Keep your gambling money SAFE!

[Ferretnparrot]

I always fear that somebody will find out i have huge stacks of cash lying around ready to hit the casinos and was shopping for an in home safe and found this awsome gadget on ebay.

(Dead link: http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-BIOMETRIC-WALL-SAFE-FINGERPRINT-SAFE-HOME-SECURITY_W0QQitemZ160212126163QQihZ006QQcategoryZ121836QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Its like right out of james bond, it can fit in your closet and its only 200 bux after shipping. I think its awsome

Ferret

 

[dangeroso]

I always fear that somebody will find out i have huge stacks of cash lying around ready to hit the casinos and was shopping for an in home safe and found this awsome gadget on ebay.

(Dead link: http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-BIOMETRIC-WALL-SAFE-FINGERPRINT-SAFE-HOME-SECURITY_W0QQitemZ160212126163QQihZ006QQcategoryZ121836QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Its like right out of james bond, it can fit in your closet and its only 200 bux after shipping. I think its awsome

Ferret

Does it have a key as a back up system? I'd be a little worried about a $160 biometric system not recognizing me at a later date.

FWIW, I have a $60 fire safe bolted to a wall, and an alarm system. The system gives a thief about 15 minutes. Nothing I have of value is accessible in that time frame.

 

[Sonny]

We have a few of those biometric systems where I work. We’ve had them for about 3 years and they work pretty well…until the battery runs out. I was locked in a room for an hour until I could take the door off its hinges. A lot of things changed that day.

Those systems aren’t foolproof either. If someone has your fingerprint (or can convince you to use yours) then they can still get inside. We have cheap-o versions at work though. Maybe the expensive ones work better. I can only guess which version is for sale on eBay.

-Sonny-

 

[21forme]

That safe is a joke. The whole thing weighs 35 lbs. A kid with a hammer and screwdriver could probably break it open in no time.

If you want a safe, get something UL rated.

 

[shadroch]

Heres a thought. Don't keep large amounts of cash laying around.In a decent money market,like ING,you'll get 3% a year in interest. On $10,000,thats $300. The cost of a roundtrip ticket Ny-Vegas.
For $26 a year,you can join AAA and get unlimited free travelers checks.If a thief breaks into your house and steals them,they are replaced free.

 

[Unshake]

Heres a thought. Don't keep large amounts of cash laying around.In a decent money market,like ING,you'll get 3% a year in interest. On $10,000,thats $300. The cost of a roundtrip ticket Ny-Vegas.
For $26 a year,you can join AAA and get unlimited free travelers checks.If a thief breaks into your house and steals them,they are replaced free.

I've thought about doing something like that but bringing large amounts of money a few times a week and then repurchasing travelers checks every other day seems like too much of a hassle.

Also I'm not sure how precise the finger print reader on that safe is, but the ones that come with laptops aren't that great. You can touch a gummy bear or something else that holds impressions and then use that on them and they work ...

 

[Paradox]

It's easy to open that thing

Use this to remove it and then open at your leisure.

(Dead link: http://cgi.ebay.com/Milwaukee-6514-20-Hatchet-Sawzall-Battery-48-59-0260_W0QQitemZ110224877303QQihZ001QQcategoryZ42289QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

 

[InPlay]

Instead of spending your money on a safe why not fold it into your bankroll. Most people are always looking for the next bankroll after they go bust. A safe you can't take to the pawn shop but a piece of jewlery is something that can keep you afloat through the lifetime of hands that you will play. Remember you need a zillion hands to reach your goal. You don't know if the first half will wipe you out or if its the second half. So keep liquid! :laugh:

 

[sagefr0g]

That safe is a joke. The whole thing weighs 35 lbs. A kid with a hammer and screwdriver could probably break it open in no time.

If you want a safe, get something UL rated.

exactly. i mean gee lookee here a safe! must be something good in there.
off the wall goes that baby and no problem busting it open later on down the road. bad idea.
best thing to do is hide it.

 

[EasyRhino]

Yeah, I'll vote for "bank" also. Although, in the case of semi-frequent trips, going to the bank incurs too much shoe leather costs. So I'll just keep a session bankroll around for giggles if I think I might be playing on short notice.

Instead of spending your money on a safe why not fold it into your bankroll. Most people are always looking for the next bankroll after they go bust. A safe you can't take to the pawn shop but a piece of jewlery is something that can keep you afloat through the lifetime of hands that you will play. Remember you need a zillion hands to reach your goal. You don't know if the first half will wipe you out or if its the second half. So keep liquid! :laugh:

I look forward to the English version of post.

 

[InPlay]

You have less then 1% of ever useing that safe to safe guard your winnings from blackjack. Hidding your food stamps or welfare check might be good useage of the safe if you live in a bad hood. It will also come in handy for safe guarding your crack pipe and blow ! :laugh:

 

[moo321]

Safe deposit box or a storage unit with insurance. Keep a logbook of how much money you have in there for proof. And, don't most homeowner's and renter's insurance policies cover theft?

 

[shadroch]

Saftey deposit boxes are terrible places to keep emergency cash,documents or bank rolls that you need quickly. They are only available during bank hours so the majority of the time you can't access them. Besides,why would you pay to keep money in a bank when you can keep it in an interest bearing account that has easier access? You can withdraw money from any ATM. Try making a withdrawl from your saftey deposit box thru an ATM.

