Caesars Palace Tries Out New Everi Jackpot Management, Tax Reporting System

Posted on: May 25, 2021, 11:11h. 

Last updated on: July 5, 2021, 08:30h.

Ed Silverstein @casinoorgedsilv Read More
Expertise: Legal, Tribal Gaming.

Las Vegas’ Caesars Palace has begun to field test a management system for slot machine winnings. It is called Jackpot Xpress, and is offered by Las Vegas-based Everi Holdings.

It sends tax forms via email to winners
Caesars Palace shown here. The Las Vegas casino is field testing a high-tech solution that makes it easier to pay out winnings to players at slot machines. (Image: Caesars Entertainment)

The high-tech system is a jackpot and tax form management solution. It lets casino staff process slot jackpots at a winning gaming machine by using a mobile device, such as a tablet computer, without printing additional paperwork.

It provides a secure payment system and also ensures anti-money laundering controls are in force. The system also can scan quickly the winning player’s identification, as well as loyalty card data.

Tax forms detailing income from casinos winnings are submitted electronically to the IRS. The system also generates copies of W-2G forms which can be emailed to winners. Caesars Palace is the first casino to use Everi’s electronic tax form submission system.

Shorter Lines, More Efficiency

Another advantage for players is that it shortens lines at cashier’s cages, according to Everi. That means shorter wait times for payouts.

Typically, paying out jackpots required a lengthy process. A gaming floor employee had to collect information from the winning player. Then, the information must either have been written down manually or entered into an internal casino system. That was followed by standing in line at the cashier’s cage to collect the winnings.

The Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) already gave approval for Everi to field test Jackpot Xpress at Caesars Palace. That test started last week.

Based on the results and feedback from the casino staff, players, and the NGCB, the Everi system could be tweaked. The test period will last between 30 to 180 days.

After the trial is complete at Caesars Palace, Caesars Entertainment can install Jackpot Xpress at its other Nevada properties.

It can also be used at other Caesars’ properties throughout the US, as long as appropriate state regulators approve its use.

Safety, Security

When informed about Jackpot Xpress, the Rev. Richard McGowan, a finance professor at Boston College who closely follows the gambling sector, told Casino.org it is “an interesting technological solution to ensure the process of claiming a jackpot winning is secure and safe for [the] casino and government [agencies].

I do wonder why it is beneficial to the player,” McGowan told Casino.org. “It certainly allows the player to continue playing. But that might not be a good thing for the majority of players.”

Darren Simmons, Everi’s executive vice president, added in a company statement that Jackpot Xpress provides “value to our customers, as they enhance their ability to better serve their players while creating measurable efficiencies in their operations.”

In December, Everi Holdings announced that its CashClub Wallet cashless gaming solution was to be provided to WinStar World Casino and Resort in Oklahoma, one of the world’s largest gaming properties.

WinStar Wallet is also a mobile solution that allows for cashless and touchless funding of electronic gameplay throughout a gaming floor, the company explained in a statement last year.

Everi makes gaming machines. The company also is offering several new solutions through its fintech unit. The company benefited from regulatory requirements caused by the COVID-19 pandemic over the past year. Casinos increasingly used digital payments. They minimize the risk of transmission of the COVID-19 virus.