Somebody please help

GreenNay

Dormant account
Joined
Oct 17, 2017
Location
USA
Hello, I have a short story for you guys, and I would really appreciate some feedback and guidance.

I got a call from an old boss who owes me $200 (which I don’t care about) and he says he can pay me back but I have to do him a favor. My dumb ass said ok and we met up. His story was:

“Hey I have these (3) winning tickets (&1500, $1500, $2000) from playing a baccarat machine at a casino (in New York). Please cash these out for me and I’ll give you the money I owe, plus an extra 50 for bothering you about this. I just don’t wanna cash this out because I know I’m gonna take it and gamble it away. All you gotta do is go to the cashier and they’ll give you the money”

Bear in mind that I’m 20 years old and have never stepped into a casino (18 is the legal age for slots in NY). So I went and gave the cashier my ID and the tickets. She then gave me a W-9 form and asked me to fill in my Social Security since it was my first time claiming money at the casino. At this point I went straight into shock because I did not feel comfortable in the situation whatsoever. I also realized that they neeed my Social Security for tax purposes, and that this money will most likely be taxed as income. Eventually I gave in and explained to the lady everything that happened. She registered the tickets underneath my name and flagged them. She gave them back to me and said that the real owner can go to the NYC gaming commissions and prove it’s his tickets, and claim the money.

But it didn’t end here.

I gave him back the tickets and told him to get the money himself from the gaming commissions. He kept on trying to put the tickets into my hand and calm me down by saying “I swear to god it’s not gonna be taxed, blah blah”. So I said why don’t you do it yourself, and he says:

“The reason I can’t cash this out is because I self excluded myself from gambling because I have a problem. Please cash this out, I’ll give you 1k.”

This got really suspicious because he owes me $200 and now wants to give me 1k. Something does not add up.

It is also bullshit because if he’s self excluded, he would’ve got kicked out the minute he walked in, and the minute he won a jackpot.


I don’t know what to do because I feel like it’s my fault he’s not gonna get his 5k. And at the same time it’s his fault for not telling me that they’re gonna need my social security PLUS lied to me that’s its not gonna be taxed as income.

Someone please guide me or give a feedback.

Ps: in the end I gave him his tickets and said I’ll see what I can do. I just texted him to deal with it himself by going to the commission and claiming his prize money.

This is what happens when you try to help people :(
 
How much tax would you have to pay on the $5,000?

If the $1,000 he will give you, less your $200, less the tax = an amount you'd be happy to accept for running the errand - I'd do it.
As far as I can see you're not doing anything illegal.

But if you're not totally comfortable with the situation - just keep saying no.

Disclaimer: I don't live in the USA and so don't know your laws.

KK
 
He may be taking advantage of you.

Over the years I've had a couple strangers in the land casino ask me to cash their jackpot tickets. I always refuse.

There are Federal Taxes and State Taxes.
Not sure about NY but here in MA its 5.1% whether you blow it all back or not. That's the state tax. NY is a higher tax state so its more likely 8.x%. Their lotto site would say. If its like MA , there is no way around not paying it.

Then there is the Federal tax, 25% or more but you may not pay Federal Tax if you itemize deductions. You would know if you itemized if you or your tax preparer filled out a Schedule A form on last years tax return.

However, you can only itemize deductions if your total deductions are more than the standard deduction (for 2017 its $6,350 for single taxpayers and $12,700 for married taxpayers filing joint returns).

You can claim gambling losses up to the extent of your winnings. So if you itemized deductions you could say you lost the $5k but you're supposed to have records of the losses. (Some people around here go and collect losing lotto scratch tickets in the store trash cans). Doubtful the IRS would bother you for $5k worth so I would not worry about records.

You still may be shot if you're single as the standard deduction for a single person is $6,350 so you would need some more deductions in order to itemize. Sales tax, charitable contributions, health insurance premiums, medical and dental expenses, paying a Babysitter, looking for work are all deductable.

There are a bunch of them.
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Of course this may all change with Trump's tax plan.
 
If you are not comfortable, don't do it.

I am guessing here, but to me your old boss is giving you those tickets so he doesn't have to pay taxes on them. At the end of August, I won just over 1200 dollars on a slot and after the taxes were taken out I got 918 dollars. So they do take about 25% off the top ( That was my decision to do it like that. you don't have to have the taxes taken out)then you have to claim it and pay state tax on it.

