Chicago area Casinos (Joliet, Elgin, Des Plaines: live in, buses, train)

[coldwine]

Originally Posted by PokerPlayer1

Again.
Poker is only "gambling" if you suck. To people who don't suck, it's called "winning". It's why there are professional poker players to begin with. You can't be a professional wagering against a mathematical house edge (like, in roulette), but you can definitely be a professional wagering against the decisions made by the other idiots at the table.

You think that this guy...



... has won 11 world championship bracelets because he's "the luckiest guy alive"?

Try not to talk about stuff when you don't know **** about it.

They give out bracelets for poker tournaments? That's a sight classier than the Golden Urinal Cake holder they used to award.

Poker is not a game of skill. It doesn't matter one damn bit whether or not people can "read your face". Your cards are your cards and that's all there is to it. As such, you gamble whether or not someone else calls your bluff on two things: the bluff and the cards you can't control.

Any reward whose gain is contingent upon chance is a gamble, and the act of seeking rewards against odds is called gambling. Poker playing is gambling. The only other argument that tosses games of chance into the gray area between luck and control is skill, and poker as a game depends only on the gamble that between two or more players, the uncontrolled and 'unlikely' deck (any mechanic where turns are so minimal as to make skill impossible) requires a bet that one hand is better than another only based on chance.

In other words, a gamble.

Also, for purposes of any income derived from poker, poker is explicitly labeled as "gambling" by the IRC.

[long101]

Originally Posted by coldwine

They give out bracelets for poker tournaments? That's a sight classier than the Golden Urinal Cake holder they used to award.

Poker is not a game of skill. It doesn't matter one damn bit whether or not people can "read your face". Your cards are your cards and that's all there is to it. As such, you gamble whether or not someone else calls your bluff on two things: the bluff and the cards you can't control.

Any reward whose gain is contingent upon chance is a gamble, and the act of seeking rewards against odds is called gambling. Poker playing is gambling. The only other argument that tosses games of chance into the gray area between luck and control is skill, and poker as a game depends only on the gamble that between two or more players, the uncontrolled and 'unlikely' deck (any mechanic where turns are so minimal as to make skill impossible) requires a bet that one hand is better than another only based on chance.

In other words, a gamble.

Also, for purposes of any income derived from poker, poker is explicitly labeled as "gambling" by the IRC.

Well you can argue that Poker is gambiling, but then poker players can argue that stock brokers and sales people are gambelers as well. Most people see poker as trying to tell if the other person is bluffing and holding out for your flush or full house. However poker players have to be able to calculate odds within seconds of there chances of getting x cards and there chances to win. Im not talking about a 1 in 4 chance to get a spade Im talking about a 5.3% chance to get a jack of spades within the next two turns.

[PokerPlayer1]

Originally Posted by coldwine

Poker is not a game of skill. It doesn't matter one damn bit whether or not people can "read your face". Your cards are your cards and that's all there is to it. As such, you gamble whether or not someone else calls your bluff on two things: the bluff and the cards you can't control.

Your total understanding of the game is less than 1% of what there is to understand. A large part of the reason I win at poker (year after year after year) while others just sit there and suck is because I know a little secret; that winning the pot is a function entirely independent of what cards I have in my hand, usually based on little fragmentary bits of information I've gleaned about how my opponents are likely to react to certain things. Even beginning poker players understand this, but you aren't even at that level of comprehension.

Here's Annette Oberstad, one of the best online poker players in the world, winning AN ONLINE TOURNAMENT WITHOUT EVEN LOOKING AT HER CARDS (she had a post-it note on the screen- I think she said she looked twice, both times involving all in decisions).

YouTube - Annette_15 Blind Tourn Replay

Also, for purposes of any income derived from poker, poker is explicitly labeled as "gambling" by the IRC.

God, just shut up already... Total Idiot. You're demonstrating one of the least flattering human traits- speaking authoritatively about something you don't understand.

Poker winnings are considered "earned income" according to the IRS, because of a case won by Billy Baxter where he demonstrated that the IRS was just as ignorant as you are regarding the taxation of poker winnings

Seriously, though.
If you think poker is "ALL ABOUT THE CARDS IN YOUR HAND AND JUST LUCK!" I'll make you a wager.
Come to the Shoe and play me 1000 hands of heads up $3/$6 NLHE. I'll give you one of two advantages.
I will not look at my hand 25% of the time
You can have a 3rd hole card every fourth hand.

These are massive, massive advantages I wouldn't even dream of giving to a skilled player, but I will offer this significant statistical advantage to you. No kidding. PM for details.

