Backers, Taxes - How Much Did Blumstein Really Get for his Main Event Title?

As we reported it [3], New Jersey poker pro Scott Blumstein won the most prestigious poker tournament this year, the WSOP Main Event. We've all seen him happily posing with the $8.15 million on the table in front of him - but how much of that pile of cash can he actually keep?

Financial analyst at Clynton FInancial and Tax, Russ Fox publishes every year how much the Main Event finalists have to pay in taxes after their winnings depending on where they live. According to him, Blumstein as a professional poker player living in the state of New Jersey has to relinquish almost half, 47.11% of his prize money to pay state and federal taxes. That amounts to $​​3,839,429 which means Blumstein gets to keep $4,310,571, still a nice sum.

David Ott, another American player who Blumstein battled heads-up got a slightly better deal living in Pennsylvania, he had to a pay a 44.86% tax rate on the money he won.

The two Frenchmen at the final table get what they won "duty free" thanks to their smart choices: both of them are listed as London residents and the US-United Kingdom Tax Treaty exempts gambling winnings from taxation. Additionally, poker winnings are completely tax-free in the United Kingdom. For the same reasons, the recreational player from Bridlington, UK, John Hesp does not have to worry about giving some of what he earned in Las Vegas to his state either.

But Fox admits he doesn't take into consideration backing deals for his analysis. 

[4]

Before the World Series Main Event kicked off, Blumstein offered part of his action up for sale on Twitter [5]. Since he wasn't a well know player back then - that changed since, evidently - he was not flooded with potential investors, but poker pro Asher Conniff did buy 3%, for example.

He made a profitable investment, and so did Blumstein's childhood friends who, just to make rooting for their buddy more exciting, bought a $60 piece each from Blumstein's action. That $60 got them over $45 thousand after the Main Event, allowing one of them to even be able to buy his own house.