Harry,
I got my MGM Mirage win-loss statement for 2007. This statement is inclusive
of all properties in their system. I know that there are a number of these
where I've only played my free play through and took the remaining proceeds
out as cash. Although I don't keep as accurate records as I should have, I do
know that they MUST be including the net proceeds on the win-loss statement.
Under their system, you must "prime" the machine with an amount of cash
equal to one bet that you'd make with comparable free play (i.e. $1 VP would be a
$5 bet if you played single line full coin). I'm assuming that the initial
cash infusion is considered your "starting coin" and the net you receive after
cashing out would be considered win.
I also checked my Harrah's statement for last year and it seems to reflect
in a similar way. For example, I was at Harrah's Rincon only once last year and
part of the offer included $50 in free play. I played this off with two full
coin bets on a $5 VP machine and didn't cash for anything. On the statement
is a $50 loss from Harrah's Rincon.
FWIW, this is causing me to rethink the method of converting MGM Mirage
Holiday Gift points later this year. In 2007, I converted these to free play at a
rate of 30K points ($90K coin in on VP) to $100 free play. I realize now that
when I do this, the net proceeds from this hits my win-loss statement. This
was just over $3K in my case which is no small consideration. Perhaps for
this year I'll convert the points to gift cards which I'll sell on ebay and then
play with "my" cash. In this way, only the net amount cashed out would be
included on the win-loss. Even allowing a 10-12% discount on the gift cards
from face value would still be better if someone were in the 20%+ tax bracket.
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