Absolutely I'm talking about washing them, and allowing the washing puts the house in a worse spot, hence the disadvantage...

I'm not sure about the table tips point- I'd argue it with the IRS as a cost of the transaction, and expense against the income. Might well fail but I think it's right in principle, I'm certainly not trying to be underhand with the reporting here. In fact large poker tournaments have forced tipping so the IRS w4 for that win would be interesting to see if it was net or gross of the tip.

Also, I believe I read somewhere that pro gamblers can expense all manner of things such as travel and accomodation (if it isn't comped). I wonder what it takes to be considered a pro... Have to look into that.