Kicking Things Off

[Bob Ciaffone]

I think the number one need in poker legislation today is protection in state laws for the player who enters a poker tournament that he thinks for one reason or another is perfectly legal (usually because it is being run openly), but it turns out to not be legal. Often, the reason it is illegal is the organizer is making a profit on the event. A mere player should not be punished in such a situation. To raid a poker tournament and charge every entrant with a crime is as ridiculous as finding every Enron employee guilty because the company did something wrong in its accounting practices.

[Moneyline]

Great to have you as part of the forum, Bob.

I agree with your point, but I think the absolute worst piece of poker legislation is the way in which many states choose to tax amateur poker players. In many states amateurs are taxed for every session they win, but they aren't allowed to deduct losing sessions from their taxes. Taxing in this manner makes poker unbeatable for all but the very best players, and encites many people to commit the crime of falsifying their taxes.

I don't have a problem with gambling taxes in general; but taxing someone's winnings without allowing them to deduct their losses is greedy, unfair, and needs to be stopped.

[Vavavoom]

Welcome to the Forum...and by welcome - 2 years of lurking is fantastic IMO...

A very positive addition....I look forward to your posts...

[Warren Harding]

I don't suppose they'd accept the old pro line: "it's all one long session"?

[DavidC]

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I don't suppose they'd accept the old pro line: "it's all one long session"?

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[img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]You don't have to pay til you die. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Bob Ciaffone]

Great point! I of course am a pro and deduct expenses. If you are not a pro, you are unable to deduct items such as travel expenses from your money won. This distinction between amateur and pro is artificial.
I believe this is a result of federal law, not state law, but I am not an authority on this. I do not think poker players or other gamblers will ever be able to do anything about this problem on their own. I would love to do something in conjunction with other recreational groups such as bowling associations to get amateurs to be able to deduct expenses from money received in competitions.

[twoakers]

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I would love to do something in conjunction with other recreational groups such as bowling associations to get amateurs to be able to deduct expenses from money received in competitions.

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Hi again Bob. Oddly enough, I happen to be fairly heavily involved in amateur bowling and have some info on this subject. I usually profit around $5-6k per year bowling each year, just bowling a few tourneys and leagues. I have only had to deduct expenses once, but it was as easy as sending a letter to the IRS explaining the situation, and the matter was dropped.

Although I live in Nevada, we have no card rooms within 100 miles, so there's no Texas Holdem, other than a home game here or there. I decided to try to set up a monthly Hold'em tourney in our local bowling center, basically running the poker tourney identical to the bowling tourneys in which I bowl. No rake, no profit to anyone other than the players who cash, and no payment to the host (bowling center). The owner of the bowling center was willing to go along with this, because he knew there would be a large amount of alcohol sold during the tourney. I contacted the State of Nevada Gaming Enforcement agency, and was told that bowling is not considered gambling, but Texas Holdem is. This meant that we could not hold the tourney's without having to obtain full gambling licenses, which are far too expensive to make this feasible.

I don't know about the rest of the country, but in Nevada, that's the reason we can bowl for money without all the legal hassles, but we can't play Hold'em with the same freedom. I don't know if this is helpful, but it's what I have dealt with. Good luck getting something going on this worthwhile endeavor.

[jhall23]

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In many states amateurs are taxed for every session they win, but they aren't allowed to deduct losing sessions from their taxes.

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This isn't entirely true is it? I thought I read frequently that you may deduct your loses, but the problem is that you have to itemize them and can no longer take the standard deduction. Am I off here?

This is my first year of serious poker and I haven't done this before so I would like to know.

[Chimichonga]

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I thought I read frequently that you may deduct your loses, but the problem is that you have to itemize them and can no longer take the standard deduction.

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This is true. The relevant IRS tax topic is here.

[Chimichonga]

I missed the state part of that whole thing. My post only applies to the federal level. My bad. [img]/images/graemlins/blush.gif[/img]