[long101]

haha I was waiting for a post like the above. Next time Im at the tables Iam going to be asking everyone if they are on CityData haha.

[coldwine]

Originally Posted by PokerPlayer1

Poker winnings are considered "earned income" according to the IRS, because of a case won by Billy Baxter where he demonstrated that the IRS was just as ignorant as you are regarding the taxation of poker winnings

Seriously, though.
If you think poker is "ALL ABOUT THE CARDS IN YOUR HAND AND JUST LUCK!" I'll make you a wager.
Come to the Shoe and play me 1000 hands of heads up $3/$6 NLHE. I'll give you one of two advantages.
I will not look at my hand 25% of the time
You can have a 3rd hole card every fourth hand.

These are massive, massive advantages I wouldn't even dream of giving to a skilled player, but I will offer this significant statistical advantage to you. No kidding. PM for details.

Yeeeeah. Guess what? Earned income is ****ing income you have to pay taxes on. Isn't that just ****ing amazing? How does that in any way negate what I stated?

Poker is gambling. There's nothing else to it. And to iterate, winnings from gambling are income. Thank you for substantiating what I just said?

If this is how you take to losing, I don't want people like you at a casino downtown.

[PokerPlayer1]

Originally Posted by coldwine

Yeeeeah. Guess what? Earned income is ****ing income you have to pay taxes on. Isn't that just ****ing amazing? How does that in any way negate what I stated?

Oh, I see.
So you're arguing the semantics of word usage?

Because of the Baxter case (and poker), a tax classification for "professional gambler" was added which broadly classified "gambling winnings" under one subheading and distinguished it from "casual gamblers" based solely on the fact that some wagering games- which are widely considered to be "gambling" by laypeople- are rooted in skill, thus allowing professionals to exist in those fields and their income to be taxed as "earned income" rather than unearned income.

Apropos to this discussion is that the IRS will never, ever receive a "professional gambler" income statement from someone who only plays slot machines. Or Keno. Or three card monte. I'd guess 98% come from professional poker players, while the other 2% come from the rare genius sports or horse bettors or the freak blackjack pro who hasn't been booted from every casino out there. That's it. There are no Professional Roulette players.

While sports betting and poker playing may be "gambling" to people who partake at a low level and while the IRS may use that nomenclature in an overly broad way, they still take the time to make clear distinction that some games allow skill to prevail over luck, professionals will exist in those fields and income exemption is made on their behalf.

[willis120]

My wife and I are from Tennessee and are coming to Chicago for a Cubs weekend. Figured we would stay at a casino and do some gambling as we are fairly regular to Tunica and Vegas. Are there any HONEST answers to whether or not we will be safe and where that casino would be located??? Also I know it's sad but I must add that we are white, southerners and my wife is cute (isn't everyone's?). I have heard horror stories...also you can tell me if we should just stay away from casinos in this area and just find something better to do. THANKS!!!
p.s we are booked at the Majestic Star....................................???

[GloridaBG]

I live in Chicago and hopefully can answer your questions. Although it has been about four years since I've stayed overnight at the Majestic Star and a couple of months since I've been to the casino, I would not stay overnight there. I have heard nothing but bad about the rooms since Trump sold the hotel. Even when Trump owned it, it wasn't the greatest.

Majestic Star is in Gary, Indiana, a very poor area. You have to be aware on the boat, as you have to be everywhere. One time a woman's purse was stolen out of the bathroom, but that can happen anywhere. Service on the boat (change, coffee, cashiers, etc.) is usually poor to non-existent. I also don't like the fact that depending on the time of day, the area you are playing in can be totally empty except for one or two patrons, and there are no security guards or employees in sight.

Finally, it is a long walk through a walkway from the hotel to the casino, and I would not be comfortable doing this walk by myself, or even with one other person, in the evening or early morning hours. There used to be a shuttle, but I don't know about the hours.

Just one or two miles from the Majestic Star (and closer to Chicago) is Ameristar Casino & Hotel (used to be Resorts). The rooms there are beautiful, and I've never felt unsafe in that casino. I would definitely stay there over the Majestic Star.

In the Joliet area, which is a suburb of Illinois, there is Harrah's Joliet and the Empress. Harrah's Joliet has a beautiful hotel and casino. I haven't been to the Empress in years and, in fact, I think it is just reopening today after having had a fire a few months ago.

I am assuming you will have a car?

Anyway, hope this helps. Any other questions?

[Milwaukee City]

All my Chicago friends either got to harrahs or Potto in Milwaukee

[chet everett]

The hotels attached to the Casinos in the Chicago region are poorly run and NOTHING like the operations in Vegas or even Tunica -- almost the profit of the places up here are drop in gamblers.