your SSN and get the W-2G. Even with a W-2G, you can opt to have taxes taken out if you wish.

In NJ, the 28% Federal is mandatory if you win over $5000 (I think it's not just NJ), as is a few percent NJ tax, though I don't know if that's just NJ residents.

What about foreign citizens? Specifically those of us without a green card.

Quote: Nareed

What about foreign citizens? Specifically those of us without a green card.

They withhold the money and withhold 30% for non-residents. I think you still get a W2-G without the SSN on it. In Canada, they have these services where they try and recover the money for you. But to do this, you have to keep a gambling log and they will offset all of your gambling losses with your W2 and file a return to recover what they can. Of course, the firm keeps a substantial piece.

But I think that as long as you keep a good log that lists the pertinent information (date/time, game played, who you played with, won/lost) and keep receipts to prove that you are there, you can fill in the forms yourself.

Quote: boymimbo

They withhold the money and withhold 30% for non-residents.

This is not true for all countries. These countries have a tax treaty exempting gambling income:

Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Russian Federation, Slovak Republic, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.

Source: http://www.thetaxguy.com/faq.htm#twelve

Thats good to know. I plan on taking them for about $10,000,000.


Im gonna walk in and rob the place.



Im gambling on it being taken as a joke.


Think I'll get away with it.

I was sitting next to a guy who hit a straight flush at Let It Ride (before I realized that game sucks); it was around $12000. I saw a guy hit a $5 slot for $12k a couple weeks ago, at Mohegan Pocono. I saw a guy hit a quarter slot (one of the the Powerball machines), same place, for $10000. I guy I worked with got a Royal Match at a Shufflemaster BJ again at Mohegan, it was $12k I think.

The guy next to me at Ballys tonight hit a straight flush in Caribbean Stud, for $5,977. He was beside himself and it took him a good 20 minutes for it to sink in. It took about 40 minutes for Ballys to do the payout. First, it appears that they they reviewed the tape. At that time, the pit asked him for 2 pieces of ID. Then they spent about 10 minutes to count all of the cards (which you can see at the top of the picture) and to prepare paperwork. Then they got the player's SSN and filled in the W2-G which took another 10 minutes or so. Finally, they did the payout, paying the $5,977 in chips, then doing the deduction from the chips. In the end, the player received about 4,500. He tipped the dealer a couple of hundred of dollars and gave the other two players at the table (myself included) a $50 envy bonus, which was very nice. After the payout, they retired both decks of cards. Apparantly, cards that remain in the shufflemaster machine warp after some time in the machine.



Anyway, that was the biggest payout that I've ever seen. Wish it were me! I'm glad that I can say that these payouts actually exist.

Why was the deduction 25%?

According to the back of the W2-G form, the deduction is 25%. It's 28% if you don't give them your SSN.

Today at Ballys we were told by a dealer the night before someone won $35,000 with a Royal Flush in Let it Ride. Then a few minutes later the guy sat down next to us. He said that he won it around 4am in the morning. He said $8,800 was taken off in taxes on $35,200. (I think the $200 was the 3 card win at 40:1 for a straight flush). 650,000 to 1. The guy was 22, 2nd time in Vegas.

Wow.