Las Vegas How To Gamble

• Factoid: Twenty-five years ago 2 states had legalized gambling and 48 did not. Now 48 do and only 2 do not (Hawaii and Utah.)
• Factoid: Nevada gambling revenue was $1 billion in 1975 ...$10 billion in 2004 and is projected to be $15 billion in 2009.

1. Las Vegas Gamblers Football
2. Las Vegas How To Gamble Win
3. Las Vegas How Old To Gamble
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5. Las Vegas Learn To Gamble
6. Las Vegas Gamblers Hockey

The top 12 mistakes people make when gambling in Las Vegas. By Rob Kachelriess. Published on 7/9/2014 at 11:00 PM. There are tons of reasons to visit Las Vegas.

'Las Vegas was built for people who are really bad at math....' ...Penn Jillette (Penn & Teller, now at the Rio!)

CAESARS PALACE LAS VEGAS CASINO. Caesars Palace brings you all the excitement of a Las Vegas casino in an ancient Roman setting. Enjoy your lavish surroundings while playing your favorite slots and table games—including blackjack and poker—or take your chances at the race and sports book. You can make your bet by: Placing your chips on a specific number, which we call an “inside bet” – the winning number is the one the ball lands in after the dealer’s spin Splitting your bet by putting your chip on the line between two numbers – don’t forget your zeros! Tips and Tricks on how to gamble at Vegas casinos; ways to increase your winning chances and ways to make sure you don’t lose too much! For part 2, go to the bottom of the page for the link (but you are invited to read part 1 as well as useful introduction).

'There are two times in a man's life when he should not speculate: when he can't afford it and when he can.' ...Samuel Clemens, also known as 'Mark Twain' (1835-1910)

In the last decade, entertainment, shopping and fine dining have replaced gambling as the top attraction for visitors to Las Vegas. Many hotels get more than half of their revenue from non-gambling sources.

Although tourists no longer list gambling as the primary reason for their visit, almost all are willing to risk an average of $500 each trying to hit that elusive jackpot.

Nationwide, casino gambling is a $50 billion business. And 20 percent of that amount comes from just one state ...Nevada. One third of all Nevada general tax revenue comes from state gambling taxes.

The state of Nevada and casinos like to call it “gaming” since ”gambling” has such an negative ring to it. We agree. “Gaming” is a better word for the games of chance legally offered in Las Vegas. Games are played for entertainment. And this is how you should treat the money you risk in Las Vegas in hopes of hitting “The Big One.” Play for fun and the “possibility” that you might win. NEVER take Las Vegas gambling seriously.

Las Vegas gambling was legalized in 1931. The Nevada Gaming Commission and Control Board develops and administers all gaming regulations. Their website can make interesting reading. Casinos with more than 15 slot machines pay an annual tax of $250 on each one. There is also an additional monthly tax of up to 6.75% on gross gaming revenue ...a percentage that is the lowest in the U.S.

Anyone working as a gaming employee must be registered with the state and have a valid gaming work permit. This includes all casino workers except bartenders and cocktail waitresses.

You must be 21 to enter a casino, gamble ...or purchase or consume alcoholic beverages. If you look young carry a state-issued ID with photograph such as a driver’s license. Children are permitted in the casino public walkways but are not allowed to be near slot machines or gaming tables. You are allowed to carry open alcoholic beverage containers on the street, but not in a vehicle.

There are some things you should know if you are lucky enough to win. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires all casinos in certain instances to withhold federal taxes if you win over a certain amount. The percentage withheld ranges between 25 and 30 percent depending on how you won. Here is how it works.

If you had gambling winnings, the casino is required by the IRS Information Reporting rules to withhold 28% as income tax if you do not provide a documented TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number, that is, your Social Security Number.) We have heard of cases where it is withheld no matter what. The withholding tax is 30% if a foreign gambler. The tax rate is 25 percent if the amount is over $5,000 (except for non-resident aliens.)

When your winnings exceed a specified threshold and/or tax is withheld, the casino will give you an IRS Form W-2G showing the amount you won and the amount of tax withheld. Report (and take credit for the tax you paid) on your IRS Form 1040 tax return at the end of the year. (Only use Form 1040 if you had gambling winnings; you cannot use any other form.)

Generally, gambling winnings are reportable to the IRS if the amount paid is (a) $600 or more and (b) at least 300 times the amount of the wager. This requirement primarily applies to lotteries, sweepstakes and other big winnings from small bets. It does not apply to winnings from bingo, keno, and slot machines.

