re: What min winnings at a casino before paying taxes?

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Now it could have changed in the last few years but I don't think so

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I'm not making up the fact that I just went through a ridiculously tedious 4 month ordeal with the IRS over several poker tournament cashes that were less than $5k to sound cool on an anonymous message board.

Depends on the state.

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To expand further it also has to be on a slot machine.

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Not in the state of WA. You hit a jackpot on a table game of over 5k and you will get a form.

I hit 4k on 5 aces playing pai gow at 400 to 1, had 10 on my envy bet.

Was told 5k was the magic #.

FYI:

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The IRS has proposed lowering from $1,200 to $600 the amount at which casinos must report winnings for individuals who hit jackpots at slots and bingo, and must supply the winner with a W2-G tax form. The keno threshold presently at $1,500 also could be reduced.

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LINK

and a question about this....

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Yes. You self report your losses on your tax return to offset your winnings.

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i wonder if the IRS has ever subpoenaed casino security cam footage and player card records (I'm certain they have) to verify reported losses--ones that the taxpayer reports but not the casino--that offset a big casino-reported win. I can't find anything that says casinos report even big losses to the IRS.

So, attempting to enforce taxes on gambling winnings seems like a big waste of time for the IRS, except I guess to catch the high rollers or keep them honest out of fear they might get caught due to their high profile at casinos.

Few people actually win at gambling in the long run, so i would think most people claiming near $0 net earnings would be commonplace and raise no audit legit flags, and extremely inefficient for the IRS to pursue except perhaps to make an example every now and then in an attempt at deterrence.

Even then, it would be easy for the "aggressive" taxpayer (avoider) to at least elevate his misdeed to just an "oops" disallowance and not tax fraud, with a plausible story. So taxpayers have no risk (except for the guilty conscience) of fabricating losses.

E.g., (this is fictional, Mr. Taxman) One lucky trip to Vegas--only gambling I did all year. I win $50,000 playing high-stakes poker. Casino reports on W2-G.

Then, I self-report a $47,750 loss (keeping it under winnings, just to not appear too convenient), fraudulently.

Even if casinos were to report large losses, and ignoring the fact that I'm committing criminal tax fraud, I could easily get away with it (and actually avoid the tax) by saying I had a bunch of small losses. I would keep records of my fake gambling outings. I would substantiate them by make cash withdrawals, at an ATM near a gambling establishment. Even just at a convenience store that sells lottery tickets.

That's actually the way to go. Go to a shitty convenience store that would not store any security footage for more than a couple days.

Fortunately, I don't gamble any more, so this is all academic.

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So say I'm cashing in $1250, how does the teller know how much I initially cashed in??? For instance, if I cashed in $1000 to win $2000, all the cashier knows is that I'm cashing in $3000 not my 'winnings'

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Good question. And if you're truly cashing in large winnings you pay a bum runner a few bucks to cash your chips. These panhandlers are at every casino and horse track in the country.

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instant receipt of losses.

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Explain this please.

1) Don't get a players card
2) Play table games and take a little bit off the table each time you win. No way of them knowing anything