Page 30 - January 2008 • Southern California Gaming Guide

Page 30
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
January 2008
Agua Caliente Casino
32-250 Bob Hope Drive • Rancho Mirage, CA 92270 1-888-999-1995 • Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians
Augustine Casino
84-001 Avenue 54 • Coachella, CA 92236 • 760-391-9500 Augustine Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians
Cahuilla Casino
52702 Highway 371 • Anza, CA 92539 • 951-763-1200 Cahuilla Band of Indians
Chumash Casino Resort
3400 E. Highway 246 • Santa Ynez, CA 93460 1-877-chumash
Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians
GAMES: 1,000 slots in 45,000 sq. ft. facility. Bingo. Table Games: Blackjack, Let-it-Ride, Pai Gow, Caribbean Stud and Mini-Baccarat. DINING: Buffet and ve restaurants.
ALCOHOL: Alcoholic beverages are served.
GAMES: 800 slots in 32,000 sq. ft. facility. Video Poker. Table Games: Blackjack, Single 21, Spanish 21, 3-Card Poker Bonus, Crazy 4-Card Poker. DINING: One restaurant with buffet and snack bar.
ALCOHOL: Alcoholic beverages are served.
GAMES: 306 slots in 14,000 sq. ft. facility. Video Poker. Table Games: Blackjack. DINING: One restaurant with Sunday brunch buffet.
ALCOHOL: Alcoholic beverages are served.
GAMES: 2,000 slots in 94,000 sq. ft. facility. 46 Table Games. Poker Room. Bingo. Showroom. 106-room luxury hotel. DINING: Two restaurants plus buffet.
ALCOHOL: Served only with entree in the ne dining Willows Restaurant.
Jean Scott: The Frugal GamblerTM
Making Your Gambling Problems Less Taxing
EHxcerpted from the Newly Expanded Tax Help for Gamblers
ere are some tax basics all gamblers and their accountants should know.
e IRS states that all gambling wins must be declared as income from whatever source derived. is includes gambling in all U.S. casinos, including Native American ones; in home games; in cyberspace; on
frequently, especially those who live outside of Nevada. Revenue agents are usually junior or entry-level positions lled with individuals fresh out of college with a four-year accounting degree, but no experience with gambling numbers. Revenue o cers are a little more senior and some do understand gambling issues. Occasionally, you might get lucky and nd a supervisor or a manager at these units who understands gambling today as it relates to gambling law. You’ll usually have your best luck with those people within the IRS who gamble themselves. ey can usually understand what you’re trying to ask or convey to them.
Once you’ve found an IRS person whose advice seems to make sense and you plan to use it, it’s very important to get his/her IRS employee badge number. If he gives you erroneous advice and you rely upon that advice and it later turns out to be incorrect, then you’re not liable for penalties and interest. Worst case, you’ll only have to pay the tax you would have had to pay in the rst place if you had received correct information.
Marissa Chien and Jean Scott wrote the tax book to answer the many questions gamblers might have. Tax Help for Gamblers is the current edition, newly expanded and includes much new information for those who play any game in any gambling venue. There is a new chapter to speci cally give solid advice for live poker players. You can order the book ($24.95) at www.QueenofComps.com or by calling 1-877-798-7RGE.
cruise ships; overseas; whether you get paperwork or in an illegal venue.
e IRS speci cally states that gamblers must keep a record of winnings and losses, and you may not net out one win/loss gure for the whole year. Recreational players must report winning sessions as income on their tax returns, and if they want to list losses, these are reported separately as deductions. ese IRS rules can cause major problems for residents of some states with onerous state return requirements or for someone who ordinarily would take the standard deduction.
You may le a tax return as a recreational or a professional player, but the IRS has imposed rigid requirements for the latter.
In some states, casinos will withhold from residents and/or non-residents, state taxes on jackpot wins that generate a federal W-2G form. Getting back this withheld tax sometimes can be accomplished, but it can be a very complicated process.
e government can get involved in your gambling activity, whether you want it to or not, and even if you get no W-2Gs.
no paperwork from the source; or even if you’re gambling
If you have a question about how to handle your gambling activity on your tax return, you might think the easiest way to get a valid and complete answer is to call the IRS directly. In Tax Help for Gamblers, I talk about the writings of the IRS as being incomplete, ambiguous, and even contradictory. I can use those same adjectives about information you might get from a live IRS employee. It’s almost a cliché that you can get ten di erent opinions about a tax issue if you talk to ten di erent IRS sta ers. So my rst piece of advice about getting information on tax questions about gambling is not to depend on the word of only one IRS employee.
My co-author, Marissa Chien, says this is especially important if you call a general IRS hotline. Most of the customer-service representatives answering these phones are entry-level workers who have sparse knowledge about the nuances of gambling. Revenue agents who are entry-level auditors usually aren’t much better informed, since this isn’t an issue they deal with
CASINO: 327,000 sq. ft. SLOTS: 2,500 VIDEO POKER: 500 VIDEO KENO: 447
Try your luck on 2,500 slots, 83 gaming tables and in bingo. New slots include Golden Monkey, Reel Winners and Zeus. Catch live entertainment at the DreamCatcher and Viejas Concerts in the Park. Dine at six award-winning restaurants. And save on over 60 brands at the Viejas Outlet Center.
TABLE GAMES: 83 tables including Blackjack (39) with limits from $5 to $3,000, Baccarat, Double Hand Baccarat, Pai Gow, Caribbean Stud, Let it Ride, 3-Card
Poker, 4-Card poker and Casino War. Poker room.
BUFFET: Harvest Buffet open for Lunch, Dinner and Sunday Brunch.
RESTAURANTS: The Grove Steakhouse serving Lunch Mon–Sat and Dinner daily; Daisy’s Café, China Camp, The Mezz Deli & Lounge, Viejas Coffee Bar.
ALCOHOL: Full bar service from 6 a.m.—1:30 a.m. .
The Frugal GamblerTM, Jean Scott