Hi guys. I'm new at the forum here but long time poker player. Tried the search function but didn't find an answer so appreciate any help.
Say i want to play abroad (for example las vegas or London) for $10-20k. Too much to bring in the hand luggage (right?).
What is the safest, quickest way without too high transaction costs to get the money ready to the table?

Thanks.

stick it in your pocket. easiest and cheapest way.

10 to 20K is not that big of an amount. You can fit it in your pockets.

I wouldn't trust wires to casinos, or trying to pick it up from western union. They will probably find a reason not to give it to you and then your screwed.

Wire transfer to the casino.

Yes you're going to pay $30 or whatever on it but it's the only sensible way.

You can bring that amount into the US in cash, just make sure you declare it. That is by far the easiest way. Just make sure you know the laws in both countries you're going to and returning to.

Otherwise do a wire transfer from your bank to casino, then back again. Will cost a but in fees, but otherwise easiest.

I brought 10k with me to vegas, i just put 5k in my backpack and 5k in my pocket - I flew from Virginia to Vegas. No one hassled me. In vegas I stayed at Harrahs asked the front desk for a lockbox and they gave me one with no hassle. No one even knew how much I put in there.

I think there are laws about carrying that much, but they didn't bother me. If they do give you a hassle just say i'm going to vegas and want to gamble, i don't think that should raise too many red flags. Also if you use an American bank like BOA or wells fargo, you can just withdraw from the bank at the place, and put it back in when you leave.

IANAL, but I think you can carry as much cash as you want around the US. You just have to worry about having it seized through asset forfeiture which is annoying and very anti-liberty, but what can you do.

Coming into the country, I don't believe there are limits, but you have to declare it.

Going into other countries they may have currency controls to worry about.

Within the U.S. borders, you can carry up to $10k in cash on a plane without declaring the amount you're carrying. Anything over that technically needs to be declared to U.S. customs officials (even if you're only flying locally). Of course, it's very easy to claim ignorance of the law if you're stopped carrying more than 10k. They just require you to fill out a customs form and will probably ask you a couple questions about what you plan to do with the money. Flying in and out of Vegas with that much cash is hardly ever an issue.

IANAL either but even if the probability of getting caught with cash is really low, the outcome (seizure of the cash and possible detention depending on how brown you are) is bad enough that the expected value is worse than -$30, which is what you spend wiring.

Within the U.S. you can carry any amount without declaring it. It can attract unwanted attention, but it's not illegal. Civil assett forfeiture is a concern though. Going in or out the U.S. you need to declare amounts over $10k. Not reporting this and trying to split it up has gone very poorly for many people. I agree that a wire is probably best for international.

Carrying that quantity of cash while traveling has a lot of risks. If you put it in a bag and the bag is lost or stolen your just out a lot of cash. If I were going to be taking that quantity of money traveling I would look for method that might make such an occurrence less likely or easier to recover. Going a casino it would seem a wire transfer would be a pretty safe and easy solution. Yes there is some expense but it should be a nominal price.

10k easily fits in one front pocket, for the record. i have never felt the least amount of risk flying to vegas with 10-15k. just fold it in half and rubber band it up. if you're not tsa pre-check, hold it in your hand when you go through the xray.

i also wouldn't be surprised if some casinos tried to charge more than just a norminal wire transfer fee, but i haven't tried recently so can't say for sure. you'd think they would want to make it as easy as possible for you to bring your money, but...casinos.

I too wouldn't be shocked if they charged you more than normal to wire OUT. Seems like a typical casino scam job.

Can you write a check to yourself and then cash the check when you get there? Seems like that would be easy, safe and not take up much space.

IOPTBAL carrying cash is as safe if not safer than wiring it. If you lose your ID, you can't get the money anyway. It's the same as dropping the cash except the cash is a lot harder to drop because you will definitely notice it. Go for the cash option ainec.

I am dubious of any claim of this sort which is not accompanied by an explanation of why civil asset forfeiture is not a concern.

