With gold worth so much these days, is Nevada a lot richer from taxes on the gold mining there?

For state tax purposes, what does it take to become a legal resident of Nevada?

My wife and I plan to retire to Las Vegas in six or seven years. We want to keep our home here in Saskatchewan, and live at least six months of the year in each home. I don't really like being a landlord, but we think it might be a good time to buy in Las Vegas while your prices are so low, and rent the house out until we move there. We can sell our home if we have to, but we'll be able to keep our home here if we can find a three-bedroom home in Las Vegas for under $250,000. Is this a realistic plan?

Question 1: In our family of five, the agreed rule is if anyone wins the Megabucks or any large lottery, the winner gets 50% and the rest of the family splits 50%. Does that change the taxation structure, i.e. are the taxes reduced? Question 2: Your 4/13/08 QoD was about the megajackpots. How are the taxes paid if you take the 25 "installments?" I have heard the gov wants theirs right now.

Question one: Could you please settle a small wager. On any Megabucks jackpot, I contend that the slot manufacturer is responsible for paying when a jackpot is hit. My friend is equally sure that it's the casinos responsibility. Who wins? Question two: Whenever I read about Megabucks being hit, the winner almost always opts for the lump-sum payout. But how much the winner receives is never revealed. Why not? And do you know how much someone might wind up with?

I’m not interested in investing in a single gambling stock. I don’t want to have all my investment eggs in one casino basket. Are there any mutual funds that spread the eggs around into lots of baskets?

I was listening to NPR yesterday and a member of the Center for Gaming Research at UNLV stated that gaming was responsible for only 40% of the revenue in Las Vegas, but didn't go into detail as to what comprised the other 60%. Can you get the statistics on the contributing categories (hotel rooms, shows, restaurants, conventions, etc.)?

In your 10/4/07 QoD, you described how to go about keeping a manual log of gambling results. I have always relied on my yearly win-loss statements generated from my use of players club cards from the various casino companies. Am I making a mistake? Would the IRS reject such documentation as proof of losses?

Now that the Canadian dollar is worth more than the U.S. dollar, what sort of exchange rate are the Las Vegas casinos giving for Canadian dollars?

My broker just told me that the Nevada teacher's union wants to increase the gambling tax by 3%. He said that if it happens, casino stocks will tumble. How likely is this tax to happen? And if it does, will it have as dramatic an impact on my gambling stocks as my broker says?