laughlin and a couple questions

Getting ready to make a trip to Laughlin and never been, how are the games/rules there?
1.Also I was wondering how some of you players utilize your BR when playing solo, ie. if your BR is 10k do you start out by cashing in for 10k worth of chips or just a little to start out rather than your entire BR. Im trying keep in mind the tax system as well when I cash out.
2. Playing method question, do you pre set how many hours you are going to play/count ahead of time or rely more on wins or losses?
Thanks

Laughlin is one of the sweatiest locales for playing BJ. Fuggedaboudit.

1. You ALWAYS buy in for small amounts, repeatedly if needed. 20 units is fine.

2. Wins / Losses have nothing whatsoever to do with how long you play for.

3. Presuming that you are a semi-skilled Card Counter, you keep sessions to 45 mins.

If you can buy in at the table its probably wiser to start with a modest amount in order not to arouse unnecessary attention. But in many casinos you have to buy in at the cash desk . In this case the priority is not to run of chips during an interesting shoe and the buy in should therefore be sufficiently generous.
Changing big is also warranted if the casino grants fringe benefits on the basis of buy in amounts.

Francis Salmon

It's to detect money laundering. The transaction is reported to the IRS but according to several CPA's , it doesn't trigger an audit. Still, keep records so you can deduct losses against any wins at year end.

Well I returned from Laughlin and it was the worst place to play BJ anywhere Ive been. If anybody was wondering the Pioneer Casino removed the single deck das h17 game last month! So Laughlin is full of 6:5 games, mostly dd h17, no das, no surrender, poor penetration 3:2 games. Also if your under the age of 115 your going to be a spring chicken out in Laughlin. I stayed at Harrahs whcih was nice and had a great steak house. However I will not be returning to Laughin as an advantage player in BJ trying to make $, I will point it north about 60 miles and play with the liberal rules in Vegas.

The CTR and the STR (suspicious transaction report) actually are filed with the Treasury Department.

The I.R.S. and other federal agencies have instant access to them, but are uninterested in almost all cases.

Unless you are a smuggler, arms dealer, terrorist, drug dealer, tax reprobate, you have nothing to worry about.

Although I have avoided CTR's in recent years, I suppose that I have had perhaps 30 or 40 filed years ago.

It has never caused a problem for me.

Incidentally, a caveat is in order:

If playing under a fictitious name or without identification you MUST avoid

aggregate cash transactions exceeding $10,000 in a "casino day"