Which Vegas casinos distribute chips for tournament wins?

[SenorBeef]

I know at least one casino distributes tournament prize money as chips and not as a cash payout, eliminating the hassle of the tax forms. Does anyone know which casinos do this?

[LasVegasMichael]

Harrahs properties require tax forms (Caesars, Harrahs, Rio. etc).

Most others do not (Venetian, Wynn etc)

[AtlBrvs4Life]

Venetian and Bellagio did for me.

[Photoc]

Most cardrooms give chips. I know Harrahs properties, Coast casinos, and Sahara all give cash.

[bav]

How you are paid has no bearing whatsoever on whether you have to do the tax forms. Common mythconception. But yeah, all the Harrah's properties will W2G your >$599 wins. Far as I know, none of the non-Harrah's properties will (whether they pay in cash or chips).

[SenorBeef]

[ QUOTE ]
How you are paid has no bearing whatsoever on whether you have to do the tax forms. Common mythconception. But yeah, all the Harrah's properties will W2G your >$599 wins. Far as I know, none of the non-Harrah's properties will (whether they pay in cash or chips).

[/ QUOTE ]

Could you clarify? I know you have to pay taxes either way, but do you have to specifically fill a seperate tax form for any tourney win?

At the chip-distributing casinos, the difference is that they don't fill out the W2G at their end, right?

[Masquerade]

[ QUOTE ]
How you are paid has no bearing whatsoever on whether you have to do the tax forms. Common mythconception.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes because everyone in the entire world is American.

[psandman]

[ QUOTE ]
I know at least one casino distributes tournament prize money as chips and not as a cash payout, eliminating the hassle of the tax forms. Does anyone know which casinos do this?

[/ QUOTE ]

Whether a tax form is required is not depemdent on whether you are paid in cash or chips an wish i knew why people think this is the case.

[SenorBeef]

[ QUOTE ]

Whether a tax form is required is not depemdent on whether you are paid in cash or chips an wish i knew why people think this is the case.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, the other night I asked a dealer "how much do you have to win in that tournament to need to fill out a tax form?" and he told me "we don't do the tax form thing, we pay out in chips"

Was he wrong? How does it work?

[psandman]

He was wrong.

His casino may choose not to giove out W2Gs contending that they aren't required to, but that has nothing to do with whether they pay you in chips or cash. Think about it.

If a casino thought it made a difference whether they paid you in cash or chips whether they had to file a W2G they would all pay you in chips. It owuld keep you happier and be easier for them.

Here is the issue in a nutshell

The instructions on a W2G tell us that to file a W2G for

[ QUOTE ]
1. $600 or more in gambling winnings and the payout is at
least 300 times the amount of the wager (except winnings
from bingo, keno, and slot machines);
2. $1,200 or more in gambling winnings from bingo or slot
machines;
3. $1,500 or more in proceeds (the amount of winnings
less the amount of the wager) from keno; or
4. Any gambling winnings subject to federal income tax
withholding.

[/ QUOTE ]

On its face this would appear not to apply to most poker tournaments

but keep in mind that witholding is required for:

[ QUOTE ]
Regular Gambling Withholding
You may be required to withhold 25% of gambling winnings for
federal income tax. This is referred to as regular gambling withholding. Withhold at the 25% rate if the winnings are more than $5,000 and are from:

• Sweepstakes
• Wagering pools,
• Lotteries, and
• Other wagering transactions if the winnings are at least 300 times the amount wagered

[/ QUOTE ]

Some time ago the IRS took the position that a poker tournament is a wagering pool (and I think that is a fair assessment) and that this requires witholding on any winnings $5,000 or more (at the time the issue was raised the threshold amount may have been less than $5,000 -- I can't remember). Any way there was a dispute about this with Binion's Horseshoe and a settlement was reached which was that witholding would not be required from most poker tournaments but a W2G would be filed for any poker tournament win of $600 or more. This is not binding on other casinos, but it seems fair to say that a casino which does not wish to have to withold taxes from wins of $5,000 or more will be inclined to follow the Binion's agreement (though technically they may not rely on this agreement.)

The whole chips/cash thing is irrelevant because even if you believe that chips are not a cash equivalent:

[ QUOTE ]
A noncash payment, such as a car, must be taken into account at its fair market value (FMV) for purposes of reporting and withholding.

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