Chopping and Taxes

[citanul]

i haven't played in ac, but i find it somewhat ridiculous that they make you fill out paper for a $1000 haul. are you sure they actually do that? it seems retarded. they don't make everyone who hits a roulette wheel for 1k fill out paperwork, do they? jeepers. they don't make everyone who wins a 1000 pot at say, a cash nl game fill out paper, do they? if this is actually the way things work, even if it's just the way the sngs work, there's no way you could drag me to that city. i know for instance that foxwoods wouldn't do something nearly that absurd. expecially as the casinos are in no way obligated to do something like this for such small prizes, i can't really see them doing that.

meh, end rant.

c

oh, and for tax stuff, listen to the tax pro, not me.

My live play is mostly in Missouri casinos, which don't issue paper until the win (slot jackpot, etc) is $2,800. I think that is based on state law, because the casino is only required to withhold state income tax. If you want federal income tax taken out, that's up to you. (The feds still get a copy of the W-2G, however.) So the $1,000 may be based on NJ law. In MO, you only get paper for a distinct event, such as a jackpot or a tournament win, not for the results of continuing play.

[gumpzilla]

[ QUOTE ]
i haven't played in ac, but i find it somewhat ridiculous that they make you fill out paper for a $1000 haul. are you sure they actually do that? it seems retarded. they don't make everyone who hits a roulette wheel for 1k fill out paperwork, do they? jeepers. they don't make everyone who wins a 1000 pot at say, a cash nl game fill out paper, do they? if this is actually the way things work, even if it's just the way the sngs work, there's no way you could drag me to that city. i know for instance that foxwoods wouldn't do something nearly that absurd. expecially as the casinos are in no way obligated to do something like this for such small prizes, i can't really see them doing that.

[/ QUOTE ]

When I'd go to the horse races at Saratoga, there were always special booths to go to if your ticket was a winner for $600 or more where it would be immediately reported, basically. I'd always assumed that was some kind of federal requirement and not NYRA specific, but perhaps not, since I have a bit of a tough time imagining the roulette scenario as well. I think it's very feasible that they'd make all tournament winners exceeding $600 file the paperwork though. I guess the question is, from a legal perspective, what separates the tournament from the roulette scenarios?
(EDIT: I see Anjin addressed a lot of these issues.)

It's a law, federal I believe, that any gambling jackpot (slots and video poker) $1200 and above requires a W2-G. There are allocations whereby people can split jackpots and get separate W2-Gs from the casino.

How this applies to winning a poker tournament, I don't know.

I also know that if you win money in a promotional event such as a drawing or free promotional slot tournament, that if the total of such prizes in an individual casino adds up to some minimal amount (our tax acct. friend should know), you receive a 1099 for misc. income. I don't know if there is a way to divide a large score legally for such a prize as there is with the W2-G.

I don't know how the prizes for poker tournaments are handled, I could ask a friend of mine who has taken some top prizes in AC tourneys.

If they are handled with a 1099, some extra consideration should be given to the person taking the paper. For example, I was involved a while back in a promotional game that lasted for weeks where some skill was involved. A group of us were partnered up and it was agreed that if one among us was the top prize winner (100K), he or she would get enough extra to cover the tax bite.