Okay, I haven't looked at McCain's tax returns. So no comment on whether he did or didn't report gambling losses or profits on his taxes.

He is a well known craps player though and does gamble. I have no issues with gambling myself. I would rather elect a poker player than a craps player. It takes more thinking to win at poker but that's neither here nor there right now.

Just thought this was interesting.

Watchdog targets McCain's gambling winnings

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington has made a name for itself by targeting ethically challenged Republicans over the years.

But will their latest charge may crap out if John McCain gets his way.

The group has called for the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate whether McCain violated any rules by failing to disclose gambling winnings on his annual Senate financial disclosure forms. CREW reveals no specific dollar amounts, but the group relies on a few news stories that say McCain won thousands of dollars at various casinos over the years.

It's no secret that McCain likes to shoot craps, but his campaign told Politico Thursday afternoon that McCain had no gambling winnings in 2006 or 2007. The CREW complaint cites a 2007 weekend in Las Vegas gambling at MGM among the reported incidents in which McCain walked away a winner.

"He had no gambling winnings in 2006 or 2007," McCain spokesman Brian Rogers said in an e-mail. "If he had, they would have been disclosed on his tax returns."

CREW also points to a New York Times report about a McCain visit to Foxwoods Casino in 2000 in which he won money but did not report it on his 2001 disclosure forms.

You can read the complaint here. CREW has no formal power to launch an investigation -- only the Ethics Committee can do that.

CREW did put some creative research into its complaint, listing several lawmakers who did report gambling winnings over the years, including Minority Leader John A. Boehner, who disclosed $2,700 in slot machine winnings in 2005, and Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.), who reported nearly $20,000 in winnings in 2005.

UPDATE: A McCain campaign official contacted Politico and contends that winnings don't have to be reported in disclosure forms. The campaign contends that neither the House nor the Senate has ever required disclosure of gambling winnings on financial disclosure reports as "earned income."

So there appears to be a discrepancy in how McCain is interpreting Senate disclosure rules, how CREW reads the rules, and how other members of Congress have interpreted rules when they have hit it big in casinos.

I gamble...SO he can gamble. More power to him

Like I said...this isn't about gambling.

It is about a failure to disclose it.

Everyone knows that when some if not many gamblers loses it affects their ability to make sound decisions. In addition there are issues related to McCain using his influence in past to help some Indian casinos politically.

One more time...not about gambling!!!

I dont disclose mine either

it matters not if he won a few thousand here and there


what matters is

if he made a profit from it

if he shot craps in say 2001 and lost 20,000

and he then shot again in 2001 and won 3000

he still has a net loss of 17000

We have several gambling boats in the St. Louis area.

Most people that I know disclose their amounts.

One woman that I know made a big win on the slots. She didn't claim it but the IRS found out and took it out of her taxes.

if you can prove you lost money at other times in the same year

and you lost more than you won

you do not have a profit

thus it is not taxable*

i know if you win the lottery in ohio if you have the losing tickets you bought they are deducted from the taxable amount of the winnings*




*check with your personal tax expert for validity of this statement