Carrying Cash game winnings around

[AlexN89]

Hi there,

My name is Alex in from the UK. I’m travelling to canada at the end of this year to play full time poker Live. I’ll be playing everyday. Ive spoke to a casino in Montreal and they’re happy for me to wire $ to them before hand so when I want money to play I can just go to the cashiers desk and withdraw from my balance.

My question is; Assuming I’m winning X amount each day, by the end of my trip I’ll have all this cash. Could be 30k +. I don’t really want to travel to the UK or US with that kind of Cash on me.

They’re not going to wire it to me because it will be small amounts each day not like a jackpot won in a single day.

Any tips would be much appreciated
Kind regards

 

[rachelle2291]

Well you certainly are optimistic! I think Montreal has some very good poker players. I guess if it was me I would just go in a bank in Montreal and open up an account and take the cash in there every day and deposit it in your account. When it comes time to go home get them to wire the money to your bank in England.

 

[pockerman]

Is this really a problem in today's world? Of course, I understand that declarations and all that in the modern world affects anyone, and that it is not very easy to transfer cash without an electronic trace, but there are organizations such as Western Union and the like that do not really follow the rules, and you can use them to transfer money without revealing identity.
Ps this is more a question than a statement, just in case =))

 

[Tigroslav]

Just save it up and before your trip back ask them to wire all of it back.
(Save some for snacks and drinks in the airport)

 

[terryk]

I love your confidence,,,,i hope you still have it after you see the level of poker we play up here in Canada,,, GL mate!!

 

[daddybrooks]

Honestly, if you're not going to be there long enough to open a local bank, you can always just use your casino account for storage. Also, just call your UK bank and ask for the easiest way to deposit from Canada. I'll bet they'll have no problem giving you an easy solution.

 

[AlexN89]

Thanks for the reply’s

Yeh

1. Hope I can I can open an account as a tourist. Sure it’s going to be tough with no SIN number. All I’ll have is a passport (uk) driving licence (uk) and the address of an Airbnb I’m staying at.

 

[teepack]

Yea. This is gonna work out great!!

 

[DS3]

Yeh

1. Hope I can I can open an account as a tourist. Sure it’s going to be tough with no SIN number. All I’ll have is a passport (uk) driving licence (uk) and the address of an Airbnb I’m staying at.

Apparently if you have ID it should not be a problem to open a bank account at a Canadian bank as a foreign visitor.

However, I would imagine that remitting funds, especially if you have been making on-going gambling deposits (I presume you are going to be upfront when establishing such an account) could prove a little tricky. I would iron all such details out with bank staff before bothering to open an account.

I am inclined to agree as above and I might plan to use a company such as Western Union (though the fees will likely sting).

 

[AlexN89]

Banking

Apparently if you have ID it should not be a problem to open a bank account at a Canadian bank as a foreign visitor.

However, I would imagine that remitting funds, especially if you have been making on-going gambling deposits (I presume you are going to be upfront when establishing such an account) could prove a little tricky. I would iron all such details out with bank staff before bothering to open an account.

I am inclined to agree as above and I might plan to use a company such as Western Union (though the fees will likely sting).

Yeh I mean I’d open a bank account if allowed ( so much mixed info online) some say you can open an account others say you can not. That will be a something I’ll not know until I’m there.
I spoke to a very well known poker player yesterday and asked what he did when he won 80k playing cash games in Vegas. He said he just put it in his backpack and just declared it when he came through border control. I mean I always knew that was an option, just a nerve racking thought that there is always a small % chance of your cash being seized.

Never used a western union. Will look into that.

 

[SpanRmonka]

Have you used Revolut? Its an App that you can transfer funds from one currency to another with no fees, also with very very good exchange rates. I've not found better in the UK.

Even if you choose not to use it, its very easy to deposit some £ and check exchange rate to convert, as it updates in real time, so just check it out and see what you think.


You get a bank card, and so far it seems to auto spend in the local currency. I've only tested this in Poland so far. But also used to deposit in US$ on ACR with no fees.

I assume you can then use this card to get chips at the casino. My only doubt about this method would be any winnings, would a casino deposit winnings back into the account you paid with. I would assume so, but I'm not a casino regular, so don't know for sure!

 

[AlexN89]

Cash

Have you used Revolut? Its an app that you can transfer funds from one currency to another with no fees, also with very very good exchange rates. I've not found better in the UK.

Even if you choose not to use it, its very easy to deposit some £ and check exchange rate to convert, as it updates in real time, so just check it out and see what you think.


You get a bank card, and so far it seems to auto spend in the local currency. I've only tested this in Poland so far. But also used to deposit in US$ on ACR with no fees.

