Originally posted by: O2bnVegas
Kevin, hate to say it but you are really wrong here. Every win loss statement I've ever gotten has a column for table win or loss, plus or minus, and the amount is figured into the totals. I'm not dreaming, I have mine right in front of me. This updated version now available from MGM is right on the money, no pun intended. Looking at mine, I had a couple great sessions on 3 Card Poker, by date and clock times. WTF, how did I come out so far ahead on Friday the 13th of year 2029 on table 2568 from 13:27 to 15:45? Memorable because we got straight flushes and trips and 3OKs, etc. The losing sessions aren't so memorable, just playing down to zero or just enough to tip the dealer a dab. Just a memory of what you bought in for and what you left the table with. Still, the new statement appear frightfully accurate, as far as they go. But it is evident why some do not use a card with their play. Trade off getting points/comps for the play vs less taxable winnings to show.
Now, granted, for years I only played $5 Blackjack tables. I would chuckle when my w/l statement had my table win at $200. Every dang year! As if they said "why bother, just count her as winning $200" for the year. I always had plenty of total loss to support my gambling loss (only up to amount of win, of course). Very true that it is nice to have a big table win without signing a W-2G, but, like Jean Scott said the table does have it counted, and will show up on the w/l, because the pit asks the dealer how each player came out after they leave the table, and it is recorded. Plus, of course, when one hits something on the progressive meter taxes are withheld right there, if over the IRS limit.
You maintain those w/l statements IN CASE you are audited. I guarantee the IRS accepts them, BUT to a point which is information of their own keeping. I'd love to be a fly on the wall and watch an auditor doing calculations on a gambler's wins and losses, especially one who has their personally created spread sheet OR hand written ledger plus win/loss statements, losing horserace tickets, losing lottery tickets. How picky do they get? Enough for a giant headache, I'm guessing.
Ever try to argue with a casino about the accuracy of your win/loss statement? I sure haven't. I'll guess it is an exercise in futility. One can only argue your own figures with the IRS and hope they agree. But this new and detailed version of the w/l is impressive, and may not be favorable toward the player, depending.
Candy
Candy, you don't understand. Even if those very very detailed casino statements tell you everything, including what you had for lunch that day, they aren't proof of YOUR OVERALL GAMBLING RESULTS. And that's what the IRS wants to know. That's what you put on Line Whatever on your 1040 (only if the net is positive).
And I'm sorry to say, but any table win/loss statement is pure fiction. Do they always record every single hand you play, keep track of how much you bought in for and how much you cashed out? Or course not. What if you simply picked up your chips and left? What if you put some black chips in your pocket first, so that whoever estimates your cashout amount doesn't count them, so that it looks like you lost more than you did?
The casino will TRY to estimate your table game results IF and WHEN they know how much you bought in for and how much you cashed out. But what if you just walked up with a stack of chips and started playing? Are you instantly noted by the pit boss? Does the dealer count your chips before dealing you in? No.
That's why the IRS doesn't pay much attention to table game result reports. For one thing, players who are trying to look like losers (to earn comps, or to counterbalance an earlier big win) will "rathole" chips and in many other ways, try to make it look like they've lost more than they actually have. If, say, you have a $20,000 slot win and then try to offset it with a big table game "loss" (as opposed to a loss), the IRS won't necessarily believe you even if your reported results are supported by win/loss statements.
Again, you're only reporting your AGGREGATE wins and losses FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR, so what happened on Tuesday, August 12 is pretty much irrelevant. The IRS doesn't assume that the reports you submit are the entire picture. Why would they?
