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John Robison Gaming Guru  Ask the Slot Expert: Phony jackpots?14 January 2026
By John Robison I started 2026 off with a bang. I hit a Royal Flush on 1/3. When the slot attendant came, she looked at my screen and said, "Oh, this is a real jackpot." "There are phony jackpots?" I asked. "Yeah. We don't have to give tax forms for jackpots under $2000 now," she said. I had heard that the threshold might be changed. Jean Scott posted a link to the December 16, 2025 blog post by Russ Fox, the tax expert who co-wrote her book on taxes. In this post, he referred to his July 15,2025 blog post in July in which he addressed the question of whether the bill formally known as "An act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of H. Con. Res. 14" raises the W-2G threshold on slot wins. He wrote that the act contains language changing the threshold for backup withholding to $2000, but that has nothing to do with the threshold for issuing W-2Gs. That requirement is addressed in another section of the tax code and the threshold is still $1200. He listed three possible scenarios:
Referring to the third possibility, he wrote, "That would be welcome by almost everyone but I would not hold my breath waiting for that interpretation." In the December blog post, he wrote that the IRS indeed did interpret the bill to have intended to raise the W-2G threshold too and included this sentence found in the draft instructions for Forms W-2G and 5754: The minimum threshold amount for payments made in calendar year 2026 is $2,000. The cover sheet in the PDF says that the form could change and that a new draft would be released. The final version, though, would always be the same as the last draft. The IRS could retain the old $1200 threshold in a later draft. Well, that horse has sailed. Casinos are no longer giving out W-2Gs for slot wins under $2000. Note that your mileage may vary. States may (probably will) align their thresholds with the federal threshold or they may not. I'm surprised that the sentence before the one giving the new threshold has not gotten more attention. For calendar years after 2025, the minimum threshold amount for reporting certain payments and backup withholding on certain information returns, including the Form W-2G, will be adjusted yearly for inflation. If the Fed is able to achieve its goal of 2% inflation, the threshold for 2027 will be $2040. If that inflation rate continues, a $4000 dollar Royal Flush will not require a W-2G until 2062. Update: The final W-2G instructions are online now and the threshold was raised and indexed for inflation. If you would like to see more non-smoking areas on slot floors in Las Vegas, please sign my petition on change.org. Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert™, at slotexpert@slotexpert.com.
Ask the Slot Expert: My two cents on how eliminating pennies will affect slots7 January 2026
My grocery store had a sign at the entrance. It said they had a shortage of pennies. I don't remember what they wanted customers to do. The shortage wasn't going to affect me. I can't remember the last time I used cash in a supermarket.
For that matter, I can't remember the last time I used cash to pay for anything. ... (read more)
Ask the Slot Expert: Deuces Wild doesn't pay enough31 December 2025
In 1933, The Mills Company introduced the Mills Mystery slot machine. I don't know what was so mysterious about this machine. I do know that it broke tradition for paytables of the era. From the brochure:
For 30 years all manufacturers have agreed that Bell rewards should be 2, 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20.
The ... (read more)
Ask the Slot Expert: Slot machines don't need no stinking paylines24 December 2025
As I wrote in my column on December 10, 2026, a change in the number of paylines is something to look out for when you change denominations on a slot machine.
I decided that I would bet $1.50 per spin on a Ramosis' Treasures machine. I had multiple ways I could make that bet. I could bet two credits per ... (read more)
Hit Frequency, Reno, Atlantic City, Double UpHi there, Has there ever been any research done into what number of times a slot machine will pay "anything" during one hundred spins on the average? I have counted many times and find the average slot machine will pay roughly 16 times out of 100 spins. That includes winning a lowly cherry return to a bigger win. ... (read more)Slot Machine Pay OffDear John, In reference to the reader's question about slot machines where you play for gold or silver tokens: In Las Vegas, many of the casinos have 25-cent slots that pay off a $10 jackpot with a $10 silver souvenir token. ... (read more)Declare Your Independence from the SlotsOn this Independence Day as we celebrate 226 years of independence from the tyranny of the British, consider making your own Declaration of Independence from the tyranny of the slot machines. You don't have to stop playing machines altogether. Just switch to playing video ... (read more)Guide to Winning at Slots: The Best Number of Coins to PlayEvery casino guide to gaming recommends playing maximum coins on all slot machines. And almost everyone who's written a book about slots also recommends playing maximum coins when playing a slot machine. I analyzed over 1,000 slot machine programs and I discovered that ... (read more)John Robison |
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