Questions. We Get Lots and Lots of Questions

Questions.

Has sports betting ever been offered on a pari-mutuel basis? It seems that it would eliminate the need for oddsmakers and guarantee the casino a consistent house edge.

It would seem that way, but the answer, as far as we know, is no. We asked several of our experts and all agreed that sports betting, in this country at least, has never been based on a pari-mutuel system.

In the car bombing scene in the movie Casino, it looks like Robert DeNiro is coming out of the south entrance of what is now Main Street Station, but there's a Tony Roma's sign above the doors. Was Tony Roma's at MSS before its current incarnation at the Fremont?

Nope. Main Street Station has never had a Tony Roma's, which has been a mainstay at the Fremont for many decades. Of course, in real life, a bomb was placed under Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal's Cadillac when it was parked in the lot behind the Tony Roma's on E. Sahara across from the Commercial Center. So the bomb and Tony Roma's parts are accurate, though the movie location was, no doubt, based on production expedience.

If I win a sizable jackpot, say $2,000, in a cruise ship casino, what are the tax implications?

As we've written many times (click on the Tax/Finance button near the top of this page to access all the gambling-and-taxes questions we've answered here), the tax implications are very simple: You're legally liable for reporting your jackpot to the IRS.

All Americans are liable for taxes on all income earned anywhere in the world (qualifying expats can claim the foreign earned-income exclusion) and that means jackpots in offshore casinos. Of course, under some circumstances, you can deduct gambling losses against your winnings. But for the purposes of this answer, whether or not you receive any paperwork from the cruise-ship company or foreign casino and/or you can deduct your losses, your cruise-ship jackpot is reportable and taxable.

Can I park for free at any of the hotel/casinos downtown?

Yes. You can park for free in almost all of them, but you must get the parking stub validated. Validation policies and procedures vary from casino to casino; check out the parking page on this website for the details.

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Comments

That Don Guy Jan-30-2022

Pari-Mutuel Betting Problem

I think the main problem with applying pari-mutuel betting to all sports is, you can't really have a "pari-mutuel money line" bet as a very heavy favorite would attract a considerable amount of money, and there has to be some minimum win payout (usually 5% of the bet - i.e. if you bet 100, you will win at least 105; this is what it is in horse racing).

Also, remember that pari-mutuel bets pay all of the winning bets off at the same odds, so if you get a "good price" when you bet early, only for the odds to drop as more and more money goes onto that team, you end up getting paid at the lower odds.

It "works" with horse racing as the number of entries in each race keeps the odds on all of the horses up.

Stewart Ethier Jan-30-2022

Jai alai

Sports betting on jai alai was presumably pari mutuel when it was offered at the MGM Grand.

Ray Jan-30-2022

A couple of thoughts

Don mentions one of the main problems. Pari-mutuel by it's definition means that your actual payoff isn't determined until the betting is stopped, meaning you could not buy a ticket with a specific payoff. And a mutuel "pool" would need to be established, so would all the sportsbooks get together or would each one have different payoffs? And to Stewart's note about Jai Alai, that is a game that is like horse racing and dog racing in that you have several entries playing each game and when you cut off the betting at the start of the game, any of the several entries can win, place or show. I would imagine something similar COULD work for golf or tennis but the length of the tournaments might be a drawback, too. Races go fast and have several entries AND you have another one coming up a few minutes after the last one ended.

O2bnVegas Jan-30-2022

movie scene

Appreciate the history involving the car bombing scene in the movie Casino.  Thanks.

Candy

AL Jan-31-2022

Correction on taxes

The blanket statement "All Americans are liable for taxes on all income earned anywhere in the world" is not true. You only have to pay federal taxes if your taxable income is above a certain 5-digit amount, well over $10,000. I found this out in an in-person talk with an IRS agent at the main Los Angeles office. Because I live off of my monthly Social Security check and I don't have taxable income over that large threshold amount, I can win a $2,000 jackpot anywhere and the IRS won't require the payment of any taxes on it.

Question of the Day - 30 January 2022

Comments