Accountant Referal Please

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I'm not sure if this post belongs in this forum. I apologize in advance if I misposted. I see many tax related discussions here so I figured this is the forum for this as well.

Does anyone know a good tax advisor in Metro NY area? I don't know if gambling income requires a special kind of an accountant, but if there is a such accountant, how do I go about finding one?

I called a few generic accountants in my area and I told them I play poker part time and need advice on what I need to do and none of them took me seriously.

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No NY/NJ/CT 2+2ers that use an accountant?
OK, how about this question? Has anyone gotten the "are you kidding?" treatment when you talked to an account about poker income?

[BradleyT]

Just write some notes/records about your gambling trips to Foxwoods where you lost enough to zero out your gains made online.

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Just write some notes/records about your gambling trips to Foxwoods where you lost enough to zero out your gains made online.

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And???? By some unlucky chance you get audited. The auditor asks for records. You show him some made up notes on the losing sessions to offset the winning ones, yet you have 2 bimmers and live in a not so average house. Something doesn't add up.

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So, no one can recommend one??? No one in NY/NJ/CT uses an accountant for poker income? Or do you all just say da heck with it? Well, I gave it another shot at Yahoo Yellow Pages and I found one who took me seriously. I have an appointment with him tommorrow night. We talked briefly on the phone and one thing he asked me was if online poker was legal. I couldn't really answer, so I told him I'm not sure. He said if it is illegal, then he won't take me as a client. But anyway, I'm meeting him tommorrow and in the meantime he said he will ask his lawyer friend.

So, is it illegal? I've read that playing online poker is technically illegal, but isn't enforced. For those of you that report your online poker activities, aren't you concerned that, while you are doing your duty as a taxpayer, you are putting yourself at risk of getting prosecuted for an illegal activity?

[kylemontero]

My accountant laughed at me when I asked him if I should claim the $22,000 I make playing poker. He said "don't worry about it" lol

[JasonP530]

I dont have anyone to recommend, but they do not enforce these laws closely. However, with all the additional emphasis on anti-terrorism and such, you dont want to be checked and screwed by the government. You should consult an accountant, if only to see whats deductible and to figure out whats going on. Thats my 2 cents.

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My accountant laughed at me when I asked him if I should claim the $22,000 I make playing poker. He said "don't worry about it" lol

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...As in he didn't believe you? or as in $22,000 is small enough of a sum to go under the radar?

[Bubu]

similar situation here. I met with an accountant in NYC, but he knew very little about gambling. some of the cpa's which advertise in card player will help you over the phone.

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similar situation here. I met with an accountant in NYC, but he knew very little about gambling. some of the cpa's which advertise in card player will help you over the phone.

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Wow, thanks... I'm going to check that out. I wish someone would have told me sooner before I made the appointment with this regular accountant. Well, I'll go see him anyway, and hear what he has to say. Thanks again for pointing me to tthe right place.

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RBS provides tax advice. They are located in Las Vegas and cater to card players. I suppose they would know more than a regular CPA in the topic of poker income since they have many poker playing clients. I got their info in Cardplayer magazine as one poster replied before. I was just wondering if anyone here uses them. Unfortunately, they don't have any offices near where I live. The guy that I spoke with said that he can prepare my taxes using fax and fed-ex, but I don't know if that would be too much of a headache. For obvious reasons, I would prefer to have someone local. But if these guys know more than the regular CPAs then it might be worth it.

Can anyone share any experiences they have with them, especially if you are not in Las Vegas.