Hit it big casino
This Is What Really Happens When You Hit A Casino Jackpot
Its every gamblers dream.
You put money in the slot machine, pull the lever (or press the button, on most modern machines), and watch the symbols come up. You see one cherry, two cherries, then…
Suddenly, you realize what youre looking at. Youve won the jackpot, and youre about to walk out of the casino a winner. Depending on the size of the jackpot, your life might change from this point forward.
Were happy for you, but before you count your winnings, there are a few things you should know.
1. Youre going to have to fill out a tax form.
Were going to assume that you won more than $1, Bad news: The IRS gets a cut.
Youre going to have to pay tax on all of your winnings, and the casino will issue you a W-2G form, a special IRS document designed specifically for certain gambling winnings. The good news is that if youre a frequent gambler, you can deduct the money you spent while chasing that jackpot—provided, of course, that you kept records of both your wins and your losses.
2. A casino worker will quickly home in on you.
Expect a quick visit from one of the casino workers. Your jackpot win just sent a signal back to the casinos monitoring room, so an attendant will rush over to verify your win. Theyll ask to see your identification, and you wont get a cent until you show a valid government-issued I.D.
That applies to nonresident aliens, too; theyre eligible to win jackpots, but theyre also taxed, albeit at a different rate from U.S. residents. If you dont have any identification, the casino will hold the money in safekeeping until you can provide some. Some casinos keep millions in their safekeeping accounts for years—by law, theyre not allowed to spend it.
Provided that youve got identification, however, the casino might just hand you your cash. Casinos take pride in fast hand pays, so dont be surprised if the attendant has a bundle of $ bills.
3. If you win more than $5,, youll probably receive a check.
Probably, but not necessarily. In some states, casinos will hand out incredibly large sums of cash, and while theyll happily get their security teams to escort you to your car, youre on your own after that.
Casinos prefer to pay cash whenever possible, since it increases the chances that youll keep playing. Hey, theyre running a business, here.
Some state laws can complicate the payout. Before they hand you anything, theyll have to verify that youre not on the states exclusion list, and if you are, youre not getting a cent (otherwise, the casino could face a hefty fine). This is meant to deter addicted gamblers from relapsing. Hey, why play if youll never win?
Generally, youll receive the full amount that you won, because most states dont require casinos to take out withholding taxes from gambling wins. You can ask the casino to withhold taxes, though, and usually theyll comply.
4. By the way, you might not get anything.
When the attendant comes over to issue you your check or a hefty wad of cash, the first thing theyll do is to check the machine. They need to verify that the slots are functioning properly and that your win wasnt the result of a machine malfunction.
But wait—if it is a machine malfunction, thats on the casino, right? You still get your money, dont you?
Nope. In October , a New York woman thought shed won $43 million from a slot machine, but a casino attendant told her that the machine had malfunctioned. To compensate for the error, the casino offered hera free steak dinner. Most slot machines have labeling that says, Malfunctions void all pays and plays, which protects casinos against these sorts of losses.
Unfortunately, the New York State Gaming Commission agreed with the casino that the woman was only entitled to her actual winnings, a whopping $
5. If you win more than a million dollars, youll only get part of the money.
You can decide to have the rest of the amount paid in full, but thats not your only option. Most casinos will also let you take an annual fixed sum.
If youre trying to get the biggest payout possible, the annuity is usually the smarter choice. It will make money management significantly easier and reduce your tax bill in some circumstances. Dont worry, you dont have to decide right away; the casino will give you 90 days to make your choice.
During that time, the casino will try its best to make you part of its marketing campaign. Youll be invited to casino events, presented with massive checks, and interviewed by the local media. Of course you dont have to take part in any of that if you dont want to, but most winners get swept up in the experience.
6. If you continue to gamble, the casino will be watching you.
Make no mistake about it: When you’re gambling, you’re being intensely monitored by professionals. If you luck out and take the house for a boatload of cash, they’ll be keeping an extra close eye on you for the rest of your stay. For more on the way casinos treat you—before and after a big win—give our video below a look:
7. The casino might make you wait for a while.
Expect to wait awhile if youve won a massive jackpot. The casino will need to verify your win, inform managers, collect tax forms, check that youre not on the states restricted list, and handle a bunch of accounting paperwork before you see a dime.
For some jackpots, payout can take hours, although the casino will work to handle it as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, in some cases, its out of their hands; some payouts are actually handled by game manufacturers, so you may wait days or weeks for your money.
If youve only won a few thousand dollars, youll probably get the money within minutes, but dont stress out if it takes longer. The casinos not trying to get out of paying. Your best bet is to go grab a meal at the casinos restaurant and start calling banks to find a good rate on a CD.
8. If youre a big winner, youre incredibly lucky.
That depends on the slot machine, of course, but all of them pay out on a relatively infrequent basis. Otherwise the casinos wouldnt make any money.
Lets say that your slot machine has 64 stops on each reel. Your chances of getting a jackpot would be roughly 1 in ,, and many machines have far more than 64 stops per reel.
If youre looking for some good news, the law is on your side, to some degree. In most states, the slot machine must pay back at least 75 percent of the money it takes in. Percentages vary quite a bit, and casinos dont have direct control over those percentages.
You might also be a cheater, of course, but your chances of successfully cheating a slot machine are even lower. To get away with cheating, youd need to directly alter the erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM) chip on the inside of the machine—something that the staff would certainly detect. You cant hack in, either, since that part of the machine has no network access.
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