WASHINGTON (KOLO & AP) — Nevada lawmakers are ramping up efforts to restore a tax deduction they say is essential to protecting the state’s gaming industry—after Senate Republicans blocked an attempt to undo a provision buried in President Trump’s massive new budget law.
The change, set to take effect in 2026, limits gamblers to deducting only 90% of their losses against their winnings. Under current law, gamblers who itemize can deduct 100% of losses, dollar for dollar, up to the amount of their winnings.
Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) tried to reverse the change on the Senate floor Thursday, requesting unanimous consent for a bill that would restore the full deduction. But Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.) objected, stalling the measure and intensifying criticism from Cortez Masto and other Democrats.
“This makes no sense and it will do irreparable harm to our country’s gaming industry—especially in Nevada,” Cortez Masto said, warning the provision could drive events like the World Series of Poker offshore and into illegal markets.
Though her effort failed, Cortez Masto reintroduced the measure in committee, where it has bipartisan support. Nevada Rep. Dina Titus (D) introduced a House version called the Fair Bet Act, also co-sponsored by Republican Rep. Mark Amodei.
“The Senate got us into this mess,” Titus said in a statement. “Now it’s time for both chambers to unite behind my bipartisan Fair Bet Act to ensure that average and high-stakes gamblers do not pay taxes on money they never won.”
A Hidden Provision with Big Consequences
The provision in question was part of the 900-page “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” signed into law by President Trump last week. It includes sweeping tax cuts and spending changes, many of which lawmakers admit they’re only now beginning to fully understand.
“This new amendment would end professional gambling in the U.S. and hurt casual gamblers too,” pro poker player Phil Galfond warned on social media ahead of the bill’s passage.
Some lawmakers—including Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee—say they weren’t aware the gambling provision was in the bill until just days before the vote.
“Now I see Republican senators walking all over the Capitol saying they didn’t even know anything about this policy,” Wyden said. “When you rush a process like this and cram in policies you haven’t thought through, you risk serious consequences.”
The change could disproportionately impact professional gamblers and high-stakes players who itemize. For example, under the new law, someone who wins and loses $100,000 in the same year would still owe taxes on $10,000—despite breaking even.
Budget Tradeoffs and Political Gridlock
Republicans say the gambling deduction change was necessary to comply with reconciliation rules, allowing them to pass the legislation without Democratic support. It’s expected to raise $1.1 billion in tax revenue over eight years, according to the Congressional Budget Office, though the bill overall will add nearly $3.3 trillion to the deficit.
Sen. Young said he supports the change but would only consider undoing it if Democrats agreed to other provisions in return. “I strongly support the underlying bill, but will have to object unless you can agree to my request,” he said on the Senate floor.
Despite the setback, Cortez Masto says she’s not giving up. “I’m disappointed, but I’m not done,” she said. “We’ll continue to work to try to get S2230 passed. It’s just common sense.”
Copyright 2025 KOLO. All rights reserved.
A recent Review-Journal letter to the editor mischaracterized Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act, also known as the Clark County Lands bill. As the former executive director of the Nevada Conservation League, I wholeheartedly support this legislation, so I wanted to set the record straight.
Sen. Cortez Masto has been working on this bill for years in partnership with state and local governments, conservation groups like the NCL and local area tribes. It’s true that the Clark County lands bill would open 25,000 acres to help Las Vegas grow responsibly, while setting aside 2 million acres for conservation. It would also help create more affordable housing throughout the valley while ensuring our treasured public spaces can be preserved for generations to come.
What is not correct is that the money from these land sales would go to the federal government’s coffers. In fact, the opposite is true.
The 1998 Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act is a landmark bill that identified specific public land for future sale and created a special account ensuring all land sale revenues would come back to Nevada. In accordance with that law 5 percent of revenue from land transfers goes to the state of Nevada for general education purposes, 10 percent goes to the Southern Nevada Water Authority for needed water infrastructure and 85 percent supports conservation and environmental mitigation projects in Southern Nevada. This legislation has provided billions to Clark County and will continue to benefit generations of Southern Nevadans. Sen. Cortez Masto’s lands bill builds upon the act’s success.
So here’s the good news: All of the money generated from land made available for sale under Sen. Cortez Masto’s bill would be sent to the special account created by the 1998 law. Rather than going to an unaccountable federal government, the proceeds would continue to help kids in Vegas get a better education, bolster outdoor recreation and modernize Southern Nevada’s infrastructure.
I know how important it is that money generated from the sale of public land in Nevada stay in the hands of Nevadans, and so does the senator. That’s why she opposed a Republican effort last year to sell off 200,000 acres of land in Clark County and other areas of the country that would have sent those dollars directly to Washington.
Public land management in Nevada should benefit Nevadans. We should protect sacred cultural sites and beloved recreation spaces, responsibly transfer land for affordable housing when needed and ensure our state has the resources it needs to grow sustainably. I will continue working with Sen. Cortez Masto to advocate for legislation, such as the Clark County lands bill, that puts the needs of Nevadans first.
Paul Selberg writes from Las Vegas.
click to expand photos
Las Vegas High’s baseball team claimed a 3-2 home win over Coronado on Friday.
Las Vegas (9-13-1) next hosts Rancho at 10 a.m. Saturday. Coronado (13-14) hosts Chaparral at 3:30 p.m. Monday.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Nevada’s jobless rate is holding steady, but the state is still adding jobs.
A new report from DETR shows February’s unemployment rate unchanged at 5.3 percent, with the labor force growing by nearly 3,800 people.
MORE ON FOX5: Nevada unemployment rate rises to 5.3% in January
Nevada now has about 1.6 million nonfarm jobs, up 2.2 percent over the past year and 1,500 more jobs than in January.
“This month’s report shows a strengthening labor market,” said David Schmidt, Chief Economist. ”Compared to the report for January, the pace of job gains in the past year increased from 1.9% to 2.2%, building on what was already the fastest pace of job growth in the country. While the unemployment rate remained stable, the labor force participation rate rose to 63.7%, 1.7 percentage points higher than the national level.”
In Las Vegas, employment ticked up by 1,100 jobs in February, about 0.1 percent, and is up more than 25,000 jobs compared to last year.
Reno added 1,000 jobs on the month, while Carson City shed about 200 but is still slightly above where it was a year ago.
Copyright 2026 KVVU. All rights reserved.
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