There are a few things that we know for sure about today’s Super Bowl game:
- This year, no Manning will win the Super Bowl (thank goodness).
- The two quarterbacks who are playing in the big game (Warner and Roethlisberger) have not been particularly stellar throughout the regular season. Trust me. They were my fantasy football quarterbacks this year.
- The Super Bowl will be televised in 230 countries in 34 languages.
- Beer commercials will be plentiful – but not as much as last year. PepsiCo. dethroned Anheuser-Busch/InBev this year to top all advertisers this year in paid Super Bowl ad spots.
- Defense, defense, defense. The key to the game will be whether the Steelers could do what the Eagles could not (insert sobs here) and stop the Cardinals’ run.
- A lot of people will bet on the big game. A lot. Last year, legal bets alone on the Super Bowl totaled nearly $100 million with billions more made offshore, online and in office pools. This year, with illegal bets added in to the mix, analysts predict that nearly $10 billion will be wagered on today’s game, an increase of about $2 billion.
Yep, betting on the big game is all the rage. Experts predict that nearly half of all American adults will make some sort of wager on the big game. Apparently, a poor economy might make you rethink that authentic NFL jersey but not discourage you from throwing a few bucks in a betting pool.
If you win, you’ll need to pay up to Uncle Sam, regardless of whether the winnings were from legal sources. Gambling winnings, legally gained or not, are fully taxable and must be reported on your tax return. Winnings include proceeds from lotteries, raffles, horse races, casinos, cash winnings as well as the fair market value of prizes such as trips and cars.
And if you lose? Well, all is not totally lost. You can deduct gambling losses if you itemize deductions on your tax return on a Schedule A, though the amount of losses cannot be more than the amount of gambling income that you reported on your return.
Win or lose, it’s sure to be an exciting game. Who’d have figured a Steelers versus Cardinals finale? Even odds makers in Vegas have to be shaking their heads at this one.
Despite the crazy season, one of these unexpected teams will become the Super Bowl champions. So, what is the official line on the Super Bowl? The Steelers are the favorites to win by 6 points.
Go Steelers!
While most of Philadelphia has been trying to get over the pain of the elimination of the Eagles from Super Bowl contention by the Cardinals (the Cardinals?!), scam artists have been looking for ways to turn Pittsburgh Steelers gold into real gold… Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett has alerted consumers to be wary of potential scams surrounding the upcoming Super Bowl.
Currently making the rounds is a bogus Super Bowl contest notification. Corbett’s office has received complaints about a scam letter informing consumers that they have won a prize of $100,000 and two tickets to the Super Bowl. The contest implies endorsement from NFL and Visa.
To claim the prize money, consumers are urged to cash a check (actually counterfeit) for several thousand dollars in order to pay the taxes associated with the prize. Then, consumers are asked to wire money to a ‘claim agent’ who will verify their winnings. Only, as Corbett points out, “consumers who try to claim their prize by sending money to these scam artists will quickly learn that there is no $100,000 jackpot, there are no Super Bowl tickets, and the check they were given to pay the taxes will eventually be returned as counterfeit or forged.”
Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. A prize for doing nothing and the taxes to pay for it all? Even Oprah doesn’t go that far.
So, be careful out there. If you’ve been the victim of a crime and wish to file a complaint or if you need additional information, contact the Attorney General’s Office by calling 1-800-441-2555 visit www.attorneygeneral.gov.
(Of course, the real Super Bowl crime is that I had both Roethlisberger and Warner on my Fantasy Football Team and didn’t even finish in the top three. Pish!)
Yesterday was a football fan’s paradise… What great games! And the Steelers managed to unseat the Colts as the AFC favorites.
Okay, I’m really a Philadelphia Eagles fan, but the Eagles didn’t give us much reason to cheer this season. The Steelers, on the other hand, were brilliant.
Now, I know that Steelers fans are pretty hard core. In fact, I was in Pittsburgh this weekend speaking for the PBI on “Taxes Affecting Decedent’s Estates” and everywhere you look, there was “Steelers Fever.” But it’s pretty hard to top this story about a deceased Steelers fan whose viewing was really, well, something to view.
I say, it’s your life, be remembered how you wish. But from a tax perspective, I wonder if the additional costs to set up this kind of viewing were accepted by the Department of Revenue as “normal”…?
