Winstar Slot Machine Payouts
By BYRON HARRIS / WFAA ABC 8
All winnings — specifically from lottery payouts, poker tournaments, horse races and slot machines — are taxable at the federal level, and some may be taxable at the state level, too. Since each state has its own set of regulations for gambling taxes, be sure to pay close attention to the local requirements before filing your next tax return. Depending on the machine, the lights on top of the machine may come on and start flashing, music may play or bells ring. A slot attendant arrives promptly to see what you have won. On jackpots smaller than $5,000, an attendant verifies that you hit the jackpot and then assists you in claiming your money at the cashier's cage. Discover the thrill of winning and a world of luxury at WinStar World Casino and Resort – the ultimate casino resort destination for entertainment!
While Oklahoma has become Las Vegas' competition by drawing in Texas residents to its 85 casinos and bingo parlors, Indian property gambling regulations have some questioning their rules and fairness.
An Arlington man said he thought his life would be forever changed when he was told he had won $11,289,874.74 after playing on a WinStar Casino machine that displayed the word 'Congratulations!'
While Stanley Rosemond's life did change, it wasn't in the way he expected—and it was without $11 million.
Last summer, Rosemond went to WinStar, 85 miles north of Dallas. After the casino slot 'big win,' he was escorted to the cashier's booth, where he said employees seemed excited for him.
'The attendant inside shows me the numbers and says, 'Would you like to see what you've won?' he said.
But after waiting several hours, Rosemond and his wife were taken to a large empty room and were seated before casino officials.
'[There was] four of them and two of us, and they're on one side and we're on the other side,' Rosemond said. 'We don't know what to expect.' The mood got less festive when the casino told Rosemond there would be no $11 million prize coming his way.
'He says, 'OK, your machine malfunctioned, so we can't pay you,' Rosemond recalled.
Rosemond failed to spot a tiny warning label on the WinStar machine: 'Malfunctions void all plays and pays.'
That didn't stop him from feeling as though the casino should still pay up.
'You shouldn't have a machine that malfunctions,' he said. 'It should work, and if it doesn't, work the casino should stand behind it, because they are taking people's money away.'
William Thompson, who teaches public administration at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, is an expert in the gambling business. He said while slot machines can malfunction, the casinos owe it to their customers to pay them unless the player is cheating.
Winstar Slot Machine Payouts 2019
Las Vegas slot machines can clear $100,000 a year per machine, he said.
'You pay the player off,' he said. 'Your machine was wrong. You screwed up. How about a malfunction when the player's supposed to win and it shows a loss?'
WinStar Casinos, which is owned by the Chickasaw Indian tribe, declined to talk on camera to News 8.
In a written statement, WinStar said, 'Mr. Rosemond is claiming a win bigger than the machine could possibly pay based on the type of machine, the denomination and the wager.'
The tribe said the machine could only pay only $5,000.
Rosemond said WinStar offered him a series of take it or leave it settlements that started out at $800, which he turned down.
They subsequently offered Rosemond $1,199, which is $1 less than the casino would have to report to the IRS. They said he could accept it on the spot or leave with nothing.
'We didn't know what we could do,' Rosemond said.
Rosemond said he took the casino's offer because he felt trapped. He tried to keep the one key piece of evidence from WinStar of his 'malfunctioned' win—a card given to every WinStar player that tracks their identity and winnings.
Winstar Slot Machine Payouts Jackpots
However, once he was told he had won big, casino officials confiscated it. Despite asking for the card back, Rosemond left without it after the assistant general manager said the card belonged to the Chickasaw Nation.
'This is duress,' Thompson said. 'Any signature in those situations is under duress [and] should have no legal standing.'
Kay Vanwey, who was hired as Rosemond's lawyer after he returned from Oklahoma, was stopped in her tracks when she discovered the tribe would not let her take legal action in the case.
'It is the Chickasaw Nation that makes the laws,' Vanwey said. 'It is the Chickasaw Nation that interprets the laws. It is the Chickasaw Nation that enforces the laws.'
She received a letter from the tribe's lawyer saying, 'All inquiries you make may be at your own personal peril and those people you hope to represent.'
'If the intent was to intimidate me and frighten me, I certainly took it that way,' she said.
WinStar is the largest of 11 Chickasaw casinos in Oklahoma, casinos that netted more than $91 million last year, according to tribal records.
Complaints about payment from Oklahoma Indian casinos are not rare.
Oklahoma Assistant Attorney General Bill Leader said he gets about a dozen complaints from gamblers at [Oklahoma] Indian casinos a year, but has no jurisdiction in resolving them.
Back in Las Vegas, Bill Thompson minces no words about the lesson behind this.
