As the saying goes, “In this world, nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.”
The 2021 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Koray Aldemir may not escape death unless but he did escape taxes on his $8 million bracelet victory according to Russ Fox of Clayton Financial and Tax per his annual report breakdown of tax deduction of the WSOP Main Event final table members.
Aldemir was born in Germany and would have been subject to a 46 percent tax for a whopping $3.7 million if he was still a permanent resident of his homeland. Instead, Aldemir has established residency in Austria, which has a tax treaty with the United States, allowing him to escape paying a single dime in taxes.
This is a stark contrast to the 2019 WSOP Main Event Champion Hossain Ensan, who banked $10 million for winning the most prestigious poker event of the year. Since Ensan was still a resident of Germany at the time of the win, he paid approximately $4.6 million in taxes, meaning the Aldemir banked more despite cashing for less.
2021 WSOP Final Table Tax Breakdown
| Place | Player | Country | Prize | Taxes Owed | Net Prize |
| 1 | Koray Aldemir | Austria | $8,000,000 | $0 | $8,000,000 |
| 2 | George Holmes | United States | $4,300,000 | $1,802,011 | $2,497,989 |
| 3 | Jack Oliver | United Kingdom | $3,000,000 | $0 | $3,000,000 |
| 4 | Josh Remitio | United States | $2,300,000 | $1,004,393 | $1,295,607 |
| 5 | Ozgur Secilmis | Turkey | $1,800,000 | $699,575 | $1,100,425 |
| 6 | Hye Park | United States | $1,400,000 | $650,291 | $749,709 |
| 7 | Alejandro Lococo | Argentina | $1,225,000 | $428,750 | $796,250 |
| 8 | Jareth East | United Kingdom | $1,100,000 | $0 | $1,100,000 |
| 9 | Chase Bianchi | United States | $1,000,000 | $375,643 | $624,357 |
| Total | $24,125,000 | $4,960,663 | $19,164,337 |
Oliver and East Also Escape the Taxman
Aldemir wasn’t the only 2021 WSOP Main Event final table member to avoid paying the taxman. Third place finisher Jack Oliver managed to keep every penny of his $3 million haul thanks to a poker-friendly treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States. Typically, players in the United Kingdom do not have to pay taxes on any of their winnings.
This allowed Oliver to collect more than the 2021 WSOP Main Event runner-up George Holmes collected. As an American, Holmes was subject to a 30 percent tax rate on his winnings bringing his $4.3 million prize down to $2.5 million after payments to the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Like Oliver, eighth-place finisher Jareth East is also from the United Kingdom and will get to keep every penny of his $1.1 million score. This not only pushed him past seventh-place finisher Alejandro Lococo from Argentina but also ahead of Hye Park from the United States who finished in sixth place.
East came close to collecting more after taxes than both fourth-place finisher from the United States Josh Remitio and fifth-place finisher Ozgur Seclimas from Turkey.
According to Fox, Turkey is one of the rare countries which includes the United States, that taxes it’s citizens on income outside of its borders.
“The US-Turkey tax treaty exempts his winnings from US withholding. Turkey, like the United States, taxes the worldwide income of its residents,” Fox said in his report. “Also like the United States, Turkey has a graduated income tax. The top tax bracket (40%) begins at 650,000 TRY (Turkish Lira); the Turkish Lira today is worth $0.09. I estimate Mr. Secilmis will owe 7,773,055 TRY (or $699,575) to the Turkish Revenue Administration.”
Where Did the Taxes Go?
Players at the final table won an impressive $24,125,000 out of which $4,960,663 is estimated to be owed to various tax administrations for a collective net prize of $19,164,337.
The IRS will collect the lion’s share of the total taxes with nearly $3.7 million heading to the American administrative agency. This is more than what everyone at the 2021 WSOP Main Event collected after taxes except for the champion Koray Aldmemir.
Meanwhile, Turkey, whose economy is hurting thanks to heavy inflation coupled with the intense weakening of the Turkish Lira, will get a nice haul thanks to an impressive performance by Seclimas. Various state governments will also have some extra money added to their coffers as will the Argentinian tax agency.
| Amount won at Final Table | $24,125,000 |
| Tax to IRS | $3,676,973 |
| Tax to Turkey Revenue Administration | $699,575 |
| Tax to Georgia Department of Revenue | $247,250 |
| Tax to New Jersey Division of Taxation | $122,671 |
| Tax To Arizona Department of Revenue | $102,944 |
| Tax to Administracion Federal de Ingresos Publica (Argentina) | $61,250 |
| Tax to Massachusetts Department of Revenue | $50.00 |
| Total Tax | $4,960,663 |
As Fox pointed out, these figures are merely estimates and don’t take into account potential backing deals players at the final table may have had. In addition, some players at the final table will also benefit from external sponsorships that came as a result of their performance in the Main Event.
