I'm a "former" Venetian player, still Gold from last year and was well on my way to becoming Platinum until the rug got pulled out from under me (and many of you).
You already know the familiar story - downgraded machines, erratic full-pay availability (now you see it, tomorrow you don't, maybe next Tuesday). High Limit became a graveyard.
And then they made the coin-in to earn a point greater than the amount remaining on your mortgage.
So I thought, that had to be it. Venetian marketing couldn't possibly have anything else up their sleeves.
I was wrong.
Over the last few months slot tournament invitations mention a small detail you might want to consider if you are one of the lucky few to actually win something at one of these events.
"All prizes awarded in slot credits".
Huh? That $50,000 isn't even in cold hard cash?
Nope. And for those of you with questionable discipline (even myself, on occasion) that's a recipe for disaster, possibly walking away with well less than half of whatever you win. Heck, they're slot credits, you might even blow it all on a bad night!
So, a couple of questions.
1) If it's a slot credit, doesn't it have to be played through once before you can cash out whatever is left? Are you really ready to hit that "CASH OUT" button after your $50K has become $40K or less? Or do you cash out at intervals along the way and swear not to replay those tickets? Maybe a watchful spouse (or friend) gets those tickets out of reach before temptation rears its ugly head.
2) What are the tax implications of, say, a $50,000 prize that isn't really $50,000? Is there a W-2G? If there isn't, are you declaring it anyway?