VEGAS MYTHS BUSTED: If Your ID is Expired, Your Jackpot is Forfeited
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Last week, a viral TikTok video showed a woman standing on a casino floor screaming bloody murder.
“Get me my money that I won!” she yells, pumping her fists and disturbing the players around her. Then a melodramatic voiceover worthy of the “in a world where” movie-trailer guy utters: “She won the jackpot, but expired ID equals no cash-out.”
What the video neglects to mention is that the screaming woman didn’t lose any money. She only provided the opportunity for one more unscrupulous social media user to gain views with misinformation designed to enrage.
Based on the comments, that objective was achieved.
“The casino will REACH for ANY reason NOT to pay a winner!!!” wrote Chris P.
“They didn’t care about her expired [ID] when she was putting the $ in and lost !?!?” added Dave.
If the winner of a jackpot can’t produce a valid photo ID (an unexpired driver’s license, other state-issued ID, or passport) and a Social Security/tax ID number, all U.S. casinos are required by federal law to store the winner’s payout until some later date when they can produce them.
Both items are required of anyone winning $1,200 or more on a slot or other video machine, or more than $10K in a table game. That’s because those are the amounts of action that trigger Uncle Sam to demand its piece, and strict rules are in place to ensure that it always gets it.
Non-U.S. residents also get taxed at a rate as high as 30%.
The rep will also usually photograph you to make sure that your friend with a valid ID doesn’t try to turn the receipt in. (See the “Reasons Casinos Can Deny Payment” section below.)
If the screaming woman ever sufficiently calmed down, she would have been given a deadline to return to the casino with a copy of the claim form and a valid ID and Social Security/tax ID number. The minimum time varies among gambling jurisdictions, but is always sufficient for most people to renew an expired ID or research a misplaced or forgotten Social Security number.
Usually, it’s 90 days. But casinos are allowed to keep the unclaimed cash on hand for as long as they wish, and many do.
