Illinois vs Iowa

[WorldsBestBoss]

No...not football (that would probably go to the Hawkeyes unfortunately).
I am close to 2 Illinois boats Jumers Rock Island and Para-a-Dice Peoria.  Peoria is owned by Boyd Corp that owns much of downtown Vegas - they do have the best comps I've noticed...meals, free hotel stays, and cash at the cage.
 
On the Iowa side there is Catfish Bend in Burlington and two in the Quad Cities (close to Jumers above) which are Isle of Capri Bettendorf and Rythym City Davenport.  The last two are co-owned.
 
QUESTION:  Is anyone aware of state law diferences that might make one states boats pay better than the other?  I made several trips to all these boats in 2009 and ended up in the hole at all of them.  My gut feeling is that Iowa pays a little better but you have to put up with smoking.  This year I am doing more VP and less slots, so things are looking a little better for 2010.
 
p.s.  I have been to Vegas twice.  I tried to hit as many casinos as I could.  My top 3 were Mandalay Bay, MGM, and The Flamingo.

[wilcoxfun]

I think your gut is right as Iowa seems to have better pay tables.  I have hit in both states where it was taxable and since I am out of state I did not pay a state tax in either state.  That might have change last year since I did not hit any taxable jackpots.

[shadowman]

State laws have an effect on what games casinos can put in, however, nothing is hidden. You can check out the pay tables for yourself and see the differences.


 
That said, I know IL has a max of 100% (progressives may get higher). I'm not sure about IA.

[royal flush]

thats one good thing about vp vs. slots

[BillyJoe]

I live in Florida, but I have family in Illinois, so I have played at Illinois casinos. There is no state tax owed on reported $1200 jackpots earned at Illinois casinos if you qualify as a non-resident. There are a few quircky things, though, if you are a resident of one of their neighboring states, so watch out for that.
As for Iowa, I played a little a few years ago out in Council Bluffs, but no jackpot, so I do not know how they treat state taxes on reported winnings.
I lived in Quad Cities (Moline) for a while before the boats came to town. Might be fun to take a trip out there some time. Things have probably changed.. 

[WorldsBestBoss]

I used to live in Moline too...things have changed.  You have 3 gambling boats withing a few miles of each other.  Of course, most of the games are the same at each place.  On a non-gambling note, you may have left before they built the I-Wireless Center (originally "The Mark of the QC") which hosts some big name shows as well as minor league hockey.