Category Archives: Gambling

Poker Player Blames His Accountant for His Tax Troubles

Posted on May 16, 2010 by Russ

Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi is a well known tournament poker player. The Florida resident has nearly $7 million in career earnings. He also has tax troubles. Mr. Mizrachi had a nearly $340,000 tax lien slapped on him. A condominium he … Continue reading →

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Forgetting the “Charitable” In Charitable Poker Leads to Trouble

Posted on May 13, 2010 by Russ

Stanley Combs allegedly had a nice little business in West Carollton, Ohio. He owned and operated a Fraternal Order of Orioles lodge. But it appears the side business he supposedly ran was the real money maker. He ran poker tournaments. … Continue reading →

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Aloha! Hawaii Repeals Gambling Loss Prohibition

Posted on April 16, 2010 by Russ

Last summer Hawaii enacted a tax, err, the elimination of the ability to take gambling losses as an itemized deduction. This made our fiftieth state even less of a good place for gamblers to reside. Today, Governor Linda Lingle signed … Continue reading →

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Specifics Trumps General in Gambling Losses for Taxes

Posted on March 22, 2010 by Russ

Congress writes the Tax Code. That leads to many situations where there’s conflicting language between two sections of the Code. Section 162(a) allows for the deduction of necessary and ordinary business expenses. Section 165(d) limits gambling losses to the amount … Continue reading →

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Unearned Income Tax in New Healthcare Bill Will Impact Gambling

Posted on March 18, 2010 by Russ

The new healthcare legislation contains plenty of taxes. One especially bad one is a new 3.8% tax on unearned income above $200,000. This will have a very bad impact on amateur gamblers. When I last looked at the bill, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Gambling, Legislation | Tagged | 2 Comments

Bad States for Amateur Gamblers

Posted on March 1, 2010 by Russ

All states are alike, right? That’s definitely not true in the world of tax. Some states don’t have an income tax. Other states have very high income tax rates. Amateur gamblers have a special concern: The ability (or lack thereof) … Continue reading →

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The Wyden/Gregg Tax Reform Bill: Interesting, but DOA

Posted on February 28, 2010 by Russ

Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Judd Gregg (R-NH) introduced a bill, “To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make the Federal income tax system simpler, fairer, and more fiscally responsible, and for other purposes.” The bill would have … Continue reading →

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“I am not a crook.”

Posted on February 7, 2010 by Russ

New York will soon have a ‘racino’ at Aqueduct Race Track in Queens, New York. (A racino is a race track that also has slot machines.) Governor David Paterson chose Aqueduct Entertainment Group to build and run the racino. New … Continue reading →

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Radio Russ

Posted on February 2, 2010 by Russ

I am the guest on this week’s Deuce Plays podcast with Bart Hanson. The focus of the podcast is poker and taxes. You can also download it to your computer by clicking on this link.

Posted in Gambling, Taxable Talk | 2 Comments

Online Gambling Addresses

Posted on February 2, 2010 by Russ

This list has been superseded by the 2011 list. Click here to look at the 2011 list. The IRS and Department of the Treasury stated in January 2009 that online gambling websites are considered to be foreign financial accounts. If … Continue reading →

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