Casinos report gambling winnings for these games to the IRS when a player wins $1,200 or more from a bingo game or slot machine or if the proceeds are $1,500 or more from a keno game. When you exceed these amounts, the casino may withhold taxes and will provide you with IRS Form W-2G. They keep the original and give you two copies of the form. (If state income tax withholding is required on gambling winnings in your state, additional taxes may be withheld.)

The rules are different for table games (such as blackjack, baccarat, craps, roulette or other spinning wheel games.) Since Nevada casinos do not know the amount you started with, they are not able to determine how much you won (...your taxable gain.) As a result, federal law provides that there is no withholding or even reporting of table game wins to the IRS. It therefore follows that table game winners probably do not report their gambling profits to the IRS.

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You not only pay taxes on gambling profits, but you can also claim gambling losses as an itemized deduction as well. But you must keep some kind of documentation (such as a diary or tickets) to substantiate the amount and nature of the losses. In any event, you cannot claim gambling losses that exceed your winnings.

Greed is the downfall of most players. The odds that you will win if you play long enough is statistically wrong ...as is; having doubled your money, you next try to quadruple the winnings (and end up losing it all.) Both concepts have built a lot of nice hotel-casinos in Las Vegas.

My system for managing gambling money is simple. I budget $100 a day which, according to statistics, is about average for Las Vegas visitors. If I am on a five day vacation, I put $100 in each of five dated envelopes ...a total of $500. I ration the money throughout the day and stop when I lose my hundred and do other things. I might stop when I double my allotment. In any event at the end of the day, I either am ahead or behind. If I am ahead, I put whatever portion of the $100 I have left (hopefully it is more than $100) back in the same dated envelope and place it in the room safe that hotels provide. Tomorrow I play with the money in following day’s envelope. The most you can lose is $100 on any given day ...or $500 for your trip. I am happy if I break even ...and you should be too. Once in a while I go home with “their” money. In recent years I have done better. I will tell you how later.

The bad news: There are no casino games or bets where the house does not have a clear advantage. The odds either favor the house ...or they get a commission. And if you are not familiar with basic information about the games you play or bets you make, you are just about a guaranteed loser. In short, casino owners are in business to make a profit. They did not build all those gorgeous hotels by giving away money.

Las Vegas How To Gamble Win

The good news: The reality is that if you are lucky you can win ...and the drinks are free. But statistically the chances are against winning. So the cardinal rule is, over the long haul, whether playing the slots, table games, betting on sports or risking money on anything; you will probably lose. But some bets are better than others.

We will, however, cover the most popular games and things you should know as a beginner to have fun and minimize your loss ...and maybe make a few bucks.

Blackjack (21) is either dealt by hand with one or two decks. Multiple Deck 21 is dealt from a box called “the shoe.” Everyone in Blackjack plays against the dealer. Roulette consists of a spinning wheel marked with numbers 1 through 36 (18 red, 18 black) and American Roulette has a green 0 and 00 ..a total of 38 possibilities. You win if your number, combination of numbers or color comes up. To play Keno, you select a minimum of 4 but no more than 10 numbers on a ticket between 1 and 80. Twenty of the 80 numbered balls are drawn and you win if all your selected numbers are chosen. Craps is a complicated dice game which we do not recommend for first-timers. There are many other table games (and variations) as well. More and more people are playing poker these days and we will also have a little to say about that later.

By far, however, the most prevalent pastime in Las Vegas is playing the slot machines ...and video poker. We will cover the games of chance and sports betting in this chapter ...which you should play, where you should play and the odds of winning.

NEXT PAGE: 10.2 SLOT MACHINES ...AND VIDEO POKER... ⇨

Casino comps have become almost mythical. So many gambling experts write about casino comps that players grumble the casinos are giving out fewer comps than before.

That is most likely true; as more people flock to casinos, the properties don’t need to create expensive incentive programs.

My dad remembers when a Las Vegas casino offered free hotel rooms for anyone who would visit Vegas in the 1980s. He doesn’t remember which casino that was, but my guess is that it was Steve Wynn’s The Mirage. At the time, it was the most expensive casino in Vegas.

Casinos make their money on the games. They only build hotels so that players have someplace to sleep and clean up in-between gambling sessions. They only build restaurants so that hungry players get back to gaming as soon as possible.

It makes sense that players should be awarded discounts on as many non-gambling activities as possible. That creates a more valuable experience for the visitors and their families.

Comps exist, and they will never go away. But you’re not likely to be handed a free hotel room in the near future. The casinos reserve the biggest freebies for whales.

So how can everyone else get more free stuff if the casinos are cutting back?

Here are the latest ways to improve your earn rate on comps.

1 – Take Advantage of Players Club Special Offers

The basic comp program for every land-based casino is their member rewards program. The player cards are a 2-edged sword. They not only award us points for playing time, but they track our activities.

