Internet Poker (Long read, but I could really use some advice.)

Hello everyone. I am new to this forum and I am looking for some advice.

Let me give you a little background first. I have been in the military for 10 years and I am still in to this day. I have been studying poker for a few years now and I feel very comfortable and I do well. It is my dream to be in the wsop Main Event this year. I feel like I can win a seat.

I tried online last year using Step through pokerstars. I came close, but no cigar. I have learned a lot and grown tremindously since then.

I wanted to try again, but I found out that it is actually illegal to play online in Washington (Class C Felony, compared to child molsters and rapists). I feel that my best chance of getting into the WSOP Main Event, because of limited money, is to play online. I don't play online very often because I would rather play live. From what I have read, nobody has been arrested for online gambling in Washinton since the law came out.

Is there anyone that lives in Washington State that plays online poker?

How do you get the money after you win?

If I won the WSOP package I would have to claim it on my taxes right?

Would I get busted then because of the law against online gaming?

If anyone has any suggestions on what I should do and how I should proceed I would appreciate it. Thank you.

heman0420 said:

Hello everyone. I am new to this forum and I am looking for some advice.

Let me give you a little background first. I have been in the military for 10 years and I am still in to this day. I have been studying poker for a few years now and I feel very comfortable and I do well. It is my dream to be in the WSOP Main Event this year. I feel like I can win a seat.

I tried online last year using Step through Pokerstars. I came close, but no cigar. I have learned a lot and grown tremindously since then.

I wanted to try again, but I found out that it is actually illegal to play online in Washington (Class C Felony, compared to child molsters and rapists). I feel that my best chance of getting into the WSOP Main Event, because of limited money, is to play online. I don't play online very often because I would rather play live. From what I have read, nobody has been arrested for online gambling in Washinton since the law came out.

Is there anyone that lives in Washington State that plays online poker?

How do you get the money after you win?

If I won the WSOP package I would have to claim it on my taxes right?

Would I get busted then because of the law against online gaming?

If anyone has any suggestions on what I should do and how I should proceed I would appreciate it. Thank you.

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Well I don't live in Washington so I can't answer those questions, however as far as how you get your money, If its a seat plus hotel and little extra for expenses then through Pokerstars at least they send the $10,000 and sign you up they put the extra in your account and the hotel they pay for I believe its at least 3 nights then if you stay in the tournament they pay til your eliminated.

As far as claiming on your taxes I dont think so unless you win money at the world series then you can use the entry as a tax deduction, so if you get a seat and win say 22,000 you can write off the $10,000 entry so you pay taxes on $12,000. I could be wrong on that because of winning throgh a lesser buyin.

Grossberger said:

Well I don't live in Washington so I can't answer those questions, however as far as how you get your money, If its a seat plus hotel and little extra for expenses then through Pokerstars at least they send the $10,000 and sign you up they put the extra in your account and the hotel they pay for I believe its at least 3 nights then if you stay in the tournament they pay til your eliminated.

As far as claiming on your taxes I dont think so unless you win money at the world series then you can use the entry as a tax deduction, so if you get a seat and win say 22,000 you can write off the $10,000 entry so you pay taxes on $12,000. I could be wrong on that because of winning throgh a lesser buyin.

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I was told by Pokerstars that they just give you the money and it is your responsibility to buy in with Harrahs. About the tax issue, I was talking about the money they would give me to buy in. Not too worried about the money from the tournament, if I made it that far.

I live in Washington state and have been playing Online for over a year. Multiple 4 figure cashouts and no problems whatsoever.

Johnnybmoto said:

I live in Washington state and have been playing Online for over a year. Multiple 4 figure cashouts and no problems whatsoever.

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If you don't mind me asking, how do you go about doing it? Do you claim it on taxes?

heman0420 said:

I was told by Pokerstars that they just give you the money and it is your responsibility to buy in with Harrahs. About the tax issue, I was talking about the money they would give me to buy in. Not too worried about the money from the tournament, if I made it that far.

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Better check again this isthe FAQ's for satelites to live tourneys.

Q. I won! What do I do now?


A. PokerStars will buy you into the event for which you've won a seat. We will contact you to discuss the exact mechanics of how you get your seat, etc.

heman0420 said:

If you don't mind me asking, how do you go about doing it? Do you claim it on taxes?

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I cashout Via E-checks, It is deposited into my bank account within a week usually. Been as quick as the next day though.

I do not claim taxes.

Grossberger said:

Better check again this isthe FAQ's for satelites to live tourneys.

Q. I won! What do I do now?


A. PokerStars will buy you into the event for which you've won a seat. We will contact you to discuss the exact mechanics of how you get your seat, etc.

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Thanks for the info. Wonder why they would tell me something different. I replied, hopefully they will resond differently.

Johnnybmoto said:

I cashout Via E-checks, It is deposited into my bank account within a week usually. Been as quick as the next day though.

I do not claim taxes.

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You haven't had any issues? Seems risky to me if you have to give them your social and all that.

Hey Heman0420. As a fellow servicemember, thanks for your continued service. Are you at Fort Lewis? I understand your caution about online gaming - I just read an article tonight where no shit - a guy got arrested because Blizzard Entertainment gave up his IP address to police when they were subpeona'd for it by police in Indiana - when the cops found out he played World of Warcraft. Crazy, right?

Before I'd read that, I'd say don't worry about it, but after that, you never can tell. The good news is most (if not all) of the online poker sites are hosted overseas, I believe PS is in Costa Rica, for the simple reason that they do not fall into US Regulation.

As far as these things getting reported - tax wise, it is very difficult to tax the winnings of a tax game player. I could cash out from a table with $1100, but who's to say I didn't buy-in to the table with over $2000? Etc, etc.

I haven't considered sataliting into the WSOP, but it's something to consider as I've got my sights set on the 2011 ME - just have to finish up this deployment and put some money aside for it.

One thing you could (and should) consider - would be calling a law office and asking them about the laws. Also, write a congressman and tell him you are a poker player and would like it to be legal for you to play in your state and that all freedom loving americans feel the same way.

As far as taxes go - call a tax firm - H&R Block. While this site has a great wealth of information from a lot of excellent poker players - these are all legal questions with a lot of fine print that people may not have run into before. I would strongly reccomend you contact the people specialized to answer your question - even though somebody in here might have the answers, it's not likely they'll stumble accross your post in a reasonable amount of time - whereas a 10 minute phone call or two can answer all your questions and get you good information.

WG

heman0420 said:

You haven't had any issues? Seems risky to me if you have to give them your social and all that.

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No issues at all.