If he is not trying to avoid paying taxes on it, then something is not right. When he got each of those tickets could have cashed them in without any taxes being collected, because here in NY anything over 1200 dollars on a machine automatically stops the machine from being used until a gaming attendant comes to get your information. I am taking it he was play electronic baccarat because that is the only way you will get a ticket, and not chips. And if he cashed out those tickets without a gaming attendant coming over they are accumulated winning so he could have gone right over to cash them out himself. If it was all won at once a gaming attendant would have paid him cash and he would have had the option of taking the whole amount without paying the taxes then and paying them at the end of year, or having the taxes taken out. She would have given him cash, or a check what ever he wanted but she would never give him the ticket to cash in.

Either way this guy is bullshitting you 100%. I am sure there is a lot more to this then he is letting you know.

LH
 
Hello, I have a short story for you guys, and I would really appreciate some feedback and guidance.

I got a call from an old boss who owes me $200 (which I don’t care about) and he says he can pay me back but I have to do him a favor. My dumb ass said ok and we met up. His story was:

“Hey I have these (3) winning tickets (&1500, $1500, $2000) from playing a baccarat machine at a casino (in New York). Please cash these out for me and I’ll give you the money I owe, plus an extra 50 for bothering you about this. I just don’t wanna cash this out because I know I’m gonna take it and gamble it away. All you gotta do is go to the cashier and they’ll give you the money”

Bear in mind that I’m 20 years old and have never stepped into a casino (18 is the legal age for slots in NY). So I went and gave the cashier my ID and the tickets. She then gave me a W-9 form and asked me to fill in my Social Security since it was my first time claiming money at the casino. At this point I went straight into shock because I did not feel comfortable in the situation whatsoever. I also realized that they neeed my Social Security for tax purposes, and that this money will most likely be taxed as income. Eventually I gave in and explained to the lady everything that happened. She registered the tickets underneath my name and flagged them. She gave them back to me and said that the real owner can go to the NYC gaming commissions and prove it’s his tickets, and claim the money.

But it didn’t end here.

I gave him back the tickets and told him to get the money himself from the gaming commissions. He kept on trying to put the tickets into my hand and calm me down by saying “I swear to god it’s not gonna be taxed, blah blah”. So I said why don’t you do it yourself, and he says:

“The reason I can’t cash this out is because I self excluded myself from gambling because I have a problem. Please cash this out, I’ll give you 1k.”

This got really suspicious because he owes me $200 and now wants to give me 1k. Something does not add up.

It is also bullshit because if he’s self excluded, he would’ve got kicked out the minute he walked in, and the minute he won a jackpot.


I don’t know what to do because I feel like it’s my fault he’s not gonna get his 5k. And at the same time it’s his fault for not telling me that they’re gonna need my social security PLUS lied to me that’s its not gonna be taxed as income.

Someone please guide me or give a feedback.

Ps: in the end I gave him his tickets and said I’ll see what I can do. I just texted him to deal with it himself by going to the commission and claiming his prize money.

This is what happens when you try to help people :(

This one is very simple. Say no and forget this guy ever existed. Not worth the hassle. If he tries to guilt you into doing it just give him the Missouri mule stare.
 
withhold the taxes up front

If you cash the tickets insist that the gaming commission withhold the state and federal taxes up front. They usually will do this any way. Then give your friend the balance less the taxes and the $200 he owes you plus your $1000 fee for cashing the ticket.

Then file your taxes and you may get even more if you have low income and get a good refund of anything over paid.
 
The 'Boss' may have tax issues, already. He may owe the Feds and State, already. If he went in and did it himself, he would not receive anything as they would just take it.

The second thing is that 'Boss' doesn't give a crap about you. He just tried to use you and does not care if you , personally, pay extra taxes at the end of the year because of his greed.

You have a good heart and you did the right thing. Steer clear of him and move on.

You did the right thing. Proud of you.
 
So, this guy still owes you $200 (which doesn't matter to you, but still) and he will only pay back this amount (and some extra) IF you cashout his winning tickets. Sounds dodgy as hell. He should first pay what he owes you and then you can decide if you want to help him - whilst taking the above advice into consideration.
 

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