Casinos plan their gaming and future rewards around our activities. One year my wife and I counted no less than six casino member rewards cards for each of us. We were playing that often at the casinos.

That was when I began to look at reward programs differently. I asked myself why it took so long for us to earn anything more than a sandwich.

The answer was right in front of us.

We were dividing our time between too many casinos. And, honestly, a couple of those rewards cards were for out-of-state casinos. We just signed up automatically.

To get to the better rewards, players must spend their time at as few casinos as possible. Variety is not only the spice of life. In towns where three or more casinos compete directly against each other, the casinos are paying off fewer rewards per capita.

When deciding which will be your favorite casino, weigh the differences in rewards programs along with other factors like game choices, parking, distance, and prices for their amenities.

Reward programs may differentiate between “status credits” and “rewards points.” Players need to earn status credits to advance to higher tiers. They redeem rewards points for discounts or freebies.

2 – Visit Casinos When They Offer Great Promotional Discounts

Here’s a simple example:

In August 2019, Caesars Palace in Las Vegas offered two complimentary breakfast buffets at the Bacchanal. At the same time, they ran a semi-annual sale, discounting hotel rooms by 25%.

Looking beyond the semi-annual sale, their benefits program page has a chart laying out what the four status levels give you. Just scanning reviews on TripAdvisor, I found people raving about the discounts and freebies they got for having achieved Diamond Status.

3 – Ask Friends to Transfer Credits They Won’t Use

Some rewards programs, like Caesar’s Rewards, allow players to gift credits to other program members. The rules may vary, but people who only visit casinos on rare occasions may have friends who visit more often.

It doesn’t hurt to ask someone you know well to transfer their rewards points to your account.

Study the rewards program rules carefully. Understand what you’re asking for before you do anything. The last thing anyone wants to do is inadvertently violate the rules.

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The casino’s rewards program staff will explain what is allowed and what is not. If transfers are available, they should be mentioned in the rules.

4 – Limit Play to High Reward Games

This should be obvious to anyone who understands how rewards points are scored. The more money you wager, the more points you earn.

In most casinos, the earn rate for points is the same across a majority of games. I’ve noticed that table games may set special limits. Players earn points at a lower rate on certain types of wagers.

The other side of that coin is to watch your gambling budget. Playing games with a lower house edge like blackjack and baccarat helps you accumulate more points because your money lasts longer.

Players who only want to play slots should find machines with the highest theoretical return to player.

Video poker and video blackjack games may offer multiple points for multi-hand games.

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It may also pay to do some basic math. One gambler realized that the Seminole Hard Rock casinos in Florida were awarding points at different rates on different slot machines. That’s an interesting story but not very useful if only a few casinos are doing this.

Without taking away from the fun experience, choosing the game that takes the least money or awards the most points and credits is an easy way to earn more comps.

If you’re not sure which games award better points, assume they are equal and play the games that have the best RTP.

5- Make Larger or Riskier Wagers

Players who only bet the minimum may be cheating themselves out of rewards points and credits.

While it makes sense to be conservative when playing with a small bankroll, raising the bet after a nice win is a way to increase the comps earn rate.

Some games may award points at a higher rate for larger bets. As always, check the rules before assuming that is so.

Some players feel that busy table games may cheat them of points. The pit boss may not always enter the right numbers into the system for players with cards. In a busy casino, the slot games you can play and video card games are more reliable.

By trading a little bit of player advantage for a high house edge, the comps come in faster. And a player needs a little variety to keep the experience fun and exciting.

6- Gambling Is Not Always Required

When traveling for business, staying at a casino hotel may earn points and status credits. If it fits the business budget, players can rack up points for use at a later time by staying at their favorite casinos.

Local residents often eat at the restaurants inside the casinos. Anyone who lives and works in Vegas can earn points throughout the year by signing up for a rewards program and eating lunch at the buffet or sandwich shop.

Resisting the urge to play a game or two on lunch break takes a little discipline. But the reward becomes sweeter as the unused points grow larger.

Conclusion

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One tip circulating on the Internet is to trick pit bosses into recording higher average bets than you normally play. Say you sit down at a blackjack table. The minimum is $25, so you bet $100 until the pit boss enters your average bet into the system. Then you drop to the minimum.

This is a cheap, cheesy way to earn points. And there are other tricks, too.

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I don’t endorse any attempt to game the rewards system. Maybe some casinos let it slide, but there is no reason to be greedy with comps. They are still freely offered and available everywhere.

Comps are a natural competitive business practice. The comps may evolve over time, but players should look forward to enhancing their gaming experiences with as many discounts and free offers as possible.

Even if you only qualify for free valet parking, accept it. That makes the time spent in a casino a little more fun.