After checking several sites about gambling in Hawaii, I have found that Hawaii has no casinos, lottery, etc. If this isn’t true please let me know. It appears Hawaii is discouraging any of its residents from gambling, anywhere, with this law. Of course I feel this law is unfair.
I know here in Nevada that if you win a jackpot of $1200 or more on a slot machine they fill out a W-2G which reports those winnings to the IRS. I believe that is mandated by the Federal Government and any casino in the nation must adhere to that law.
As far as cashing in chips of $1200 or more at one time I do not know if they fill out a W-2G or not. If your friend has to cash in large amounts of chips, I would suggest he not cash in more than $1,199 at a time to be safe. It wouldn’t hurt to learn the laws regarding W-2G’s and the policy of the state and casino he is gambling in. Maybe somebody can shed some light on this.
creeping panther in a previous quote gives some good advice.