Page 9 - February 2004 • Southern California Gaming Guide

Best of Casino Dining: Soboba Steakhouse
The Soboba Steakhouse at Soboba Casino in the San Jacinto Valley is the casino’s main restaurant and, in addition, the venue for its fantastic bu ets. Beautifully appointed with photographs and artifacts of the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians, the Soboba Steakhouse is a casino oasis of comfortable and casual dining for breakfast, lunch and dinner. e dinner menu features juicy steaks (of course) and fresh seafood. Its lunch menu has a variety of salads, sandwiches, appetizers and beef, chicken and seafood items. Breakfast includes omelets and naturally, steak and eggs, plus other items.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
Menu and Buffet Dining. Open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner. From 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Breakfast: Served 8am. to 11a.m. (Sunday Breakfast starts at 7 a.m.). Lunch: Served 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dinner: Served 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. (11 p.m. Friday and Saturday)
BUFFETS: Champagne Sunday Buffet Brunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Adults $13.95, Seniors $10.95, Children (6 – 12 years) $7.95. Lunch Buffet: 11a.m. to 2p.m., Monday through Saturday, $8.95. Wednesday Night Italian Buffet: 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., $10.95
Full Bar plus Wine and Beer. Reservations are not necessary.
Open seven days a week, the Soboba Steakhouse is a great place for a traditional steak dinner in a casual and relaxed atmosphere. With choices that range from Prime Rib, Top Sirloin, and New York Cut, the Steakhouse dinner menu features noteworthy entrées including Soboba’s Choice—Roast Prime Rib of Beef Au Jus both in regular cut ($13.95) or large cut ($16.95) portions. And the delicious bbq Sampler with Chicken Breast, Baby Back Ribs, bbq Short Rib and Skirt Steak is a feast at $16.95.
While steaks are the main draw of the dinner menu, there are plenty of other options, including Twin Lobster Tails, Shrimp Scampi, Fresh Salmon, (grilled or sautéed in a lemon caper sauce and served with angel hair pasta) and a Seafood Special of the Day. From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., take advantage of the “Sunset Special” that o ers the choice of one of four entrees and soup and salad bar for the great price of $9.95!
Dinner menu House Specialties also include the unique Chicken Jack Daniels, a boneless chicken breast sautéed in shallots and mushrooms and simmered in wine and a Jack Daniels (Yes! We’re talking bourbon!) cream ($13.95). e Chicken Teriyaki at $11.95 and the Chicken Mozzarella are gamers’ favorites as well. All entrees include soup or salad, honey oat bread, fresh vegetables and choice of potatoes or rice.
But menu dining is only part of the Steakhouse’s o erings. ere is a daily Lunch Bu et from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. with a wide variety of lunchtime eats, plus a Wednesday Night Italian Bu et from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. that features Mussels in Marinara Sauce, Lasagna, and Osso Bucco, among the specialties. Don’t miss the Champagne Sunday Bu et Brunch from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. featuring an omelet station, carving station with Prime Rib, Turkey and Ham, plus salads and desserts—a wonderful bargain at $13.95.
Everything You Wanted to Know about Gambling and Taxes but Were Too Afraid to Ask!
Tby Jean Scott
his month’s column is timely and necessary. You
know what they say about death and taxes! Have
you been lucky this year at the casino? You’ll have to tell Uncle Sam!
Over the years many players have asked me: What should I do about those W2G’s when I hit a big jackpot at a casino? What gambling records does the IRS require me to keep? What is a gaming diary? Is there a possibility I am paying more taxes on my gambling wins than I need to?
Yes, players have had so many questions about gambling and taxes that I decided to research the subject and write about it. I planned to make it a chapter in my recent book, More Frugal Gambling. However, I found the subject so complex that I asked my accountant, a gambler herself, Marissa Chien, to join with me and help with the technical details. Our e orts have become Tax Help for the Frugal Gambler, a whole new book on its own.
I found that most gamblers (and many tax preparers themselves) had erroneous ideas about taxes. “Paying taxes on my gambling wins? You’ve got to be kidding. Sure, sometimes I win, but my losses are always much larger than my wins by the end of the year. So I don’t have to mess with it on my federal or state tax returns.”
Wrong! You probably should “mess with it,” especially if you hold any of the following common but mistaken beliefs:
• I can lump together all my wins and losses for the year and, if I have a net loss, I don’t need to put wins or losses on my income tax returns. After all, I didn’t have any gambling income.
• e IRS can’t “catch” me, even if I win a lot of money gambling,aslongasit’sdoneslowlyoveraconsiderable period of time in di erent gambling venues and I get no o cial forms like a W-2G or 1099.
• Federal and state tax agencies know most gamblers lose over the long term, so they aren’t very interested in auditing gamblers.
• If I don’t get any W-2Gs, I don’t have to report any gambling wins on any income tax forms.
• If I do get a few W-2Gs, I can just count that total as my gambling income for the year and be safe in an IRS audit.
is faulty thinking needs facts. Tax Help for the Frugal Gambler covers the basics, discussing why gambling wins must be reported on your tax return, what a gambling session is and how it can vary depending on personal circumstances and the games played, and what player record-keeping is necessary. Samples of my own gaming diary are included.
Covered in the book are the following topics:
• Casino win/loss statements and why the courts have ruled that these cannot be your only records if you are
audited
• Tax implications of cashback, comps, tournaments, and casino drawings
• Filing as a recreational gambler or professional gambler; (we provide sample tax returns to help you make the decision on which way you should le)
• Information for the table game and slot player and live poker player, and for those who form gambling partnerships
• Federal tax regulations and requirements
• An entire section on state taxes, with a chart giving information for residents of all 50 states and/or
visitors who gamble out of their home state.
e IRS stresses that you cannot add up all your winning sessions and all your losing sessions and give a net win/loss gure at the end of the year. Since many states follow the federal reporting form, but do not allow deductions for gambling losses, many gamblers are taxed heavily on the state level. Tax Help for the Frugal Gambler discusses how this leads some gamblers to le as professionals, although
that is an area fraught with danger.
Jean Scott, the “Queen of Comps,” is the author of the best-selling book The Frugal Gambler, a casino guide for thrifty low rollers, plus the sequel, More Frugal Gambling, now available at www.FrugalGambler.biz. Featured on “Dateline NBC,” “48 Hours,” and The Travel Channel, she stresses sensible, responsible gambling and shows how to stretch out casino fun time whatever your gambling bankroll.
February 2004 Page 9
Best of Casino Dining Column: The Frugal Gambler