What Do You Need When You Win Big At The Casino?

It’s every single person’s dream. You’ve just won big at the casino and you’re rich! But what actually happens when you win big at the casino?

Unlike winning a usual amount of money, winning massively involves a little more than just your casino chips. 

So, what do you need? Luckily, we’ve written this handy guide which explains everything you need to know about what happens when you win big at the casino, along with what you will need. 

Ready to learn more? Read on! 

What Happens When You Win Big At The Casino?

So, fantastic news – you’ve won thousands of dollars! But what exactly happens? If you’ve never experienced this amazing scenario before – we’re going to explain all the steps below. 

1. You Must Fill Out A Tax Form 

They say that there are two certainties in life. Death and taxes. Unfortunately, if you have won more than $1,200 – then the IRS has to take its cut! Sorry about that.

On all of your winnings at the casino, you must fill out a W-2G form and this is a document devised by the IRS specifically for individuals who win large amounts of money at the casino, or through other gambling winnings.

You will need to keep a close eye on your winnings and losses to make accurate deductions. Frequent gamblers will already be familiar with this process! 

2. Casino Attendants Will Speak With You Right Away 

Pretty much as soon as you’ve won big, you will find a casino worker coming over to you. From the monitoring room in the casino, the workers are able to keep an eye on the players – and in particular, players who win big jackpots. 

As soon as a worker has come up to you, they will need to take you to a back room where they are able to verify your big winnings. As a result, you’re going to need to have some form of identification on you. 

However, the identification must be a government issued and valid identification.

Your drivers licence or passport are usually fine, however each casino is different, and if you come from outside the United States – you might need to provide some extra forms of identification.

It’s important to recognize that if you do not have the correct identification, your money will not be issued to you. It will be held for you until you can return with valid identification. 

If however, you do have the right identification, you may find yourself “cash rich” right away. This is because some casinos pride themselves on fast payments, so it’s not uncommon for winners to receive cash on the spot. 

3. Checks Over $5,000

If you win more than $5,000 – you will likely receive a check instead of cash.

This isn’t always the case though, and you may even be given the option to have cash instead. In fact, casinos will probably prefer that to keep you playing! 

As we mentioned in the previous point, casinos usually pride themselves on fast payouts, so depending on your winnings, the process might be a little different – but typically still very quick. 

However, if you are going to be paid a check – the casino may need to run a background check on you to assess if you are on the state’s exclusion list, which can complicate things with state laws. 

If you are, then you can forget receiving any money at all – and likely the casino would be fined if they did give you anything. 

4. Decisions Over $1 Million 

If you are lucky enough to have won more than a million dollars, then the first thing you have to understand is that you will only get a part of that money. However, the final amount you will have won – you now have a decision to make. 

Casinos will give you the option to have the amount of money paid directly to you right away but then you will be given less.

If you choose an annuity – which is a fixed amount of money paid yearly – then you will see a bigger slice overall. 

Annuities are typically the better option because first, you get paid more money overall, but second you will find money management much easier. 

Having said that, you may be the type of person to want to splash out using your winnings as soon as possible. If that’s the case, you may need to fill out some more documents for this. 

Speaking of documentation, you will have to fill out your bank information if you opt for the annuity choice, because the casino will need to know where they are paying your annuities. 

If you are from outside the US, you could find this getting a little more complicated – so be sure that you ask the casino staff about your options before you decide. Luckily, you have a 90 day window to think it over anyway. 

5. You Could Be Waiting A While 

Despite casinos wanting to pay you out as soon as possible and of course, you’ll want to get your money right away – it’s not always that simple. 

As you will need to fill out tax forms, personal information, provide correct identification, speak with multiple senior staff members etc – you could find yourself waiting a long time.

This is especially true if you do not have the right things with you at the time! 

So, What Do I Need?

You will need:

• Valid identification
• Tax information 
• Banking information 
• Anything extra the casino requests

The Bottom Line 

If you win big at the casino, you’ll need to be sure you take all the relevant information and fill out the right documentation. Otherwise, you could find yourself in a position where you don’t take home a dime!