How Honest Are You?Previous TopicNext Topic

This question was brought up at work the other night in a general discussion. and I thought why not put it to a poll just to see "WHAT WOULD YOU DO? We love the game of pick 3.  If you hit big (anything over $500 bucks or $5000 bucks) would you really go to the lottery office or just go to several different stores to collect your cash so you won't  have taxes?

Remember names have been changed to protect the innocent!!

You can't take a ticket to different stores and get paid a portion of the winnings.  The machine will tell the clerk that the winner has to go to the lottery office.  The clerk has a form for you to fill out and take it with your ticket to the lottery office.  Here in California it is over $599.

What I am taking from this is if I hit 999 for $5000 on 10 different tickets. I would take it different stores. Now if you are talking 1 single ticket for a total win of $5000 in North Carolina you have no choice but to go to the Lottery Office.

Same here in N.J., Lottery agents pay up to  $599.00 anything over you have to fill out a form or take to a regional center for validation..

Is the lottery deferent than winning big at the race track?I mean one night I hit a tri for over $600 but I didn't have to pay taxes on it cause it was on a $2 bet now if it had been on a $1 bet I would have.So by saying that and if things are all the same just cash 1 tix at a time.

We dont pay taxes on winnings on wins in Canada but we can only collect up to 1000 dollars at the store,

when i play big i do this

if i play a double i spend 2 dollars for each way so a 6 dollar ticket, i then ask the clerk to run it through several times so if i run it 5 times it costs 30 dollars for 5000 win.

this way i can go to corner store and collect at times they have the money. this saves me from the hassle of sending it in.

I do the same with box or straight single plays.

I have collected  3600 dollars several times this way.

Question i have for state side players is do you get to claim your expenses and lottery losses?

If not my tickets would be kept at 500 win and i would run several, that way no taxes, sorry but thats the way it would be, know if i could claim expenses and losses, the its a fair game,I would be honest.

I do much the same thing.  Yes, we can deduct gambling losses up to the amount we win, but we must have proof.  I keep my losing tickets in a cigar box.

<Moved to Lottery Discussion forum>

Please post in the appropriate forum ... thank you.

We are talking about Pick 3 tickets.  These tickets payout $500 for straight hit so yes you can take these tickets to individual stores and collect 1 per store. If you had 4 straights that would equal $2000.

We are only talking about Pick 3 Tickets................no scratchers, no pick 4, no pick 5.. only Pick 3 tickets.

You can play any # lets say $5 straight. I can play 383 for example $5 straight on  one ticket....or I can ask the lottery agent to play 383 $1 straight (5 times )  on seperate tickets. I'd rather play the same number $1 straight five times on seperate tickets so I wouldnt have to take that trip to the office.If playing a  Pick - 4 #straight for more than $1.00 theres no point in playing the same # straight on SEPERATE tickets you'll have to take a trip to the office regardless.

This has nothing to do with honesty. If you are talking about a single bet, it isn't possible to collect on it at different locations.  However, a store can pay you up to $599 per bet, not just $599 total.  What I mean is if you bought three pick-3 tickets and won $500 on each, the store can pay you $1,500 and you do not need to complete a claim form.  You can go to 3 different stores if you want, but it isn't necessary because they are different bets.  Many stores don't have that much money on hand, but I'm talking about the rules.  If you win more than $599 on one bet, you can't claim your winnings at more than 1 retailer.  I mean, it's not as if you win $2,000 and they deduct $599 and then you go somewhere else and get another $599, etc.  In Florida, any prize on one bet that is over $599 must be claimed at a lottery office anyway.

I've never been that lucky, but if I won on several tickets in one week, I might go to different stores on different days only because I wouldn't want to carry around a lot of money and I would also be concerned about my safety.

By the way, I still think your question is a good one.  In other words, you are asking if you would report earnings if you didn't have to, right?   My answer is no.   But I still think I'm very honest.  Technically, if you mow a few lawns and make $200 you need to report it, but who does that?  The $600 is only what a payor needs to report.  The payee is supposed to report all income.

Thank you..... I've shown this post to the people I work with and they seem amazed that this can be done and it's all tax free if you do it separately. lol