That's absurd. If you lose your ID you don't lose the wired money you just are inconvenienced. If you lose cash it's gone.

As for you would know if you dropped your cash ... I suppose you think no one ever loses cash?

“There is absolutely no limit to the amount of currency a traveler can bring into or take out of the United States,” said Houston CBP Director of Field Operations Jud Murdock. “The only requirement is travelers must report aggregate amounts that reach or exceed $10,000.”

https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/local-m...-cash-seizures

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/internati...ors/kbyg/money

Quite a few press releases on this topic at Customs and Border Patrol.

as long as you keep your nose clean you won't get your assets taken away

it's not absurd. 10 to 20K is not that much money to carry with you at all. We're not talking about 250K here.

yes, people do lose cash but when it's wrapped in a rubber band almost phone book thik you are aware of it 24/7. When I'm walking with a lot of cash on me my hand or wrist is always confirming the money is there. Believe me, when you have 20K on you you're not going to forget about it's presence and lose it.

He probably takes bathroom breaks while leaving it there.

I'd pay a couple bucks to wire money over having to confirm all day that my money is still there.

FWIW: if you're going to Vegas, the ATM at Casino Royal charges only $1 per transaction, max. $1k. That's a fee of 0.1%. Go there, get $2-3k to play with and return if you need more.

It's definitely a concern, or should be. For a time it was looking like the Feds were trying to back away from the Equitable Sharing program and federal asset forfeiture in general (which would be good for these purposes, because we're primarily talking about Federal TSA agents who will see that you have it), but they've reversed course again and are back at it.

Having said that, I don't think I've heard of any cases of TSA agents seizing property under asset forfeiture laws. There was a widely reported DOJ finding about the DEA enrolling a TSA agent as a confidential informant, but apparently nothing ever came of that as a result. It seems the DEA is the group most responsible for airport-related asset forfeitures (and seemingly they actually do more of that at rail transport hubs), but it is alleged that they do this by data mining transportation records, so if you go to Vegas a lot it's possible they could target you. Anecdotally, though, LA and Miami are worse destinations for that.

On the other hand, based on occurrences per traveler trip, it's got to be a concern on the same order as that of flying to Vegas in the first place, or better yet traveling around in a car while you're there. There are plenty of bad things that can happen to you, but you just can't and shouldn't worry about all of them, or even most of them. And $20k is more meaningful to some people than others. And some people are more able to (pay to) fight to get it back than others.

Still, if $100 or so per trip in fees is worth it to you, then go for it.

This is naive and untrue. Asset forfeiture is one of the most anti-democratic and anti-liberty things happening in law enforcement today, and it can affect anyone, regardless of how clean their noses are. There are countless examples which demonstrate that. But despite the surreal unjustness of these cases, they frankly aren't all that common compared to all the trips taken.

Again, this is too broad. You might not forget about it, but even that I doubt. Your brain is good about forgetting things it doesn't think are important in the moment. And $20k is play money to some people, too. Everything is relative.

if you're smart about it, the money is going to be deep in your pockets where it has no chance to "fall out", or it's carried in a bag that never leaves your hand.

you can walk outside and a meteor might fall on you, or a car may go out of control and run you over. Life if full of risks, but that doesn't mean we should hide in a cave somewhere. Just live it instead.

fwiw, if you do lose the 20K and your life is turned upside down, then you shouldn't have been risking the money by gambling it in the first place.

I don't disagree with the notion that carrying this cash is an acceptable risk. Quite honestly I would probably carry it myself for domestic travel.

But the fact is that for large sums of money wiring it is safer. So if you are concerned then as long as the costs are nominal.... why not wire it.

The argument that you won't lose it because your going to pay special attention to it just doesn't seem to me to be realistic. It's like not wearing a seat belt because you are going to drive extra carefully.

I agree with all that, except that there is any place that money (or anything, really) has "no chance" of being lost from. There's always a chance.