I come into contact with players of all skill levels, and what seems obvious to a casino veteran often is a mystery to a beginner. That’s especially true for craps, where a reader named Lisa said she’d learned to play from her boyfriend and though she had it all down until she tried on her own.
If you’re in a casino that has slot games on the Pro Wave cabinet from the Bally Technologies division of Scientific Games, you can’t miss it. The Pro Wave is a eye-catcher, with a giant 40-inch, curved main screen for high-resolution graphics.
For almost all of us, a day or evening in the casino, or even a trip of a few days, is a nice break from everyday life. We’re excited for the wins when they come, but we know that more often than not, we’re going to be paying for the day’s entertainment.
But there are a few who dream of playing professionally. When I hear from them, I always urge caution. Take the video poker player who emailed recently to say, “I can usually get a royal flush every 30 days. I can be a professional player? I play video poker every day.”
No blackjack player likes to bust and wind up with a total of more than 21 that’s a loser before the dealer even plays his hand. But if we’re going to take the best chance to win, accepting the risk of busting is part of the bargain.
The Internal Revenue Service has proposed changes to federal tax requirements on that could triple the amount of paperwork when we win big on slots, video poker and other electronic casino games. In one proposal, you’d still have to sign form W-2G on any jackpot of $1,200 or more, but also would require casinos to use their player tracking systems to trigger tax forms on cumulative winnings of $1,200 or more above losses in one day.
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