Boston to Become Las Vegas East?

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Just looking at the online version of the Boston Globe (Boston.Com) I see that the Mass. state legislature is about to pass a casino gambling bill. And nobody has yet started a thread on that? What's up, everybody? Is this for real or just journalistic hoopla? I seem to recall that all previous attempts at legalizing gaming in the Bay State were roundly defeated.

All comments welcome.

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Type: Discussion • Score: 7 • Views: 4,718 • Replies: 26

What?

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Actually, we're about to become Uncasville North.

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@Lustig Andrei,

First reaction is "Why?" Every Indian tribe in every state has dotted the country with casinos. It's no longer a novelty.

On Indian gaming, I'll mention that the Navajo Nation put casino gambling on the ballot twice. The members voted it down twice, so the tribal council voted for it anyway. To hell with those pesky voters.

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@roger,

As one who has visited that Apache reservation place outside Ruidoso in your home state, the Inn of the Whateveritis, I can only agree with you. Nice, pleasant casino. But the thing is, this has been proposed for Indian lands on Cape Cod for god ony knows how many times, and always gets voted down. Now it sounds like the state legislature is going to pretty much bypass any tribal concerns and make casinos legal as a state-suppoerted (and heavily taxed) actvity, if I read the news reports correctly. Personally, I think it'd be good for the state. Right now in the six-state New England region Connecticut is the only state that allows casino gambling on Indian lands. There are two casinos (I've been to just one of them. Twice) and everybody from Boston crowds onto tour buses to take the two or three hour trip down there to lose their money in a neighbor state. And I'm pretty sure that Connecticut does not have the largest concentration of Native Americans in New England. That would probably be Maine (no casinos) or Massachusetts (particularly on Cape Cod).

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@Lustig Andrei,

Re: that first sentence of my previous post -- Inn of the Mountain Gods. That's what it's called. Just outside Ruidoso. I know you've got a couple just outside Albuquerque.

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People in MA aren't exactly known for their hoopla.

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@Lustig Andrei,

Several around Albuquerque, but what amazes me is the one 20 miles north of Cuba. The Apache Nugget. Why there? Who drives 78 miles from Farmington (and right past Sunray Casino) to visit an inflatable casino. For that matter, who drives 20 miles from Cuba? The parking lot occupancy rate seems to confirm my analysis of the location.

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@Lustig Andrei,

I think that MAine will pass it this time (Soundly defeating a proposal in the ballot- is lways a work in progress and the casino interests have patience and deep pockets).

If Maine approves casino gambling there will be a battle for the gambling dollar every bit as big as whats going on the the Mid Atlantic states. ( New Jersey had gambling for over 30 years and then Delaware and now PA and MAd) All those states have "Taken" reveniue from NJ casinos.

Im amazed that there are enogh peop,e out there who gamble so much. Most of them lose. I suppose that if people loo at the money they spend in a casino as mere "enetertainment", the saemas if theyd buy tickets to a play or some other show, then I guess I could see the whole exercise.
As it is, I just dont get it.

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@farmerman,

I stopped trying to figure out human nature a long while ago, farmer. I know that there are those who don't think probability theories have anything to do with it. They believe in the existence of something they seem to refer to as "luck."

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@farmerman,

If you lose, you call it entertainment. If you win, it's called income.

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@roger,

roger wrote:

If you lose, you call it entertainment. If you win, it's called income.

I love it!

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@roger,

Its the same mentality that people display as they shell out 100 bucks weekly for single tickets for POWERBALL. Its a slow financial drain mostly on the poor.
We can afford to play at gambling because our resources allow discretionary blowing of cash on silly hobbies like gambling. I just feel that the houses all have the edge and its more a waste of money than an eventual overcome of interminable odds. Those who win are in a huge minority. The vast majority who lose ,define the term "Gambling" quite nicely.

Roger, Is "gambling winnings" considered ordinary income?. If you count winnings as income, could you (should you be lucky) expense your annual losings to offset your windfall income?

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I once lost three quarters to a slot machine in Vegas... the extent of my casino gambling history. Alternately, I've blown about ten dollars over the years on lottery tickets. Won five dollars once.

Let it be said, though, that I've enjoyed wasting money in some other ways.

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@farmerman,

I don't know how the winnings are taxed. I do know that above a certain size, you and the IRS are sent some type of 1099.

For a guess, winnings are taxable as ordinary income (hearsay). A stronger guess is that, yes, you can deduct the cost of losing tickets. Be prepared for a general audit. Like most (guessed at) deductions, you will probably have to itemize, with the possibility of paying more on account of losing standard deduction and exemptions.

Sorry for all the caveats.

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Now that I have reformed and no longer drink much or smoke at all, I use a fraction of what I was spending to get a few lottery tickets. I have my hat in there for a possible stroke of luck and still have more money in my pocket than before. I know there are folks who blow their wad on gambling. But, a controlled participation, such as I have described is no big thing. In Texas, I believe it stopped us from having a state income tax, for the voices in favor of said tax were escalating, but were stilled after the lotto got instated.

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@farmerman,

farmerman wrote:

Roger, Is "gambling winnings" considered ordinary income?. If you count winnings as income, could you (should you be lucky) expense your annual losings to offset your windfall income?

Excellent point. If you hit the jackpot in Vegas, you're supposed to declare it as "income" for tax purposes. But I doubt that I could write off my losses as "business expense."

EDIT: Didn't read your post, Roger, until after I'd typed mine.

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Gambling losses are deductible and they must be itemized.
You can claim up to the total amount of winnings declared.

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Quote:

Massachusetts House approves casino gambling

The Massachusetts House last night overwhelmingly approved casino gambling, bolstering confidence among lawmakers
that slot machines and Las Vegas-style table games will be coming to the Commonwealth.

The bill, which passed 123-32 just after 9 p.m., would authorize three “resort” casinos and one slots-only gambling parlor in
Massachusetts. The Senate expects to take up the measure later this month and Governor Deval Patrick has signaled initial
support.

The first slot parlor could open within a year, with casinos to follow two or more years after that, House Speaker Robert A.
DeLeo said.

“We’re taking a major step in the creation of jobs ,” said DeLeo, a Winthrop Democrat who has made expanded gambling
his priority for two years. “We are right now in Massachusetts -- or have been -- in a blue collar depression...this is a work-
force that we really have to address.”

Lawmakers have proposed casinos sporadically for decades, but the state’s Puritan heritage, as well as a belief that casinos
would take more from the state than they would give back, thwarted previous attempts.

Boston to Become Las Vegas East?

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