[Merkle]

Thank you Russ for the acknowledgement. I know quite a few professional chess players and I was under the impression that their tournament winnings were not treated as gambling income. I see no reason why poker income (especially tournaments) should not be treated the same as chess tournament income.

I believe having this acknowledge by the IRS would go a long way to moving it into a skill game category. Or would the inverse be true, if poker is declared a game of skill by the Wexler bill would that change the tax treatment of poker income?