Casino Reviews

Casino slot machine payback rates can vary a great deal however they are governed by three main requirements. The first is that local governments set the payback rate. This is done at usually the state level in the US and the provincial level in Canada. In some locations, it is as high as 88%. The lowest rate is 85%! What does this really mean? For every $100 you gamble, patrons can expect on average to see a return of only $85. While some may appear to pay out much more than this amount at times. The average will always be 85%.

Slot machine technicians set the payout rate. It cannot be varied without written approval from the gaming authority in the state. Random number generators determine the payout rates. Further programming limits the payout to 85% or higher. Depending on other factors which we will discuss in the next section. Rest assured that the casino will always get its share of the bet on average every time. There are two other pressure points that will govern the average payout actual rate. Profit, politics and local programs that may benefit from transfers of retained earnings to the city or county.

Casino Slot Machine Payback – Profit

Every casino is in the business to make a profit. The amount they can get away with in terms of payout really depends on the local competition in the areas. If the same owner owns them all, there is really no competition. They like to pretend that there is a competition between the several casinos, but there really isn’t. A casino will gauge the market and set the payback rate accordingly usually in the range of 88% to 92%.

The other factor that will influence the slot machine payback rate is the agreement that casinos have with local government. Many cities will receive a portion of the proceeds. This puts a lot of pressure on casino operators to generate revenues to pay this additional tax.

An additional layer of expense is added when a casino is sold. The new owners must pay the additional interest charges. It subtracts directly from the number of funds held back from payouts. Casinos can lower the payout or push volume or both to generate sufficient slot machine payback. Recently there has been a lot of pressure on casinos to increase profits. Paybacks have been declining, much to the distress of gamblers.

For more details about slot machines, payouts, holdbacks etc. Click here.

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Anyone who won more than $1199.99 in a US casino needs to pay taxes on their winnings. If you are Canadian, the taxes were deducted immediately by the casino before you received your winnings. This can be very frustrating. However, in most cases, the taxes you paid can be eliminated entirely or at least reduced by a significant amount. US taxpayers typically will not have taxes deducted immediately. They are supposed to include the income in their IRS forms and pay whatever taxes are due at that time. Always ask for a casino win loss statement from the casinos after year-end.

Casino Win Loss Statements for Claims

Anyone who plans to claim a refund on the taxes that were paid needs to file an IRS tax statement by April 15^th of the following year. They are allowed to deduct any losses they may have incurred while they were gambling against their winnings. They can reduce the amount of tax they need to pay.

This is where win loss statements are very important. After Jan 1^st, call your casino or go to the player’s club to find out how you can arrange to receive a win loss statement. Some will send it by regular mail in a few weeks, while others will have it online for you to download.

These statements can be very enlightening. For example, they could say you wagered over $50,000, won $49500 for a net loss of only $500. The $500 is the important number and the one that can be used to reduce the taxes you will pay on your winnings. But the scary thing is that you may not feel that you have gambled so much. You win a bit and lose a bit when you go to the casino. It is this churn that generates the huge numbers quoted above.

Re quest all of the win-loss statements from the casinos you play at and use these numbers to help decrease the total tax you are paying on your gambling winnings.

For more posts about claiming tax losses on gambling winnings, click here.

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Akwesasne Casino Promotions are worth paying attention to. A friend of mine used to scoff at even obtaining a slot card. He did not want his name or personal information given to the casino. He was afraid that some of his friends would somehow find out that he goes to the casino once and awhile. I explained to him that some of the promotions are just the same as winning a small jackpot. Readers should note that at the present time the casino is closed on Monday and Tuesday as if 2022 07 22.

Whether it is free play or a free meal or a free hotel room, they have value just the same. He might as well take advantage of these promotions. Akwesasne has some of the best casino promotions in the area. Their big disadvantage is that they are an hour’s drive from many local cities in Canada and the US. They have to work a bit harder to attract patrons. All casinos offer some level of promotion. However, this casino is one of the best that we have come across.

