Dear Mark,
I recently read that the most popular Nevada casino game in the
1800s was faro. The Virginia City casinos were kind enough to
offer the game 24 hours a day "for the convenience of miners
from all shifts." Have you ever heard of faro being played
in modern times? Any idea as to why it disappeared? Andy K.
Like you, Andy, I sure would
love to see the game reappear in towns like Virginia City, Deadwood,
or on a Mississippi riverboat. So popular was the game once, that
faro could be found in just about every saloon in every Western
one-horse town.
Faro, sometimes spelled pharo, pharaoh or pharaon, was a card
game invented by the French, who adapted it from the Venetian
game of basetta. French gamblers called the game Pharaoh because
one of the honored cards bore the likeness of an Egyptian Pharaoh.
Thanks to an exiled Scotsman named John Law, the game immigrated
into this country at New Orleans, moved up the river on the Mississippi
steamboats, and then spread across the Wild West.
Faro's demise came from a combination of many factors; two stand
out. The opportunity for dealer cheating at faro was greater than
with any other card game, and, more importantly for the guys who
ran the joints, faro had a low house edge.
Dear Mark,
Does someone from Canada have to pay taxes on lottery winnings
in this country? Terrence L.
All Lottery prizes are subject
to federal, state and local income taxes. For U.S. citizens, state
lotteries are required by law to withhold estimated taxes at the
rate of 25% (federal), and each state has a certain percentage
to withhold for any prize over $5,000 paid to a U.S. resident.
Our friends from the North are subject to an up-front, flat, 30%
estimated federal rate as well as that particular state's withholding
rate. By the way, Terrence, don't think you're off the hook if
your win is just under the $5,000 threshold. Winners of less than
$5,000 will receive a W-2G form in January to be filed with their
yearly federal, state and local income taxes. The guvmints' edge
puts casinos' to shame.
Dear Mark,
Are there any land-based casinos operating in Nevada where I can
bet with them online? Tommy D.
Not a chance, Tommy. Nevada
regulators forbid Nevada casinos from doing business with any
Internet casino sites, or with an online site of their own where
you can gamble. Nevada regulators also consider websites that
take bets from Nevada and other U.S. residents to be breaking
federal and state laws.
Dear Mark,
I live in Nevada, but I have a brother living in Ohio, and a sister
who lives in Michigan, who, when the jackpot is high enough, will
play my favorite numbers in the Mega-Millions lottery. According
to my brother, I have 180 days to collect on a winning ticket.
My sister swears in Michigan that it is a year. Who is right?
Hector G.
No kinfolk bickering needed
for this one, Hector, 'cause they're both right. In Illinois,
New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Michigan, you have a
period of one year from the drawing date to turn in a winning
ticket. They like to call that the "anniversary" date.
In Virginia, Georgia, Texas, Washington and Ohio, the time limit
really is 180 days. In Maryland, the limit is 182 days from the
drawing date. (I'd ask Sis to bop right down to the pay window
in no more than a week.)
Gambling quote of the week: The holiday season is always a bad
time of year for amateur gambling addicts. They are weak people,
as a rule, and they are not built for grueling long-distance work.
-Hunter S Thompson