 

[moo321]

Saftey deposit boxes are terrible places to keep emergency cash,documents or bank rolls that you need quickly. They are only available during bank hours so the majority of the time you can't access them. Besides,why would you pay to keep money in a bank when you can keep it in an interest bearing account that has easier access? You can withdraw money from any ATM. Try making a withdrawl from your saftey deposit box thru an ATM.

1. So you don't draw an audit.
2. Because you're evading taxes (which I don't do, but don't condemn others for doing).
3. Because most banks won't let you withdraw more than a few hundred from an ATM.

We're not talking about your whole roll, just petty cash. Keep 80% in an account, and the rest on hand. Or, if you want to maximize your returns with good financial management, you could keep 30-50% in securities (bonds would probably be best), some in short term CD's or bonds, some in a high interest savings account, and some on hand. If you planned correctly based on when your trips occurred, you could maximize your returns with no risk of tapping out. But that's probably more work than it's worth, unless you're managing a large team bank.

Do you deposit and withdraw your full trip bank from a savings account every time you take a trip? If so, how often do you get audited? For a $10k bank, I don't think an audit is worth drawing an extra $2-400 a year of taxable income. If you have a larger bank, I could maybe understand...

 

[shadroch]

1) Why would having a bank account cause an Audit?
2) Why are you assuming a BJ player is avoiding taxes?
3) Thats not correct. Banks won't let you withdraw more than a few hundred from an account.Nothing says you can't have multiple accounts.

I deposit/withdraw huge amounts of cash on an almost daily basis. Why do you say this will result in an audit?
The trouble with a saftey deposit box is that you can only access them 9-3 Monday thru Friday in most cases.

 

[moo321]

1) Why would having a bank account cause an Audit?
2) Why are you assuming a BJ player is avoiding taxes?
3) Thats not correct. Banks won't let you withdraw more than a few hundred from an account.Nothing says you can't have multiple accounts.

I deposit/withdraw huge amounts of cash on an almost daily basis. Why do you say this will result in an audit?
The trouble with a saftey deposit box is that you can only access them 9-3 Monday thru Friday in most cases.

Having a bank account won't trigger the audit, having a bank account from which you deposit and withdraw large amounts of cash will. It will generate CTRs every time if you're doing $10k or more.

I didn't assume anyone was dodging taxes, but you asked why anyone would use a deposit box. That's a very good reason to use a deposit box.

Having multiple account from which you draw several hundred dollars could be construed as structuring (which is a felony) if you ever get audited, or if the IRS arbitrarily decides you tried to dodge your income taxes.

Have you ever been audited doing these things that you recommend?

 

[EasyRhino]

I have two different accounts with ATM cards with $2000 ATM withdrawal limits. So that adds certain flexibility. And casino ATMs don't really have maximums, so they're not the gating issue.

 

[moo321]

I have two different accounts with ATM cards with $2000 ATM withdrawal limits. So that adds certain flexibility. And casino ATMs don't really have maximums, so they're not the gating issue.

Now, the best way to store a bank, if you're not CTR averse, is probably in a high-interest savings, which you can sweep into a checking account instantaneously. In that case, you could write checks at the casino for whatever you wanted.

 

[shadroch]

Having a bank account won't trigger the audit, having a bank account from which you deposit and withdraw large amounts of cash will. It will generate CTRs every time if you're doing $10k or more.

I didn't assume anyone was dodging taxes, but you asked why anyone would use a deposit box. That's a very good reason to use a deposit box.

Having multiple account from which you draw several hundred dollars could be construed as structuring (which is a felony) if you ever get audited, or if the IRS arbitrarily decides you tried to dodge your income taxes.

Have you ever been audited doing these things that you recommend?

Again you are confusing withdrawing money from a bank with evading income taxes. You pay taxes on income,not on withdrawals.Yes,transactions of $10,000 require a currency transaction form,but that doesn't mean you'll be audited.Its a routine cya form filled out by pencil pushers and sent to the IRS where it sits with the other 350,000 CRTs that they get on a daily basis.
Why would I get audited for keeping my money in legal bank accounts?

 

[moo321]

Again you are confusing withdrawing money from a bank with evading income taxes. You pay taxes on income,not on withdrawals.Yes,transactions of $10,000 require a currency transaction form,but that doesn't mean you'll be audited.Its a routine cya form filled out by pencil pushers and sent to the IRS where it sits with the other 350,000 CRTs that they get on a daily basis.
Why would I get audited for keeping my money in legal bank accounts?

I'm not confused, I think you're just drawing conclusions that I was never communicating. Correct me if I'm wrong, it also seems like you're viewing this as a debate, which it isn't. I'm not trying to win the internet wars, I'm trying to work with people here to figure out the best cash handling procedures available.

Anyways, if you read over what I wrote, I said that churning a lot of cash around may draw an audit. Audits are a HUGE hassle, if you have tens of thousands of dollars it will probably require you to pay a professional (accountant, and maybe a tax attorney) to defend it. 10 hours of an accountant's time is probably going to be $1000, maybe much more. That's getting close to the interest you would pick up from the savings account. Also, there is the very real risk that the IRS may try to nail you for something totally contrived; there's 10,000 pages of tax code, and you can find something to justify almost anything in there. Some of the stories I've read are downright scary.

All in all, it's my personal opinion that most players should be keeping their cash transactions to a minimum. That doesn't mean that they can't keep their cash in a bank, but maybe they can keep 20% on hand to play with, and tap the rest only if they lose that. In any case, it seems to me like you have a combative approach to dealing with problems, and it doesn't really help much. It's us against the casinos, not us against each other.