Re: article on canadian casinos
 

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If two poker players have equal talent, how can the one in America possibly make more money than the one playing in Canada if they play the same limit game?

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How many 4000/8000 games are there in Canada? How many 10k tourneys each year?

When people want to go on a gambling vacation, what do they think of first, Las Vegas or Canada?

Pros prefer vegas.
Tourists prefer vegas.

Thread over.

Re: article on canadian casinos
 

"How many 4000/8000 games are there in Canada? How many 10k tourneys each year?"

Holy Cow! How many professional poker players make their living playing 4000/8000? Not even Sklansky, and he casually admits to being one of the top 5 players in the world! Although maybe things have changed since I was in Vegas and there are dozens of tables being offered now at this limit. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

If, according to your reasoning, the highest limits determine the gambling location of choice, then it would be Dubai in the UAE or some places in Asia and the Orient with their whales. This is where hands of a million dollars are played.

As for 10K Tournaments, the WORLD Poker Tour has the highest buy ins, and they play...all over the WORLD. There are plenty of smaller tournaments in Canada. It is Vegas which hosts the WSOP, but maybe one day in the future they will change the venue to go on a world tour. The Olympics aren't only held in Greece anymore you know.

I love the irony of a nearly socialist country like Canada being the most financially beneficial country to gamble in for the average professional. It must give Anarcho Capitalists nervous breakdowns. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

Re: article on canadian casinos
 

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If, according to your reasoning, the highest limits determine the gambling location of choice,

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That's not my reasoning.

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As for 10K Tournaments, the WORLD Poker Tour has the highest buy ins, and they play...all over the WORLD. There are plenty of smaller tournaments in Canada.

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But how many, as compared to the US (or even just Vegas)?

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It is Vegas which hosts the WSOP, but maybe one day in the future they will change the venue to go on a world tour. The Olympics aren't only held in Greece anymore you know.

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Maybe one day canada will be better. But it's not now, and that's what we're talking about.

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I love the irony of a nearly socialist country like Canada being the most financially beneficial country to gamble in for the average professional. It must give Anarcho Capitalists nervous breakdowns. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

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Yes, I haven't slept in three days. If Canada is so much better, why did Negreanu leave there and go to Canada? Why doesn't Sklansky move there? How many people decide to become full-time gamblers and move to Canada vs. Vegas?

Living tax-free isn't so great if you're capping your income. The best players go where they can make the most money. Obviously some players will have other reasons to stay somewhere that might limit their income, but in general, the bulk of the players are going where they can maximize their income, and that's vegas.

This isn't a USA vs. Canada discussion. It isn't a socialist vs. capitalist discussion, either - the US is not *that* much less socialist than Canada. You seem to be taking your personal preference and assuming that every rational person would have the same preference, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Re: article on canadian casinos
 

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I love the irony of a nearly socialist country like Canada being the most financially beneficial country to gamble in for the average professional.

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pvn already said this but this really begs the question... Why are there so many more professional gamblers in Vegas than in Canada? Are you assuming that these people are not rational? Negreanu moved from Canada to Vegas (before he played nose-bleed stakes) to pursue his career in gambling. When doing a cost-benefit analysis, the vast majority of professional gamblers have deemed it more profitable to live in Vegas, regardless of the taxes.

Re: article on canadian casinos
 

Negreneau never renounced his Canadian citizenship. In fact he has a special poker visa. As a result, like other Canadians going to Vegas he is eligible to claim tax refunds that Americans can't.

Also, when he went, poker was not as widespread as it is now in Canada. Anybody in the late 90's definitely would have an advantage going to Vegas if they wanted to be recognized as the best in the world, which is what Negreneau wanted.

Of course, Canada is also cold! I love the dry desert climate of the American Southwest and want to move there myself as long as I can keep my Canadian tax advantages.

"When doing a cost-benefit analysis..." Strictly speaking, the average poker professional would do better in Canada from this perspective, so once the information is presented to them in an honest manner (which was not done in the original article) I am sure they will reconsider.

But people have all sorts of reasons for doing what they do. Getting the most money possible is not necessarily the top priority.

Re: article on canadian casinos
 

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You obviously don't like to be proved wrong:

A professional gambler in Canada does not pay income taxes, hence his health care is free.
[img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

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That is incorrect. A professional gambler in Canada does have to pay taxes on his winnings. There are only a few cases when we don't (ie, jackpot winnings or the lottery).

Re: article on canadian casinos
 

That is not correct. The subject was thoroughly discussed in the magazine forum under one of the "taxes" headings. Fulltime online gambling revenue is subject to debate as the CCRA has given contradictory rulings. Everything else is definitely tax free though.

Re: article on canadian casinos
 

http://www.recgroups.com/a/1/527770/

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showfl...part=1&vc=1

On the second one go to page 2

Re: article on canadian casinos
 

I like the fact that having a beer in the hand and not winning on a consistent daily basis can make one exempt. Only in Canada. [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

The CFE post was excellent and true by the letter of the law. Yet the CRA still rules exemptions in the cases brought up to them. I think the fact that the government runs the casinos at a profit has been looked upon as the key criteria in making one exempt.

To play it safe, one should invest their winnings and claim to be a professional investor as we technically live off of our interest. Any full time professional should be investing his winnings anyway.

Re: article on canadian casinos
 

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Negreneau never renounced his Canadian citizenship. In fact he has a special poker visa. As a result, like other Canadians going to Vegas he is eligible to claim tax refunds that Americans can't.

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This isn't helping your position that Canadian casinos are better than Vegas casinos.

Basically, you're claiming that living in Canada and cheating on your taxes and stealing "free" healthcare from your countrymen is better than living in the US and paying for your own healthcare. That's not a very fair comparison since you're using theft as a condition of the comparison in one case but not the other.