Wednesday, March 12, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
The changes to the Nevada Gaming Commission's heavy enforced Regulation 6A, to take effect May 1, also will reveal some casino customers' names to federal tax authorities.
The rule was established in 1985 to prevent laundering of money through casinos, and also as an aid to taxpayer information gathering. It's being updated to comply with federal requests.
"Tax evasion is a concern of the Internal Revenue Service," says Gregg Gale, chief of the state Gaming Control Board's audit division in Las Vegas.
For example, if a casino can prove that a $10,000 or more cash-out of chips is from winnings, a current transaction report with the customer's name isn't required, Gale added.
Federal officials requested Nevada comply with rules in place at other states' casinos. Nevada clubs now will have to provide the customer's name on a currency transaction report on all cash payouts greater than $10,000 even if they can prove the payout is from winnings.
Other key changes to the regulation include:
-Casinos with more than $10 million in annual gross gambling revenue and $2 million in table games win will have to comply with 6A, up from $1 million in annual gross revenue. The state proved that requiring reporting by clubs with $1 million a year in revenue had no law enforcement benefit.
-A "prohibited transaction" threshold will increase from $2,500 to $3,000, the level at which casinos must segregate cash received from patrons and return only the amount and denominations received.
-Casino transactions with slot route operators and other casinos will no longer require currency transaction reports, which the state was able to prove had no law enforcement benefit.
-By Oct. 1, Nevada will require casinos to file suspicious activity reports to the Gaming Control Board and IRS if a club suspects a patron is trying to make a prohibited cash transaction. A bill expected to emerge from the 1997 Legislature would protect the casinos from being sued by patrons included in the reports.
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