I thought this would be of interest to just about everyone who reads this BB.

http://www.fortune.com:80/fortune/investor/2000/10/30/txc.html

But because even amateur gamblers are supposed

to pay taxes on their winnings (and can adjust for

their losses), the IRS mandates that he keep

precise records of every session he plays all year.

If Raymer, 36, plays one hand and then switches

tables--yep, he has to make a whole new entry. It's

as tedious as, well, filling out tax forms--only

Raymer has to do it hundreds of times a year.

Come tax season he'll compile all his notebook

entries for the year and tally up his wins and

losses for the IRS.

Serious collectors, for instance, who do a lot of

buying and selling, bear no small amount of IRS

scrutiny. "I have clients who are wine collectors,

coin collectors, art collectors, baseball collectors

... you name it," says Ralph Anderson, a partner

at Eisner tax consulting in New York City. "When

you have rare collectibles like that, you have to

keep meticulous records." The requirements, he

says, "drive all my clients nuts."