I just spent a few minutes checking out tax filing status on gambling winnings. Why? Because I had a better night than usual at HiWay Pizza, and it was the championship night for the series. Apparently they weren't kidding about a serious prize for the final winner. Having read over the W-2G instructions, it looks like my winnings are not *quite* serious enough to qualify for filing. Please correct me if I'm mis-reading that webpage, but it *looks* like the minimum reporting amount is $600 per wager. Now, this is an insanely high minimum reporting requirement, and it totally excludes the professional poker players who make their living at the $10-$25 tables in the real casinos, but if it means that I don't have to do the paperwork on my (by IRS standards, modest) one-time free-tournament windfall, I'm all for it. Meanwhile, this sucker is going straight into savings, you betcha.

Oh, yes: WAAHOO! What a night to catch fire!