I assume you can then use this card to get chips at the casino. My only doubt about this method would be any winnings, would a casino deposit winnings back into the account you paid with. I would assume so, but I'm not a casino regular, so don't know for sure!

thanks for your message. I’ll take a look at your suggestion.

The real issue and main reason for the original post is what to do with CASH.
They won’t wire this money to you because they say there is no way for them to keep track of where you made that cash. The only time they will do this is if you win a big poker jackpot like a high hand or if your a slot machine player (which I’m not), they’ll wire a large hand pay (jackpot) to you if you don’t want it in cash.
So at the end of the trip I’m going to have a lot of excess Cash. Ordinarily if i was in UK I’d just go to my bank and deposit it but I’ll be in a foreign country where I don’t have a bank account. You see my problem?

 

[SpanRmonka]

thanks for your message. I’ll take a look at your suggestion.

The real issue and main reason for the original post is what to do with CASH.
They won’t wire this money to you because they say there is no way for them to keep track of where you made that cash. The only time they will do this is if you win a big poker jackpot like a high hand or if your a slot machine player (which I’m not), they’ll wire a large hand pay (jackpot) to you if you don’t want it in cash.
So at the end of the trip I’m going to have a lot of excess Cash. Ordinarily if i was in UK I’d just go to my bank and deposit it but I’ll be in a foreign country where I don’t have a bank account. You see my problem?

So the casino always paysout in cash they won't just put it back on the card you used to pay with, kind of like a refund. Seems like they have not yet modernised, or at least are unwilling to for some reason! haha. I would have thought by making an electronic payment to you it would be much easier to work out where the money came from!

Well, hopefully this will get your money there cheaper at least. Good luck with the trip, but like others have said, it may not be as easy as you imagine to make this money! The Candians I play with from CC are tough competitors!

 

[AlexN89]

So the casino always paysout in cash they won't just put it back on the card you used to pay with, kind of like a refund. Seems like they have not yet modernised, or at least are unwilling to for some reason! haha. I would have thought by making an electronic payment to you it would be much easier to work out where the money came from!

Well, hopefully this will get your money there cheaper at least. Good luck with the trip, but like others have said, it may not be as easy as you imagine to make this money! The Candians I play with from CC are tough competitors!

I’ll post an update in the future and let people know what happend

 

[Jillychemung]

Alex,

Doing a bit of searching and I find this https://wise.com/gb/blog/taking-cash-in-or-out-of-canada

How much cash can you take out of Canada?

Canada doesn’t have any rules about how much cash you can take out of the country, though you’ll still have to make a customs declaration if you’re carrying more than C$10,000 (or the foreign currency equivalent) in cash. However, the country you’re going to may have its own rules about how much cash you can bring in. Make sure to do your research depending on which country you’re headed to.


And https://wise.com/us/blog/taking-cash-in-or-out-of-the-uk

How much cash can you bring into the UK? What are the limits?

The full name for the UK is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It’s made up of four countries - England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and the rules about bringing cash in - or taking it out - of the United Kingdom apply equally to all four countries.
There are no limits on how much money you can bring into the UK from another EU country. In this case, this covers the 28 current EU member states, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway.
If you’re travelling to the UK from a country outside of the EU, you can bring in up to €10,000 - or the equivalent in another currency - without needing to take any specific action. Carry in excess of that, and you’ll have to complete a declaration when you arrive - more on that later.
Declaring cash when you arrive

The form you’ll need, to declare currency when you arrive in the UK, is called a C9011 form. Catchy, huh?
You can get a copy at the port or airport when you arrive in the UK, or download it using the link above. You have to have 2 copies, so if you choose to print it from a download, make sure you carry an extra, completed copy with you. If you’re filling it in upon arrival, the form you’re given will automatically create a carbon copy as you write it.
You’ll have to leave one copy in a drop box which you can find in the port or airport on arrival, and keep the second copy to show customs officers as you pass over the border.

 

[bj999]

depends

Depends how long your going to stay. Short trip save your daily winning in hotel safe. Don't carry large amounts of cash outside of the casino. Day before you leave put all your cash into chips. When you cash out ask for a check because it's over 2500 or 5000 can't reminder. It will be reported if you this way.

If your trying to hide your winning. Go and get cashiers check. I think it's 10 grand max. Problem is cashing them. You use a bank it reporteds anything over 2500.

Have any friend s that live there? Trust them with your money? If you do they can slowly add to any type of cash app. Cartel use this method.

Open a bit coin account. It's traceable too. International flights have a limit on how much cash you can carry on ab plane. Cash have a little slip in each bill. The matalic in that slip shows in scanner. So don't put in luggage. Thirty grand isn't that much. Throw into a back pack your carrying on. 3 bundles fit into a camera bag. Good luck.

 

[Niykk]

I store the cash in a money belt under clothes.