Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

linky

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

That's a great explanation of the Lederer phone call hand. Context is everything.

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

I got a chance to chat with Steve at Foxwoods. He struck me as a very decent, modest guy. He seems to be well grounded. I am happy for his new found fortune. I enjoyed talking with him and I wish him well.

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

How much is the government taking in tax??!!? 4.5 million, half, so 2.25 million gets taxed down to 1.3 million?!?!!?!? Is that legal?

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

That's pretty standard for gambling winnings in the US. It's a "luxury tax" at a very high rate.

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

He had to give half to his backer. So they went home with 2.6 Mil. I think 50% tax is the norm on winnings.

What I wanna know is how you can be a pro tourney player when half of your winnings are given to the government? Its like a 50% rake!!!

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

oh i miss read your post, nm

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

How boutch Hachem? He's an international, no tax for him?

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

[ QUOTE ]
How boutch Hachem? He's an international, no tax for him?

[/ QUOTE ]
oh, you know Uncle Sam got him a piece of that pie!

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

great article

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

it may be ordinary income for professionals.

not sure if they can do a John Edwards - incorporate and draw a salary too.

Everything else is extra credit
 

Well, I was one of those posters who gave him [censored] for calling his friend after bluffing Lederer...but he did a good job about explaining the situation in that article. Sorry...my bad. Seems like a good guy. Hopefully I'll get to meet him someday.

I also like his motto: Everything else is extra credit.

ScottieK

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

What was the major transgression with calling his buddy after he bluffed Lederer? I would too. Not a big deal.

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

Gotta respect a guy who builds a business from scratch and now makes around $280,000 a year. (He stated that he couldn't retire because 1.3 mil is about four years of work for himself.) Poker would be extra credit to me too if I made that kind of scratch.

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

Excellent article. Classy guy, and obviously his attitude is excellent for poker. If everything is extra credit, then bad beats don't seem so bad. Seems to me like he almost thought the title would bring pressure that he didn't want.

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

1.3Million in the bank. That'll get him ~65k/yr in intrest on top of his 280k/yr, that's not a bad setup.

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

[ QUOTE ]
Gotta respect a guy who builds a business from scratch and now makes around $280,000 a year. (He stated that he couldn't retire because 1.3 mil is about four years of work for himself.) Poker would be extra credit to me too if I made that kind of scratch.

[/ QUOTE ]

He makes 280k per year after taxes (because his 1.3 is also after taxes).

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

$1.3 million divided by 4 is $325,000, not $280,000.

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
How boutch Hachem? He's an international, no tax for him?

[/ QUOTE ]
oh, you know Uncle Sam got him a piece of that pie!

[/ QUOTE ]

a lot has been posted about this: summing up, no, uncle sam doesn't take a part but aparently harrah's took it to give to uncle sam.

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

So whats the point of playing in these tourneys if your ev is cut in half? I mean of course you want to play the Main event, but I think it was fischman that stated in one of those bios that he pays taxes. Can you pay a different amount if you are a professional gambler? Like pay as if you were a business and not a lottery winner?

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

Poker winnings are taxed as regular earned income, not as a gambling tax. there is a supreme court case on point--don't remember the name, but it involved Billy Baxter.

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

[ QUOTE ]
How much is the government taking in tax??!!? 4.5 million, half, so 2.25 million gets taxed down to 1.3 million?!?!!?!? Is that legal?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure where you guys learned math, but here's the real math:

Dannenmann won 4.25 million. Half of that is 2.125 million. He took home 1.3 million after taxes. So he paid 2.125-1.3 = 0.825 million in taxes.

825,000 is only 38.8% of 2.125 million. No he did not pay 50% for tax purposes and it's a little disappointing that it's taken this long for this to be corrected.

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

I just loved Dannenmann's attitude during the entire WSOP. Guys like him are great for poker.

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

[ QUOTE ]
Poker winnings are taxed as regular earned income, not as a gambling tax. there is a supreme court case on point--don't remember the name, but it involved Billy Baxter.

[/ QUOTE ]

I remember hearing that too. I could be wrong, but I thought he fought the courts and won basically saying that since there was a degree of skill invloved it wouldn't be taxed the same way lottery winnings were.

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

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That's pretty standard for gambling winnings in the US. It's a "luxury tax" at a very high rate.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's not a luxury tax. It's treated as ordinary income, and it bumps him up to the highest tax bracket: 35%.

The state tax bracket (in Maryland) for him is 4.75%.

39.75% of 2.25 million is $894,375, which leaves him with $1,355,625.

Re: Dannenmann interview on espn.com
 

I have my income tax book right in front of me.

"Gambling payoffs, no matter how large or small, are taxavle and should be reported on your federal income tax return. This includes the fair market value of noncash prizes such as cars, trips, and dinner coupons. The provision applies to winnings from all sources, from casinos to office pools."

The amount is added into your gross income broadly concieved. You can deduct your gambling losses only to the extent of your gambling winnings. If you are a professional gambler, meaning you derive your income from gambling and have no other job, you may deduct gambling losses beyond the extent of your winnings. Steve Dannenmann is in the highest federal tax bracket so his taxes on his winnings would of been 35% for federal income taxes plus whatever his state income taxes are.

[ QUOTE ]
Can you pay a different amount if you are a professional gambler? Like pay as if you were a business and not a lottery winner?


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To sum up, no. Your tax rate would be the same as a plumber or a lawyer or anyone else when it comes to personal income. However, the difference is that as a professional gambler you may deduct losses beyond your winnings, so if you have a down year you could take a loss on your business. I am not exactly sure what benefits you would get from doing this though.

I would also imagine as a professional gambler you could write off things like airfare to travel to the casino/tourny/whatever, and all costs associated with gambling online like your internet, computer, etc. However, in order to write off your computer you would have to prove it is used for money making purposes only.

Not after the Fairtax Act
 

When we pass the Fairtax Act , there won't be any tax on poker winnings.

http://www.fairtaxvolunteer.org/how_...fx/banner1.gif