The rather significant tax owed would shock you, as the top players from WSOP’s Main Event are reported to have a rather big chunk of their winnings taken away. Of the $30 million-plus won during the final table alone, the tax might just be crippling.
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If you can believe it, the two-week-long event is already over. The action-packed battle for the championship had its ups and downs, its twists and turns. One of the players has prevailed – Hossein Ensan is the newest WSOP Main Event champion. This German player topped the field of 8 569 players that entered the event and claimed the $10 million prize for first place.
The other two players from the final table, Dario Sammartino (Italy) and Alex Livingston ranked second and third respectively. Sammartino took second for $6 million and Livingston third for $4 million. Both of them making around an additional $1 million each for making the final table.
Or Did They?
The part that the tax plays in the event is nothing new, however, the figures are still surprising. The tax obligations faced by each of the nine top players of WSOP’s Main Event each had an eyebrow-raising deduction made on their winnings. The actual profits are much lower than the reflected amounts. These winnings may seem astronomical but after the tax deductions, they’re at a more moderate level of shocking.
Since the players that take part in the even come from nine different nationalities, their tax deductions depend on their respective tax burdens. They all share the same fate: a shocking percentage of their winnings deducted. Reports state that the total of the tax deducted comes to a figure that is higher than the first-place prize of $10 million.
Looking at the first-place winner Ensan, his status as an amateur is important regarding Germany’s tax legislation. A law that was passed two years ago in Germany stated that players only have to pay income tax on their winnings if they are categorized as professional players. It is yet to be seen whether Ensan will get to keep the entirety of his first-place winnings. If he does have to have tax deducted, it will come to around $4.6 million if the professional player tax percentage is ruled to apply to him.
Nick Marchinton is the only player that is guaranteed a tax exemption. This is because Marchington resides in the UK. The UK does not tax gambling winnings. This means that the accumulated tax amount owed from this event doesn’t include this player’s contribution.
Counting Ensan’s potential tax ruling, the total that all nine players will have to pay in tax will come to a staggering total of $11 972 653 out of the accumulated $30.825 million. This comes to nearly 39% from the WSOP Main Event going toward taxes around the world.
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