Akwesasne Casino Promotions

The promotions change from time to time, however, we will list some of the better ones. These are promotions that we take advantage of on a regular basis. Note that to receive any promotion at all you must register for a free casino slot card. Always use it while playing the slots or tables.

Free play – They add free play to your slot card on a weekly basis. The amount is based on your play and can be quite a large amount for heavier players.

Point Balance Dollars – They add point balance to your account based on play. Use point balance for many items such as meals, hotel bills, gas, etc.

Free Hotel Rooms – Once a month they will send a newsletter along with personal promotions which will include reduced room rates. Or in some cases free rooms at specified times in the week or month.

Rooms at Par – Canadian guests pay cash using Canadian dollars. Depending on the exchange rate, this can be a savings of 20% to 40%.

Special Draws – are offered at various times, often coinciding with special events or times in the year.

Birthday Promotion

Free play offered on your birthday along with a free buffet

Anniversary Promotion – Free play offered on your anniversary date of signing up for a slot card

Silver Stars – Buffet prices are slashed by 50% on Mondays and Wednesdays for seniors. Add Free Play to your card

Drink Specials – Casino adds Ladies night, half-price deals, and special drink prices.

Promotions are offered from time to time. The best way to see them is to obtain a slot card. Add your name to their mailing list. Also, install the smartphone app. They will keep you up to date and prepare offers to entice you to return to their casino.

For more posts about this popular casino, click here.

The Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Sticks restaurant is being updated in August of 2017. They have added slot machines at the bar for patrons to enjoy while they watch their favorite sports game on TV or grab something to eat. We posted this post in Oct of 2017 and will add an updated picture to the post to show the final result. The Akwesasne Mohawk Casino is busy making some changes to their facility to get ready for new competition in Ottawa later in 2018. They recently added a Starbucks themed coffee shop in the lobby area. There is free soft drink machines in the casino area as well.

Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Sticks restaurant

The Sticks restaurant is a great place to grab a meal. The food is pretty good although the service can be a bit slow at times. They never seem to be able to have enough staff on to serve all of the customers. As long as you are not in a hurry, you can enjoy your company and the various TV’s on the wall with various sports being shown.

The bar area in the Sticks restaurant is a long bar with a full suite of cold draft beer, bottled beer and of course all the mixed drinks you can imagine. The food is basic, fries, burgers, fish and all of the usual bar food that one would expect.

Customers can use their points on their slot card to pay for meals. Not sure if you can also use the points for drinks or not. We have dined in the restaurant for breakfast. The price is reasonable and there are large quantities of food on all of the dishes. They also have a small buffet for breakfast and the price includes coffee and juice in the price.

For more information about the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino, click here.

The Bellagio in Las Vegas is a wonderful place to visit. Both indoors as well as outdoors. Whether you are staying at the Bellagio or somewhere else, everyone should take time to visit the fountains and the water show. The Bellagio water show and the fountains in Las Vegas are great to look at as well as calming and enjoyable. This particular picture shows the fountain just outside the lobby of the hotel. Behind the fountain, you have the valet entrance and the main lobby of the hotel and casino. Behind the person taking the picture is the man made lake with the water show that takes place every 20 to 30 minutes depending on weather conditions. If it gets too windy they sometimes post pone the show.

Bellagio Water Show Fountains Las Vegas

Las Vegas gets over 300 days a year with full sun shine. They also receive lots of hot temperature days, although the winter can be cool. On this particular day in April it was hitting a high of around 90F, which is pretty comfortable pool weather.

It was Easter weekend and there were thousands of people out enjoying the sites, visiting the water fountains and heading inside to view the Bellagio gardens. The gardens are really quite stunning and everyone should take the time to visit them when they are in Las Vegas.

The theme changes every month to coincide with whatever is going on. For example in the fall, they will decorate for thanksgiving. Easter was represented this year in April of course. We love going to Vegas and staying at the Bellagio hotel. Book early if you want to stay at this hotel, since rates go up as the hotel fills up. For more information about hotels in Las Vegas Nevada, click here.

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