Page 6 - April 2008 • Southern California Gaming Guide

Page 6
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
April 2008
Bill Burton: About Gambling
ICutting Back With the Joneses: Ways to Save at the Casino
attended a party the other night and the topic of conversation turned to an article that appeared in a national Save on Dining
newspaper about the current economic future and how people are devising ways to cut back on spending. e Dining at the casino can also be an expense if you article said that for years it was a status symbol to keep up with the Joneses, but now the Joneses are cutting back. always eat at the high-end restaurants. One way to
Most of us at the party admitted that we were making an e ort to reduce spending and agreed that it is easy to forego buying a new car or house now, but many of us are cutting back on some of the simpler luxuries of life.
One friend said that he had given up buying his daily gourmet co ee and was now brewing co ee at home. He gured that he was saving at least $50 a month making this one change in his routine. Everyone at the party had some suggestion for cutting back without completely giving up a favorite item.
ere are several alternatives you can choose to reduce the amount you spend for co ee, movies and other items, but what if your favorite form of entertainment is visiting the casino?
I recently ran a poll on About.com asking my readers if the economy had changed the number of times that they visited the casino in the last few months. Fifty- two percent responded said that they had gone fewer times and 13 percent said they were planning to reduce their visits in the future.
But changing the number of times you visit the casino does not have to be the only way to reduce the amount of money you spend on your favorite entertainment.
Save on Getting to the Casino
For most of us, the rising price of gasoline has the greatest impact on our wallets. It has certainly added to the cost of going to the casino. Some casinos o er shuttle busses, and you may nd it is cheaper in the long run to take the bus. Another way to save is to carpool with friends, if possible. Instead of meeting at the casino, meet at a location close to where you all live and drive together. Once you arrive at the casino, you can also save a few dollars by self-parking instead of using the valet. Although many casinos o er free valet parking, you still have to tip the attendant.
Save on Playing the Games
We love to win, but our main reason for playing casino games is entertainment and the money we spend gambling is usually our biggest expense at the casino. One way you can decrease the amount you spend playing is to play at lower limits. If you normally play dollar slots, drop and play the quarter machines. If you play quarters, go to nickels or penny slots. Unless you play a progressive slot machine, you can cut back on the number of coins you play on each spin. Playing one coin per line will stretch your gambling budget. If you play table games, choose a table with the lowest minimum bet.
cut your expenses is to choose dining options that are less expensive. Instead of the steak house, try the café or choose the bu et or food court. If you are going to the casino for a day trip, you might want to have a big breakfast at home before you go and then you can have a light lunch. If you are going for the evening it will be less expensive to have your dinner at home before you go. And don’t forget those dining comps you may have accumulated. Now is the time to use them.
Be Economically Creative
ese are just a few suggestions for stretching your money at home and at the casino. I’m sure if you give it some thought, you will come up some creative ideas of your own that you can use to cut back and save some money. ere is no rule saying that some of the money you save in one area can’t be used for something else. Cutting out that morning latte may save you enough money for a few extra spins of the slot machine.
Until next time, remember: “Luck comes and goes... Knowledge Stays Forever.”
Bill Burton is the Casino Gambling Guide and columnist for the Internet portal About.com, located at http://casinogambling.about.com. He is the author of 1000 Best Casino Gambling Secrets and Get the Edge at Low Limit Texas Hold’em available online at www.billburton.com. He is also an instructor for Golden Touch Craps, http://www.thecrapsclub.com.
Is it fair that a professional gambler can le as a business, but can’t write o any gambling losses against other kinds of income, as other businesses do? at’s a decidedly unfair double standard!
I wish I could give you a di erent answer about unfair tax rules, that perhaps things will change for the better in the future. But I see no hope for that, no matter how many e-mails we send our state and federal government representatives. In spite of the broad spread of casinos all over our country and the seemingly wider acceptance of gambling, it’s still viewed as a moral issue by enough people that most politicians are afraid to go on record in favor of it. In fact, so many of them are quick to support sin taxes that there’s more likelihood that tax rules on gambling will become more restrictive, rather than loosening up, in the future.
With a forward by professional poker player, Phil Gordon, Tax Help for Gamblers—Poker & Other Casino Games is 167 pages, paperbound, and is published by Huntington Press, Las Vegas, December, 2007. You can order copies ($24.95) from www.QueenofComps.com or by calling 1-877-798-7RGE.
Jean Scott: The Frugal GamblerTM
“The IRS Isn’t Fair”
Excerpted from the Newly Expanded Tax Help for Gamblers—Poker and Other Games by The Frugal Gambler, Jean Scott and Marissa Chien, Enrolled Agent
Iused to tell my children when they were growing up—and I’m repeating this with my grandchildren—that no one ever said life was fair, and they might as well get used to it.
Of course, the IRS doesn’t accept any blame in the fairness game. ey do what government agencies do best: Pass the buck. ey
would like this quote
and by applying the tax fairness to all.”
law with integrity and
Is it fair that you can’t net out your wins and losses at the end of the year and, therefore, might have a big tax bill in addition to being an overall loser as well? No. It’s sad, but it’s not fair.
Is it fair that your state won’t let you deduct gambling losses so that your state tax bill is higher than the amount
I found in one court case: “Federal taxes... rest where Congress has placed them.”
I daresay “fair” isn’t the adjective most people use when they describe the government, especially the IRS. And that’s in spite of the o cial IRS mission: “Provide
“Is it fair that you can’t net out your wins and losses at the end of the year and, therefore, might have a big tax bill in addition to
America’s taxpayers top-quality service by helping them understand and meet their tax responsibilities
you won gambling? Nope. It’s not only not fair, but it doesn’t make sense either.
being an overall loser as well? No. It’s sad, but it’s not fair.”
The Frugal GamblerTM, Jean Scott About Gambling with Bill Burton