Originally Posted by MisterV View Post
I've never been audited by the IRS nor have I appeared in tax court so I cannot answer your queries with first hand information.

I do know that audits are pretty informal, at least when compared to tax court.

A CPA is probably not required for an audit, but if one did the return he/she should be there.
I had something one year. It happened to be a year that my partner and I had more than usual, machine play winning, along with hand pay w-2's.

Actually maybe it was the year after that and that is what triggered. The tax guy called and said we needed documentation for some of the write off stuff. So I "updated some logs" and dropped them off at his office. He sent them along to the IRS. I don't know if he attended any kind of meeting or not. Don't think so. I certainly didn't. A while later and it was a while, he informed me everything was good. So I don't know if that was actually an audit or some kind of review. maybe a pre-audit review, if there is such a thing.

I now try to keep better records. I didn't even know each blackjack table had a number like machines do. Sometimes you can see the number (usually a letter and number) in the very corner of the table, behind the shoe if there is one. Sometimes you can't even see the number, it is on the back of the table facing the pit away from players. Or you can't see it unless you walk around to other side of pit.

Anyway the whole logs as a record of play is pretty silly. The IRS won't accept casino win/loss but they accept a players written logs. That is all I am going to say. I try to pay my fair share. I honestly do. But that is a silly way of proving proof of anything.