An IRS Tax form a casino issues to players who "win" under certain condition. For video poker, a W2-G must be issued for "wins" of $1200 or more. The $1200 threshold is fixed and independent of amount wagered. Ironically, a $5 50-play Video Poker machine (played at max-bet of $1250), a $1200 payout would represent a loss. To comply with the IRS law, Video Poker and slot machines "lock up" upon a $1200 or more "win" and the player must wait for a slot attendant to both unlock the machine (and return it to normal play conditions) and bring the tax form. Non-US residents (non-resident aliens) and players without proper identification (and do not produce a TIN) will have tax withholding taken from their W2-G payouts, while others can opt to receive the entire win. At many casinos, players can request a "reset" which may allow them to return to playing quicker had they had to wait to receive the tax form and payout in the normal means. Often resets are only available in high limit rooms. Players may also request a consolidated W2-G, in which case they will receive a single W2-G for all their jackpots for a specified period of time (usually the "slot day") rather then one W2-G for each win. In general, IRS Form 1099 are not given for Video Poker wins (unless the win involves a free drawing or lottery scenario). Neither a W2-G or 1099 are given for wins paid in "Free Play".
A video poker game in which the wagering of a sixth coin (assuming the base game is a five coin max game) triggers a new mode that gives the player a bonus whenever there is a (natural) four of a kind. The average bonus is approximately 428 units, and it increases the return (relative to the base game) of all video poker games except for (most) wild card games, such as Deuces Wild. The Wheel Poker feature increases the variance of games and necessitates strategy changes to achieve the best return.
