Leaving Your Clan Some Cash
February 15 2008
Dear Mark:
What happens if a person dies before
receiving all of the annual annuity payments
paid out for some of the mega-jackpots?
Jimbo L.
Most
mega-jackpots’ top awards are paid in 25 annual
installments, unless it’s an Instant winner’s
jackpot like Rapid Riches MegaJackpots and
MegaJackpots. These two machines pay the entire
jackpot immediately upon verification of your
win.
If a prizewinner
dies before receiving all of the annual annuity
payments (as the nun said,” Winning can be
dangerous.”), the remaining prize payments go to
the prizewinner's surviving spouse and living
children, unless otherwise directed by the
prizewinner. If no spouse, children, or other
beneficiaries exist, the remaining prize
payments are made to the prizewinner's estate.
Personally, I
wish that casinos would give winners the option
of taking the money in a lump sum or in annual
payments. Getting it in one lump sum gives you
total control of your money, and, hopefully,
Jimbo, you’ll live long enough to spend a decent
chunk of it before one of your heirs picks out
your nursing home.
The problem with
annual disbursements is that it doesn’t
necessarily help you save money for your heirs.
Depending on the size of your mega-jackpot, and
some of them are real whoppers, once you add
estate taxes onto federal and state income
taxes, you’re heirs might only pocket about
thirty cents on every dollar.
Dear Mark:
Last week you wrote about my favorite video
machine, Table Master’s Three Card Poker.
Normally, I play the game on a table with a live
dealer, but like you said, Table Master’s Three
Card Poker can be had for a buck a hand, plus, I
don’t have to feel guilt about not tipping an
animated dealer. So my question is this? Are the
paybacks and odds the same on Table Master’s
Three Card Poker video machine as that of
playing on a live game with a live dealer?
Gerald H.
Last week,
Gerald, I wrote that the payoffs are effectively
the same as those of a live game, but again, I
must reiterate that you’ll also see twice as
many hands per hour, and by doubly exposing
yourself to the built-in house advantage, you
are allowing the casino at your kitty twice as
fast. So, Gerald, as long as your betting
strategy is to make the “play” wager if you have
at least a queen, six, and a four in your hand,
the house edge on the “ante” wager is about 2.1%
on each separate hand, which is the same as the
table game version.
One caveat
though. I noticed a missing paytable on the
machine, that being the bonus payment on the
“ante” wager: Typically, a hand with a
straight or better qualifies for an Ante
Bonus payoff. Ante Bonuses are paid on the
Ante wager according to the following
schedule: A straight gets you even money,
three-of-a-kind pays 4 to 1, and a straight
flush pays 5 to 1. It doesn’t physically
show this payoff anywhere on the machine
proper, but in the Three Card Poker brochure
attached alongside you’ll find that it
states, “A Straight or better pays an
additional Ante bonus according to the
posted paytable.” That paytable, I assume,
is the same as that of the Pair Plus bet,
and they’re just using the same payoff.
Gambling
Wisdom of the Week: “I believe in poker
the way I believe in the American Dream.
Poker is good for you. It enriches the soul,
sharpens the intellect, heals the spirit,
and - when played well, nourishes the
wallet.” Anonymous
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