What does it all mean?

by Buddy Frank

Here’s a clue for Jeopardy fans: It started with cigar taxes, evolved from a casino never built, was re-energized by a bankruptcy, and includes a magnificent fountain and a hidden golf course.

You can just hear James Holzhauer or Ken Jennings buzzing in with “What’s a Gaming REIT?”

After reading a few dozen of Howard Stutz’ recent CDC Gaming Reports stories about yet another sale of a major casino to a REIT, you may have been wondering exactly what the hell a gaming REIT really is. If your property gets sold to a REIT, does that mean you can buy more slot machines? Will there be bigger bonuses? Who’s going to be fired, if anyone? Is there a new boss? And who’s going to patch the roof if it leaks?

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Valentine Slots

Oversized slots with dual bash buttons have created a new class of game - and these are no niche products

by Frank Legato

Since Valentine’s Day is this month, we’re going to focus on a relatively new genre of slot machine that is practically made for the day.

In the past, there were two basic styles of slot cabinets, regardless of manufacturer: the core cabinet, which placed the main game screen in front of the player and was just tall enough that it could be played sitting on a standard stool or standing in front of the game, and the Big Bertha, which was a comically large slot cabinet with a huge handle that someone standing would have to use his or her entire body to pull. The latter was a novelty item many casinos chose solely to draw a crowd to a given area.

In the past 10 years, though, a third cabinet size has emerged, with new games designed specifically for it as it gained popularity. It’s referred to in the trade typically as a “large-format” cabinet, or in some cases, a “jumbo” cabinet. If it’s a video slot, the monitor is, perhaps, 55 inches, if not larger. If it’s a stepper, the reels are oversized, and there’s usually a big monitor above the reels for bonus features. And most of them are equipped with a bench seat and dual bash buttons, making the games perfect for play by two, even if it’s a single game.

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BOOK REVIEW: Tax Help for Gamblers, 4th Ed.

by Buddy Frank

It’s the time of year that our guests are beginning to receive their W2G statements for 2019. Very shortly, you’ll be getting lots of questions from those players about gaming taxes. Therefore, we thought it prudent to reprint this review of the 4th edition of Tax Help for Gamblers, originally published in March 2019 - eds.

Are you participating in the Tea Party? I’m not referring to the right-leaning political group that’s been splintering Congress for the best part of the last decade, or a latter-day version of the rebellious rabble-rousers who dumped bales of commercial tea into Boston Harbor a few centuries ago. I’m talking about the group who sarcastically celebrates April 15th with a “Taxpayers Eat it Again Party.” If you’re not part of that depressed group, feel fortunate. I can assure you that most of your casino customers are.

There are probably hundreds of areas of the tax law that are unfair or onerous, but, from my perspective, there are two parts that are simply outrageous. One is paying taxes on debt relief. If you go bankrupt and default on a loan or mortgage, for example, you have to pay taxes on the amount of the money that you didn’t pay on that mortgage.

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