Craps Newsletter – December 2003

December 2003

DEDUCTING GAMBLING LOSSES FROM YOUR TAXES

Gambling winnings are taxed like regular income! How would the IRS know about thisif you didn’t tell them? Simple: If you win $1200 or more on a slot or video pokermachine, or cash in $10,000 or more in chips at the cage in any given day, thenyou’ll have to show your ID and fill out a tax form.

The IRS does let you deduct gambling losses from gambling winnings, though. Youcan’t deduct more than your winnings, of course, the IRS isn’t that stupid. Youcan’t say you won $1,000 and lost $5,000, for a net loss of $4,000. If that wasyour actual experience, you could apply $1,000 of your losses towards your $1,000in winnings so you wouldn’t owe any tax on your winnings.

Let’s say you get lucky and have a big win. At that point you want to deduct yourlosses from your winnings to reduce your taxes. How do you find your losses? Here’swhere having a Player’s Card at the casino comes in handy. Since casinos track players’action when they have a card, the casino can give you a report of how much you lostwhen tax time comes around. Of course, it’s best if you also keep your own log ofyour play. Here’s a free Win/Loss Tracking Form (PDF)you can download. (See NextShooter.com for more on gamblingtaxes.)

QUARTER CRAPS AT CASTAWAYS

For players who want to test their systems and strategies, The Castaways (Las Vegas,formerly The Showboat at Fremont and The Boulder Highway) now posts a sign out frontstating that they have 25-cent craps. In a recent visit by the Bone Man it was clearupon review that it is really a $1 Minimum and $500 Maximum table with 10X Odds.Though they do allow players to make a $1.25 wager on the 6 and/or 8 to win a buckand a half, they require the $1 minimum Flat Bet on the Pass Line and DO NOT allow25-cent wagers on the Proposition bets. Though the 10X Odds offerings provided somedegree of attraction for any player with a limited bank, a better deal can stillbe found in the friendly surroundings of the Joker’s Wild farther up Boulder Highwayin Henderson. There you can bet 50 cents flat on the Pass Line to better managea limited bankroll and extend your time of play.

CRAPS QUIZ

Here is the answer to the November quiz:

In order to win maximize your chances of winning you need to know: THE HOUSE ADVANTAGEON ALL TABLE WAGERS.

While it is indeed nice to know the payoff ratios, it is far more important to knowwhat the House Advantage is on all table wagers in order to avoid making secondarybets that may be worse than your initial bet(s). The worst place to position wagerson the craps table is on the Proposition bets in the middle of the table where theHouse Advantage is extremely high (SUCKER BETS). Congratulations… though 65% ofyou got last month’s answer wrong, 75% of you got the October quiz CORRECT ! Wayto go.

December 2003 Quiz:

On a $500 table limit you can pay Vigorish and LAY the 4 or 10 for:

$500
$1,000

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The NextShooter.com newsletter is a monthly mailer sent to subscribers and membersof NextShooter.com. At NextShooter.com, over 100 man years of dealer experiencetells you all the secrets of the game of craps. NextShooter.com was created to providea unique view of the game of Craps as seen from “The House” and “Dealer” side ofthe table and to present this view without the distractions of pop-up windows, gimmickyor flashing Internet gaming links or banners.