How Much Money Players at 2023 WSOP Main Event Final Table Really Made
Daniel Weinman took his winner's photo for the 2023 World Series of Poker Main Event in front of a stack of cash that was $12,100,000 tall.
However, Weinman's bank account will never see that much lettuce. As an American, gambling winnings are taxed as income, meaning that by the time the WSOP cut him his cheque, the company would have withheld around 37% and sent it to the IRS as federal income tax.
Then, when Weinman returns to his home state of Georgia, he has a further 5.75% of the full amount to pay as Georgia state income tax.
This makes Weinman's apparent $12,100,000 windfall into something closer to an estimated* $6,969,679 windfall.
Every player at the final table was subject to similar calculations. Some of the overseas players pay nothing, while others have it even rougher than the Yanks.
Within the US, each state charges a different state income tax. So, the top three finishers are also all Americans from different states so Weinman, Steven Jones (2nd - $6,500,000), and Adam Walton (3rd - $4,000,000) all receive tax bills that differ only slightly. The differences are such that they do not affect the players' positions in the 2023 Main Event money rankings.
*All the figures in this article are estimates using online tax calculators and assuming no other income and no deductions. For non-US players, a double taxation treaty is also assumed.
The Taxman Cometh
For Jan-Peter Jachtmann (4th - $3,000,000), his bill is particularly galling. Professional poker players in Germany are taxed as self-employed businessmen, which means they pay income tax (though they can deduct expenses). Hobbyists, on the other hand, do not pay tax on offline poker winnings.
Unfortunately, Jachtmann, a resident of Hamburg, describes himself on Twitter as a semi-professional. This fact will probably cost him around $1,405,678 of his $3,000,000 win. That takes his fourth place down to $1,594,321.
This is rather less than the $1,850,000 prize that Dean Hutchison gets to keep, two places below Jachtmann in sixth. Both Hutchinson and Toby Lewis, being from the UK, do not pay tax on their gambling winnings. This leaves them with their full amounts of $1,850,000 and $1,425,000, respectively.
Check out the 2022 WSOP Main Event tax breakdown here!
Ruslan Prydryk is from Ukraine, which charges nothing on the first UAH480,000 ($13,057) in poker winnings and then a flat 18% thereafter. Prydryk will also probably have to pay a 1.5% military levy.
This means his remaining $1,934,546 for fifth is also higher than Jachtmann's prize for fourth.
Just this year, Spain opted to start treating poker players as professionals meaning that, like Jachtmann, Juan Maceiras (8th - $1,125,000) will have to pay income tax on his win. For Macieras, that means a 43% pay cut from $1,125,000 to $642,525.
Italy, on the other hand, has heavy gambling taxes, but they fall entirely on operators, not the players. So, Daniel Holzner (9th - $900,000) might avoid paying anything on his winnings when he returns home to the Apennine Penisula. This creates another reversal, where ninth place will take home much more than eighth.
In total, the final table at this year's WSOP Main Event won $33,300,000 and paid an estimated $11,575,951 in taxes to four national and three state governments. Three of the players probably paid nothing in taxes.
Table of 2023 WSOP Main Event Final Table Payouts After Taxes*
Place | Player | Country | Prize | Tax Owed | Prize After Taxes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | Daniel Weinman | United States | $12,100,000 | $5,130,321 | $6,969,679 |
2nd | Steven Jones | United States | $6,500,000 | $2,653,860 | $3,846,140 |
3rd | Adam Walton | United States | $4,000,000 | $1,438,163 | $2,561,837 |
4th | Jan-Peter Jachtmann | Germany | $3,000,000 | $1,405,678 | $1,594,321 |
5th | Ruslan Prydryk | Ukraine | $2,400,000 | $465,454 | $1,934,546 |
6th | Dean Hutchison | Scotland | $1,850,000 | $0 | $1,850,000 |
7th | Toby Lewis | England | $1,425,000 | $0 | $1,425,000 |
8th | Juan Maceiras | Spain | $1,125,000 | $482,475 | $642,525 |
9th | Daniel Holzner | Italy | $900,000 | $0 | $900,000 |
In this Series
- 1 The 2023 WSOP Main Event is Underway: Jamie Gold Ready for Record to Be Broken
- 2 Agony of Defeat: Poker Player Runs Kings into Aces Twice Vs. Same Opponent, Busts Main Event Day 1
- 3 Espen Jorstad in Action, Ready to Defend World Championship
- 4 July 5, 2019: Reliving the Craziest Day in WSOP Main Event History
- 5 Poker Boom 2.0: 2023 WSOP Main Event Officially the Largest Ever
- 6 Two Players Bust on the First Hand of 2023 WSOP Main Event Day 1D
- 7 The Greatest Show: Hellmuth and Jungleman Make Grand Entrance into 2023 WSOP Main Event
- 8 Ex-Manchester City Striker Sergio Aguero Makes Surprise Entry into 2023 WSOP Main Event
- 9 Would You Fold Kings Preflop on Day 1 of the WSOP Main Event in This Spot?
- 10 Alexandra Botez & 888poker Ambassadors Make Day 2 of Main Event
- 11 Rapper Hoodie Allen Abandons Chips in Poker World Championship for Friend's Wedding
- 12 Online Poker Pioneer Isai Scheinberg Plays WSOP Main Event for the First Time
- 13 Phil Hellmuth Coolered Out of WSOP Main Event by Nicholas "Dirty Diaper" Rigby
- 14 2023 WSOP Main Event Registration Closes w/ 10,043 Entries & $12.1M to Winner
- 15 Tom Dwan Busts WSOP Main Event; What Would You Do Here?
- 16 Popular Rapper Returns in Time for Poker World Championship...And Gets Aces Cracked
- 17 The Muck: Was the WSOP Main Event Payout Structure Absurd?
- 18 Queen on the River Dashes Nicholas Rigby's WSOP Main Event Title Dreams
- 19 Pollster Nate Silver's Chances of Winning 2023 WSOP Main Event are Now 0%
- 20 Nicholas Rigby Busts Chance Kornuth in a 200 Big Blind Pot on Day 5
- 21 Moneymaker, Hachem Bust Day 5; All Past WSOP Main Event Champs Out
- 22 Nicholas Rigby Talks "Dirty Diaper" Strategy in the 2023 WSOP Main Event
- 23 Nightmare Runout Knocks Alexandra Botez Out of the WSOP Main Event
- 24 Father & Daughter Make the Money of the 2023 WSOP Main Event
- 25 Kings Lose to Aces on the Bubble of the 2023 WSOP Main Event
- 26 Do You Know Which Poker Player Just Set the Record of Cashing Seven Consecutive Live WSOP Main Events?
- 27 2023 WSOP Main Event Hands of the Week: Royal Flush Twice in 4 Hands; Miracle Running Kings
- 28 Would You Rather Get a WSOP Main Event Seat for Life or $200,000?
- 29 Alexandra Botez Wants the WSOP Main Event Stream to Be Free; Do You Agree?
- 30 Can Some Fool's Gold Help Adam Walton Capture the 2023 WSOP Main Event Bracelet?
- 31 Jones, Weinman and Walton to Battle for 2023 WSOP Main Event Title
- 32 Pros vs. Jones: One of These 3 Players is Hours Away From Poker Immortality
- 33 Adam Walton Jams 80 Big Blind Stack Into Pocket Aces, Busts WSOP Main Event
- 34 Daniel Weinman Wins Record-Breaking 2023 WSOP Main Event for $12,100,000
- 35 How Much Money Players at 2023 WSOP Main Event Final Table Really Made