Home / Poker News November 2011 / The Poker Grapevine – November Nine Taxes
The Poker Grapevine – November Nine Taxes
Posted by: James Carter. - Mon, 2011-11-21 12:22
Every year, the
WSOP final table participants (November Niners) are the envy of the poker world, and of just about everyone who hears/reads about the fabulous prizes awarded to these players. People seldom even consider the fact that for many of these players, these winnings are considered taxable income, and they’re often forced to hand over sizeable chunks of their prizes to various authorities in various parts of the world.
The top negative example in this respect is Denmark’s Peter Eastgate, the winner of the 2008 Main Event, who reportedly handed over 73% of his haul to the Danish authorities. Thus, of the $9.1 million, Eastgate took home less than $3 million, which – if true – is quite a disastrous turn of events for him indeed. Most of the November Niners are subjects to taxation, but nobody is as shamelessly robbed as Eastgate was supposedly. This year, of the $28.3 million awarded in the shape of prizes at the final table, 18.9% went to taxes. Last year, that percentage was 43%. Why is the discrepancy that obvious? Well, it appears that this year not all final tablists were subject to taxation. The winner, Pius Heinz took down $8.7 million, of which exactly 0 cents will go to the German state. In Germany, a country which has a Tax Treaty with the US, winnings resulting from gambling aren’t taxed, because gambling – quite reasonably – is considered an after-tax use of money. Fair or not, this way Heinz will get to spend all his winnings himself, while for Eastgate, Big Brother took care of that.
In other news: Phil Ivey has been struggling with bad luck lately: on top of the rumors that he was broke, word now has it that his ex-wife, Luciaetta, has filed a petition with the Nevada Supreme Court, claiming that the original judgment in their 2009 divorce was biased. Ivey has apparently made a $5k donation to judge Bill Gonzalez some months after the divorce.
