You've got to know when to fold 'em

[lazygood4nothinbum]

gambling can be very profitable. my cousin's investment group owns a bunch of machines in vegas and they seem to be living very well.

i've been in a casino once. atlantis in the bahamas. my brother likes to play blackjack and mom liked slots. i played slots with mom and i won a whole bunch of quarters but mom kept putting them back into her machine which didn't give us any back.

i made special effort to study the faces of the people in the casino. for the most part, they are very sad and as empty as their pockets.

 

[lets-retire]

Not to mention the price per share of my former boss went form less than $2 in 1999 to over $49 today.

































Thanks to the loosers.

 

[JPatrick]

gambling can be very profitable. my cousin's investment group owns a bunch of machines in vegas and they seem to be living very well.

OK, I'm intrigued, how does this work and where do I sign up?

 

[playaman]

Gambling can be profitable, but it has been a disaster for many businessmen and women who have entered thinking anybody can do it. At one time in recent years, half the properties in "Glitter Gulch" (the Fremont area) were said to be in bankruptcy.

Don't forget the tax rates can be horrific too -- up to 70% off the top (in Illinois, but I understand they've cut it to a mere 50% -- like Florida, Pennsylvania, maybe Missouri and a couple of other places).

 

[samclem]

Don't forget the tax rates can be horrific too -- up to 70% off the top (in Illinois, but I understand they've cut it to a mere 50% -- like Florida, Pennsylvania, maybe Missouri and a couple of other places).

Taxes. Casinos pay 'em? I haven't been in a casino in awhile, but I'd be very surprised to learn that they are now giving customers receipts for what they have bet and what has been paid out at those tables and slot machines. One of the last cash businesss in the world.

Let's see: 70% taxes on one quarter of the actual take=still a pretty good deal.

This is just a re-telling of a commonly held public belief. Maybe in the real world evrything is actually above board.

 

[lets-retire]

Sam--I was surprised when I started talking with the count people. They were saying each slot machine is similar to a cash register and logs every bet. When the money is emptied each night a print out of the days activities is also printed out. These receipts must be maintained. The gaming commission periodically goes around and audits the receipts. The slots we had did not pay out money. When the gambler wanted to cash out they received a ticket that went to another machine, similar to an ATM, or the cashier to be exchanged for cash. It was not uncommon to find these cash tickets for less than $2.00 laying around, because the gambler didn't want to take the time to cash them in.

The table games are a different creature. The money is put in a box in exchange for chips. I'm not sure how those are accounted for, because my job was done in the count room and we didn't get into it. I do know that the count team is closely watched by surveillance the entire time they are dealing with money. With the way the gaming commission has their regulations written, I would presume the tapes must be maintained for review during an audit.

 

[Nords]

Taxes. Casinos pay 'em? I haven't been in a casino in awhile, but I'd be very surprised to learn that they are now giving customers receipts for what they have bet and what has been paid out at those tables and slot machines. One of the last cash businesss in the world.

Casinos differ in their practices, but it's not uncommon for a W-2G to be issued along with your slot-machine winnings.

I don't know how they handle individuals cashing in large piles of chips. But they can cancel their chips anytime, so it's not generally smart to hold onto the chips longer than it takes you to finish using them.

 

[REWahoo]

I don't know how they handle individuals cashing in large piles of chips. But they can cancel their chips anytime, so it's not generally smart to hold onto the chips longer than it takes you to finish using them.

(...insert "cashing in your chips" joke here...)

 

[Nords]

(...insert "cashing in your chips" joke here...)

Remember the Mike Tyson:Evander Holyfield ear-biting fight?

There was a riot in the casino after the fight. Tables were overturned, dealers cleared the floor, looters took advantage of the situation, and customers were scooping up the chips before things were brought under control. The casino agreed to redeem customer's chips up to a certain limit but they immediately issued their backup chips and cancelled the ones in use up to the fight.

A group of gamblers was caught with hundreds of thousands of dollars in chips-- duffel bags full of them-- that they really didn't feel comfortable redeeming right then because casino security had been trying to figure out who'd been cleaning out the blackjack tables by team-card-counting on them. Not technically illegal but certainly "discouraged". They lost thousands of dollars splitting their stash into smaller increments to be redeemed by dozens of "freelancers" hired for the purpose.

"Bringing Down The House"