From Sports book
Archeology to Slots Paranoia via the Half point
16 May 2005
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark,
It wasn't for very much, but I just found a
futures bet that I made two years ago that the
Patriots would win the Super Bowl. How long do I
have to collect on it before it expires? Warren
M.
Boy, time really flies since the Janet Jackson
malfunction. Anyhow, for those unacquainted with
a "futures" bet, it is a wager on the outcome of
a future event, such as -- in Warren's case --
the Super Bowl. Almost all sports books offer
futures bets for most major sporting events.
Though the house edge on a futures bet varies
substantially from one sports book to another,
payoff odds on these wagers are set to give the
sports book a substantial edge when the betting
action is proportional to the odds.
Most sports bettors believe that a futures wager
is a sucker bet and should be avoided, except of
course when a friend named McAvoy visits from
Lake Tahoe and surprises you with a
complimentary surefire: Detroit to win the 2005
NBA Championship at 4 to 1 futures ticket. Go
Pistons!
I'm sorry to say, Warren, the casino gives you
anywhere from 90 days to one year to mail in
your winning ticket for payment. Obviously, you
are well over that limit, so your ticket is
reduced to an "I know how to pick future
winners" wall decoration, suitable for framing.
The wild option, though, is just to mail your
ticket in anyway and see if they will reward
your soothsayer skills. I vaguely remember an
e-mail I got from a gentleman a few years back
that had a futures bet at the Club Cal Neva in
Reno that had expired and they still honored it.
Dear Mark,
I am now somewhat afraid to use my slot card
because I just recently heard that the casino
adds up all my winnings and then reports them to
the IRS. Is this true? Colleen D.
No it's not, Colleen. The casino does NOT
collectively add up your smaller wins and report
the total to the IRS. Likewise, the use of a
slot card has no effect on your tax liability.
If you win $1,200 or more in a single spin
(including the original wager), along with
issuing you a W2G, only then does the casino
report your win, whether or not you used a slot
card. Apart from your individual slot wins over
$1,200, you are on the honor system on whether
to report a net win over the entire year.
Dear Mark,
In sports wagering, when is the best time to buy
a half point in football? Matt M.
Those who dabble in sports betting could do with
more than their own fingers and toes to count
the times that an extra half point could have
turned a draw into a win or a loss into a draw.
Hindsight aside for those above, some sports
books do offer the player the option to move the
point spread a half point to his advantage. To
buy a half point, you would need to lay down
$120 instead of $110 to win $100. Because many
football games end in a 3 or 7 point difference,
the best time to buy a half point is when one
team is favored by 2.5, 3, 6.5, or 7 points.
Gambling quote of the week: "The idea of
watching large animals run in circles isn't
exactly enthralling. Yet, when the element of
wagering is added to the mix, horse racing
suddenly becomes the most energetic form of
gambling there is." --Mark Balestra
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