11:59 pm December 31

New Year's Eve is approaching, so I thought this would be a good time to find out what my tax situation would (will) be if (when) I pull the handle and hit a large progressive slot jackpot at 11:59 pm on New Year's Eve.

For tax purposes (W2-G), is the win dated December 31, when the handle was pulled, or January 1, when the win was verified, and the money actually paid? Is there a particular action (insert money, pull handle, reels stop, win verified, cash paid, etc.) that is the key "action"?

Quote: Ayecarumba

New Year's Eve is approaching, so I thought this would be a good time to find out what my tax situation would (will) be if (when) I pull the handle and hit a large progressive slot jackpot at 11:59 pm on New Year's Eve.
For tax purposes (W2-G), is the win dated December 31, when the handle was pulled, or January 1, when the win was verified, and the money actually paid? Is there a particular action (insert money, pull handle, reels stop, win verified, cash paid, etc.) that is the key "action"?

For illegal or underage gambling, inserting a coin or operating the device. Put the coin in at 11:59 but turn "legal" on Jan 1st. Sorry!!
For lawful ownership of the winnings about to be indicated, the person who inserted the coin, not the handle puller.
For time of winning: when win indication is known and determinable even if subject to later verification or determination by the casino. So a progressive jackpot is won when determinable even if the display does not show it to you or to the casino yet.

But really, ... its New Year's Eve. Do the count down, drink the champagne ... and let the sweet young thing next to you give you a Happy New Year kiss.

I once won a jackpot within seconds of midnight on an ordinary day. A supervisor emphasized to an employee which day to date it on, but I didn't inquire how he made the call. I would imagine that it goes by the moment the win is scored by the machine. Regarding whose name to put on it, they go by who is pressing the buttons, even if the player claims he was "playing for somebody else." It might get murky if one player pressed the button for the deal, and another on the draw. My guess is they would give it to the player who did the draw.

If there are a few people together at a machine and it hits, does the casino take everyone's word on who pushed the button? Is there a win threshold that would trigger a surveillance review? I can think of a few reasons for not wanting to claim a jackpot.

Quote: 1BB

I can think of a few reasons for not wanting to claim a jackpot.

Like what?

1. Being wanted somewhere.

2. In hiding from someone (witsec)

3. Not wanting to bother with the "hassle" of winning (ie paperwork, tax issues)

4. Owing money elsewhere so you'd have to give it up. (child support, alimony, etc etc)

5. Being on a (*fake) workman's comp claim. I'd hate to have attorneys see me jumping up and down after winning.

6. If you're already banned from the casino and you managed to sneak past security.

7. Getting ready to divorce a spouse.

I'm sure there's others out there.... anyone?

Quote: weaselman

Quote: 1BB

I can think of a few reasons for not wanting to claim a jackpot.

Like what?

For starters, some people need to keep a fairly low profile to maintain their freedom. Such a person might not want their current photo and very recent location reported to the federal government.


Ooops! Slow post.

Quote: SoulChaser

1. Being wanted somewhere.

2. In hiding from someone (witsec)

3. Not wanting to bother with the "hassle" of winning (ie paperwork, tax issues)

4. Owing money elsewhere so you'd have to give it up. (child support, alimony, etc etc)

5. Being on a (*fake) workman's comp claim. I'd hate to have attorneys see me jumping up and down after winning.

6. If you're already banned from the casino and you managed to sneak past security.

7. Getting ready to divorce a spouse.

I'm sure there's others out there.... anyone?

Tax evasion is a big one. Ther is a rail-bird "profession" of collecting a winner so they can get taxed at their lower rate. Real winner saves on the tax bill, the beard gets the tax refund at the end of the year. If caught they could both win a several-year-all-expense-paid trip to Lewisburg, PA.

My guess is if you win at 11:59 they will put Dec 31 on the win slip for two reasons:

1. The IRS determines so much by your status at 11:59:59 of 12-31-xxxx. My brother asked about his filing status having gotten married during the year and I explained if on 12-31 Elvis marries you at 11:59 in front of the fountains at Caesars you are "married" for the full year while if you are trolling the trendy nightclub at Wynn as a single person looking for a hottie to kiss at midnight then you are single. You could be married and divorced twice in the year, status at EOY is all that counts. And this is how Irwin R Scheister thinks on all things.

2. To move a win from say 2011 to 2012 is to defer taxes for an entire year (forget the IRS getting witholding for the moment.) The IRS knows lots of people would rather push it back a year so they can better plan deductions to offset the win. Therefore the IRS is going to look very close at wins just after midnight on NYE.

Then again, I am not a tax acccountant, I just play one on blogs.

I would think that the form should be dated at the time that the jackpot is hit and I think the IRS would rule the same way.

Normally, in 1099 world, your 1099 is dated based on when the PAYMENT occurs (not when the recipient receives the money or cashes the check). For example, invoice is dated December 10th 2011, check is cut December 31st, is received January 2nd and is cashed January 3rd counts as 2011 income on the 1099. However, if the check is cut on January 2nd, the 1099 counts for 2012.

However, in the case of a slot machine, the "payment" is made when the slot machine hits. The act of the verification of the win, the slot attendant getting your money, and the paperwork involved is the legal fulfillment of that payment. However, the payment is MADE when the slot machine hits. You may receive the payment in the next year, but the payment was made in the current one.

Quote: SoulChaser

1. Being wanted somewhere.

2. In hiding from someone (witsec)

Would be pretty stupid to go into a casino with all its cameras etc. to begin with, wouldn't it?

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3. Not wanting to bother with the "hassle" of winning (ie paperwork, tax issues)

Donate to charity?

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4. Owing money elsewhere so you'd have to give it up. (child support, alimony, etc etc)

If you refuse to take the jackpot, you'd give it up anyway. So why not just take it and give up to the right person? :)

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5. Being on a (*fake) workman's comp claim. I'd hate to have attorneys see me jumping up and down after winning.

Provided that your claim is worth more than the jackpot, I guess ...

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6. If you're already banned from the casino and you managed to sneak past security.

Why bother to sneak in, if you are not planning on winning?

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7. Getting ready to divorce a spouse.

If you get the money, you'll have to give half of it to the ex, but still have a half for yourself, if you decline it, you won't get to keep anything at all.
Seems like a bad proposition ...


Or are you talking about somebody else getting it, and then sharing with you?

Yes to your last question, weaselman and let me add under age players to that list.

Here's what the "all events log" looks like on an old IGT Game King machine.

If I had inserted a bill during this timeframe, that action would have appeared on the log.

You'll notice there's the time down to the second of when a game was started (i.e. "Deal" was pressed) and the time when the game was completed, which I'll assume is when the "stand" or "bust" occurs.

Note that these old Game Kings were at the mercy of the slot tech to have the time correctly entered. On my machine, I didn't bother to turn back the clock when Daylight Savings Time ended. Server-based slots probably have up-to-date time just like your smartphone.