The annual Super Bowl bacchanalia approaches, but American gamblers and casinos operators have already witnessed the misplay of the season with the congressional fumble of the commonsense FAIR BET Act.

Officially known as the Fair Accounting for Income Realized from Betting Earnings Taxation, the bill was introduced in July by Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) in an attempt to reverse a recent federal gambling tax policy change that reduced the amount of losses bettors could deduct from their taxes from 100 percent to 90 percent. Titus has rightly called the policy change a “tax increase on Americans who gamble.”

Titus’ bill amounted to a swift fix of a damaging mistake contained in President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act that threatens to hobble gamblers across the country with an unfair tax on winnings.

FAIR BET quickly picked up 23 co-sponsors and bipartisan support that included Nevada House members Reps. Steven Horsford (D), Susie Lee (D) and Mark Amodei (R). Clearly weighing the politics of the Trump era, the American Gaming Association (AGA) and many influential members of the industry were initially much slower to express strong opinions about the damaging impact the change would have on casino customers.

The vast American gambling community, however, has been lighting up social media for months expressing outrage over the approach of the unfair tax. Under the current provision, gamblers could break even for the year and still owe taxes on their winnings.

Titus pushed through the fall and the AGA and casino CEOs found their voices, but she was surprised as anyone that a bill that impacts so many states was snubbed by Republican-chaired committees. FAIR BET failed to be inserted as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.

In the new year, just about everyone is trying to recover this bouncing political football.

A House version of Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s (D-NV) FULL HOUSE Act was introduced this week by Horsford and Ohio Rep. Max Miller (R). Officially the Facilitating Useful Loss Limitations to Help Our Unique Service Economy Act, it’s a mouthful that attempts to correct a law that Horsford says is “fundamentally unfair.” He adds in a statement, “This policy would drive tourism across our state elsewhere.” This bill also enjoys bipartisan support in both houses.

After Cortez Masto’s attempt to reverse the gambling provision failed, she told The Associated Press, “My understanding is many Republicans, many Democrats did not even know it was part of that process.”

With so much support, you’d think it would be game over. But not so fast.

By my count, there are three bills in the House and one in the Senate. All have bipartisan support. Titus’ bill is the simplest and contains just a few words, a veritable fortune cookie by congressional standards, but whatever bill gains steam, it will have to do so under Trump’s cloud of chaos in 2026.

“Everybody wants a piece of it now that it’s very popular, and gaming is on board and wants to fix it,” Titus says. “There are show horses and there are work horses. There are those who do the heavy lifting and those who come for the photo op. And you can figure out who’s who.

“I’ve said all along, I don’t care what vehicle we use, we just need to get it fixed.”

The gambling world is watching. Sports betting and casino industry websites continue to follow developments closely. They recognized the obvious hustle unfolding in Washington is more chaos, and chaos is bad for business. An NBC News story echoed the sentiment under a headline, “Bettors are worried Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ could cause professional gambling in the U.S. to fold.”

Overstated? Perhaps. But what amounts to a 10 percent tax on a break-even bankroll would bury plenty of gamblers — and not just the minnows or the poker players, as some gaming industry numbskull first suggested. It’s bad for them and worse for the state’s largest and most politically influential industry.

There’s still time left on the 2026 congressional clock, but the delay makes the Democrats look like they have a communications problem and the lone Republican like he needs to learn to raise his voice on behalf of his constituents. Say it ain’t so.

Now, about Amodei. He was chided for admitting he didn’t know of the existence of the change in the gambling tax code, but in fairness the amendment wasn’t in the House bill. It came from the Senate side. It was introduced by Idaho Republican Sen. Mike Crapo and was, at best, an ill-conceived attempt to raise revenue tucked inside a behemoth piece of legislation that is projected to cost the country more than $3.4 trillion.

At this point, maybe it’s time to set politics aside and remember the words popularly attributed to Vince Lombardi. When it comes to defeating this stinker of a tax, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”

John L. Smith is an author and longtime columnist. He was born in Henderson and his family’s Nevada roots go back to 1881. His stories have appeared in New Lines, Time, Reader’s Digest, Rolling Stone, The Daily Beast, Reuters and Desert Companion, among others.

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Freshman quarterback Charli Taylor passed for five touchdowns as Liberty’s flag football team rolled to its seventh consecutive victory Friday night, defeating host Bishop Gorman 36-24.

The Patriots (10-2, 3-0 Class 5A) shook off a slow start, as the offense came alive in the second half against the Gaels (9-4, 1-2). Taylor was the catalyst for Liberty, finishing 30-for-39 passing for 284 yards and the five scores.

“We had a rough start with a lot of mistakes, but they settled down in the second half and played Liberty football,” Patriots coach Al Tucay said. “I think the girls played well — they responded.”

Liberty is catching fire at the perfect time. After a Dec. 6 loss to Shadow Ridge, the Patriots have outscored opponents 293-56 during the current win streak.

To keep that run going, Liberty had to overcome a powerful Gorman offense, led by elusive senior quarterback Avery Reed.

Reed got the Gaels on the board first, connecting with senior receiver Olivia Cobell on a 53-yard touchdown pass to give Gorman a 6-0 lead. Cobell battled a Liberty defender for a contested catch, bobbling the ball a couple times before securing it and running about 20 yards to the end zone.

On the next drive, sophomore wide receiver Trishelle Tucay caught a pass from Taylor and sprinted for a long touchdown. A two-point conversion gave the Patriots an 8-6 lead.

Gorman responded midway through the second quarter on a 3-yard pass from Reed to freshman wideout Malia Browner to put the Gaels up 12-8. Liberty tried to score once more just seconds before halftime, but Gorman senior defensive back Sienna Gostanian snagged a touchdown-saving interception in the end zone.

From there, the Patriots made adjustments and Taylor got in a groove. She connected with sophomore wideouts Siaosina Leau and Rocsi Bitanga for third quarter scores, putting Liberty ahead 22-12 and giving the Patriots a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Gorman scored on the opening play of the fourth quarter, on a 10-yard pass from Reed to senior receiver Preseah Williams to cut the deficit to 22-18. But two more Patriot touchdown passes by Taylor — to Leau and senior WR Aniyah Dela Cruz — put the game out of reach.

The Gaels reached paydirt once more with 39 seconds remaining in the game on another Reed-to-Cobell touchdown. Reed went 18-for-37 passing for 272 yards and four touchdowns, with two interceptions.

Trishelle Tucay hauled in seven catches for a team-high 101 yards and a touchdown for Liberty.