Ask the Slot Expert: When do casinos send taxes withheld to the IRS?

Question: On jackpots we always have federal taxes taken out, whenever possible.

My question: Casinos take it out at the time of the win, when do they forward it to the IRS?

Answer: Casinos report taxes they have withheld from gambling winnings on Form 945, along with taxes withheld from pensions, Indian gaming profits, and dividends and other distributions by an Alaska Native Corporation.

The form is filed yearly, but casinos have to send the money withheld to the IRS monthly, if the total for the year is $50,000 or less, or semiweekly otherwise.

My guess is that casinos make semiweekly deposits.

Question: Re your column about kiosks printing a new ticket instead of dispensing coins: This is how the local Indian casino here in Prescott, AZ handles the coin issue. The player redeeming a ticket at the kiosk is given a choice of several local charities to donate the coins to.

End of issue.

Answer: That's a great solution to eliminate unredeemed chump change tickets. As far as I know, none of the casinos I frequent offer this option -- but my knowledge doesn't go very far. I rarely cash in tickets. In fact, I can't remember the last time I cashed in a ticket at a kiosk.

According to an article from Vital Vegas, M Resort, Wynn Resort and Cosmopolitan offered the charity option at their kiosks two years ago. I think all of those casinos use Everi brand kiosks, which have an EveriCares "Giving Module" program option.

Another solution I've seen is the donation box in the casino. In addition to slot tickets, one could donate chips and cash. I can't remember which casino I saw it in a few years ago, but searching online I've found that many casinos across the country have them.

Question: The Mississippi casinos still have birthday benefits and most still have their buffets open.

Answer: On my last birthday I received gifts from Lucille's Bar-B-Que, Famous Dave's, Cinemark, Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts, et al.

From the casinos, nuttin'. No extra free play or point multiplier day, like I used to get in the past. I'm glad that the casinos in Mississippi still honor your birthday.

It's been a while since I've been back to one of my regular casinos. I guess it got worried because it sent me an offer for additional free play. I'll be using that offer Thursday, along with the free play offer in my mailer and the regular point multiplier on Thursdays.

This makes me ask a question to which there is no answer: Assuming you play the same amount of action under both scenarios, do you get better offers playing more on fewer days or playing less on more days?

Let me correct that statement. There is an answer, but we don't know what it is because we don't know the formulas used by casino marketing. And it doesn't make sense to run some experiments with altering our play because there's no guarantee that the formulas that generated the offers in your latest mailer are still in effect.

The players I've spoken with have a gut feeling that more action per day is better than more visits per month, but it's only a gut feeling.

What do you think? Does your casino reward you more if you play more per day or have more visits per month?

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