'You ought to have a sign on the border of Oklahoma: 'You're about to enter Oklahoma and gamble in a casino. Two things can happen. They are both bad. You can lose and you can win. You ain't getting paid,' he said.
Last November, Rosemond received a summons from the Chickasaw tribal court in Oklahoma. He was the subject of a legal action, and in a declaratory judgment, the tribe said the case was closed.
News 8 asked the Chickasaw Nation how many casino malfunctions they have a year; they did not reply.
We recently went to Winstar for the 311 concert. My husband is a die hard 311 fan so we’ve seen them quite a few times. I’m kind of surprised they even still tour. But that’s neither here nor there. We picked up our friends Will and Lisa and headed out of town on Saturday around noon. The drive is only about an hour and 15 mins (of course that depends on where you’re coming from). But it was a super easy drive, all highway. That was everyone’s first time to visit Winstar. Brian and I had been to Choctaw so I felt like we had a good baseline for comparison. They are both OK casinos, so not the Vegas experience but still a fun weekend or overnight trip. So today I thought it’d be fun to compare the two. See my detailed Choctaw post HERE.
Room rate – Winstar charges a hefty rate per night. $369 base rate + $10.70 resort fee + $44.28 taxes = $423.98 and this is a basic room. Nothing special. That is pretty pricey! Our room at Choctaw was right around $200/night so more than half the cost of Winstar. Verdict: Choctaw wins
I didn’t get a picture of the Choctaw room, but this is Winstar. They were very similar rooms.
View from our Winstar room:
Pool – this is a prime reason why you go on vacation, right? It is for me at least. There better be a nice pool where I can relax and sip on tasty drinks. The pool at Choctaw is FAR superior than Winstar’s pool. Choctaw also has the upper hand on servers. They are much easier on the eyes and professional. Choctaw also specifically had a children’s pool and “adult only area” which was great. I did not see either a separation at Winstar. Choctaw even had a grotto and the cute string lights everywhere. You know the ones. They make everything a little more adorable. Verdict: Choctaw wins.
Drinks by the pool @ Winstar
Winstar Pool:
Choctaw Pool:
Spa – the spa at Choctaw was very nice. I’d even go as far as to say it was comparable to a high end Vegas spa. There was a mineral pool that was co-ed so Brian and I could get in together, which was nice. It was only $8 to use the spa so we definitely went and utilized the steam room after a night of drinking. We did not use the spa at Winstar so it’s not fair that I weigh in. I did look on the website though and there aren’t any pictures which I find strange. Verdict: Not enough info to call, but I was definitely impressed with Choctaw’s.
Concerts – the Offspring/311 concert was the main reason why we visited Winstar and I’ll give them credit. They do seem to pull in some pretty decent acts. Our friend is a drummer in a pretty well know band and I think he got around $15K for his part in their show there. So based on that, the average payout for a show is probably around $120K. This is a pure guess based only on the information I have. We saw the Dwight Yoakam concert at Choctaw. They also have concerts but definitely not the caliber of performers as Winstar. Winstar’s space is also MUCH larger. I recommend paying extra for the VIP experience. The leg room is out of this world!!! Choctaw has a much smaller venue. So depending on what you like this could be a pro or a con since it’s more intimate. Verdict: Winstar wins.
Restaurants – both have plenty of choices including both high and low end. We ate at the high end 1832 Steakhouse at Choctaw and just ended up grabbing pizza at Winstar (it was delicious tho!). We tried to get a reservation at Kirby’s Prime Steakhouse at Winstar but we waited too long. So my only piece of advice is book early if you know you want to try their fine dining. Verdict: Winstar wins since they offer more options.
Casino – Winstar has the bigger casino BY FAR. In fact, it’s the biggest in the world. It was kind of too big if you ask me. Brian and Will played some late night poker and they said it literally took them 20 mins (not exaggerating) to walk from the main casino area to the poker area. WOW. But with a bigger casino comes more cigarette smoke. Winstar’s casino smelled very smoky which is a huge turn off to me. They need to up their air filtration game. Choctaw’s casino was much more intimate and cozy. It didn’t have the smoky odor either. Both have your typical casino games and both charge an ante per hand (I personally find that uber annoying). They also both do not offer free drinks with game play (also uber annoying). But at least at Choctaw they had waitresses that came around that you could order drinks from. We never saw any at Winstar.
So who is the winner? Well, it depends. What brings you to OK? Is is a nice pool/spa getaway? Then Choctaw would be your hands down winner. Is it a concert? Then Winstar would probably win. Is it gambling? Well, you’ll be happy at either. So it’s just kind of your preference. Both were really fun weekend getaways! 😊
Cheers,
XOXO,
Les