This screams money laundering.
He only played video poker and was heavily comped in his rooms. Statistically, the only game in Vegas an advantage player can beat the casinos is by counting cards in blackjack or by cheating in some way by hacking a slot machine.
If he really made $5 M gambling, he’d have been blacklisted from the casinos.
He was money laundering and using fake 1099’s from casinos is my guess.
Next question must be: if he won $5 million gambling, why was he not black listed? I don't believe he won $5 million gambling in a year.
Accountant, casino, gambling, gun runner?, mob money? WTH?
Last week after the shooting I posted (10-3-17) on this board that I believe the perp was engaged in nefarious money-laundering as his source of income.
What his actual motive was, I don't want to hazard a guess at this early stage. I thinks it's more than him being a "psycho" acting alone...although that's what the leftists and the enemedia are doing their best to try to force us to think.
Leni
[This screams money laundering.]
Yes it does. That is a LOT of video poker, I’d say. (plus other things probably - like slots, or real poker with cards).
--"winning" $5 million in Vegas would be about as likely as being hit by a small meteor---
1099s are not easy to fake nowadays. Two copies get sent to the IRS and they have to match. The IRS now requires all but the smallest payers to electronically upload the Copy A (payer copy) in bulk using a secret password registered at fire.irs.gov with a verified identity. The electronic filings then get cross checked with the info on the Copy C from the payee.
If somebody files a Copy C with their Form 1040 with no corresponding Copy A the IRS computers will flag it. If it is a one time exception and/or relatively small amounts the IRS will likely let it slide (you are over paying your taxes). But if it is chronic and/or big they will notify the authorities to investigate it further.
What I think was actually happening was that the casinos were filing real 1099 Copy As for his $5 million in winnings, but his offsetting losses (also in the millions) were also reported on his Form 1040. Losses are reported basically on the honor system, and he used this loophole to launder the 1099 money.
“This screams money laundering.”
Which may explain why the brother made such a big deal about his gambling...even going as far as saying if the casinos say they don’t know Steve, they’re lying....