What the Main Event finalists might pay in tax
Some players keep every cent of their winnings and one player will pay 48.21% to the Tax Man, Find out who got lucky in the tax lottery.
The winners have been paid, now all that is left to do from the WSOP Main Event is remind ourselves why so many professional poker players move to the United Kingdom. It's time to see what the final table is likely to pay in tax on their winnings.
As always thanks to Russ Fox of Taxable Talk, who does this every year. This is what he estimates each player pays in tax on their winnings.
| Position | Player | Home | Prize | Prize after tax | Tax % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Epsen Jorstad | United Kingdom | $10,000,000 | $10,000,000 | 0% |
| 2nd | Adrian Attenborough | Nevada, United States | $6,000,000 | $3,611,125 | 39.81% |
| 3rd | Michael Duek | Florida, United States | $4,000,000 | $2,406,936 | 39.83% |
| 4th | John Eames | United Kingdom | $3,000,000 | $3,000,000 | 0% |
| 5th | Matija Dobric | Croatia | $2,250,000 | $1,575,000 | 30% |
| 6th | Jeffrey Farnes | Oregon, United States | $1,750,000 | $950,312 | 45,70% |
| 7th | Aaron Duczak | Canada | $1,350,000 | $945,000 | 29.61% |
| 8th | Phillipe Souki | United Kingdom | $1,075,000 | $1,075,000 | 0% |
| 9th | Matthew Su | Washington, United States | $850,675 | $444,921 | 47.70% |
| 10th | Asher Conniff | New York, United States | $675,000 | $349,598 | 48.21% |
He was already the big winner, but Epsen Jorstad will today be patting himself for moving to London from Norway. As a result, because gambling winnings are not taxed in the UK, he takes home every cent of his $10 million prize.
By comparison, Australian Adrian Attenborough is a Las Vegas Resident and as such will pay just under $2.3 million in tax on his $6 million prize.
He may have come 4th, but because he is English John Eames will take home more than Michael Duek of Florida who came 3rd. Eames keeps all of his $3 million in winnings while Duek only keeps on to $2,406,936 of his $4 million prize.
Matja Dobric of Croatia will not pay any tax in his home country, but will have to pay 30% of his winnings to the IRS in the United States because a tax treaty between Croatia and the US has not come into force yet.
Frenchman Phillipe Souki may have come 8th, but because he also moved to the United Kingdom he leapfrogs Jeffrey Farnes and Aaron Duczak in the payouts, He keeps all his $1,075,000 in winnings whereas neither Farnes of Oregon and Duczak of Canada go home millionaires.
New Yorker Asher Conniff not only came 10th but he is also likely to pay the highest tax rate of anyone at the table of 48.21%.
In total $5,512,783 (17.81%) of the $30,950,675 won at the table was paid in tax, but not a penny goes to the UK government.
Were you surprised at any of these? Let us know in the comments:
