-6-
documented her activities through the player card system.
Petitioner did retain bank statements, canceled checks, credit
card statements, the Forms W-2G, and the profit and loss
statement, which documented the gambling activities. Petitioner
did not make a budget for the gambling activity but generally
knew how much she entered the casino with each time.
Success of Petitioner’s Gambling Activity
Petitioner did not report an overall profit from her
gambling activities in the 3 years before and the year after the
year at issue. She has won large jackpots several times,
however, including $50,000 twice. She won jackpots of $1,200 or
more over 300 times during 2003. Petitioner also has taken home
as much as $45,000 profit from 1 day’s gambling.
Despite the occasional large jackpots, petitioner was
concerned that she continued to lose money. She changed her
strategy accordingly. Petitioner tried to focus on winning a
little bit at a time rather than try to earn back large losses in
one night. For example, if petitioner won money early in the
afternoon, petitioner would go home rather than stay at the
casino and play more to try to recoup old losses.
Petitioner’s Returns
Petitioner has treated herself as a professional gambler on
her income tax returns since at least 2000. Petitioner used the
same accountant that helped with the trucking business to assist
her with matters related to the gambling activity and to prepare
her individual returns.
Page: Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Next
Last modified: March 27, 2008