re: Question about taxes on winning a $50k eliminator contest

In the early days of the Louisiana Lottery my dad would pick up losing scratch-off tickets from gas station ashtrays. During the same time he was also a pretty heavy gambler who would do pretty well playing blackjack and craps - enough to where he had a W-2G for gambling income filed through the casino during one lucky, drunken trip. I looked at his 1040 that year and coincidentally enough he also reported a gambling loss for the exact same amount. If he ever got audited he had a moving box full of losing scratch-offs for them to look through.

So yes, you should report the income on the W-2G but you, or a good CPA, could also figure out a way to minimize the actual impact.