Here’s How Much Each World Series Of Poker Main Event Final Tablist Won After Taxes

The poker world was buzzing last week as the World Series of Poker main event wrapped up and one player walked away with $10 million.

Michael Mizrachi went on an epic run to win his eighth bracelet and the eight-figure payday. It’s a life-changing score for anyone, but how much of that does he get to keep?

Russ Fox, the principal of Clayton Financial and Tax of Las Vegas, has 30 years of experience in financial management and tax preparation. Many of his clients are high-stakes poker players and he is an expert in the field of gambling tax laws. 

Each year, he takes a look at how the taxman affects the main event winner and noted “The real winner of the 2025 WSOP Main Event is Mr. Taxman.”

Feds Will Take Nearly $4 Million From Mizrachi

In a blog post last week, he noted that Mizrachi would only collect about 60% of his payout.

Luckily, as a Florida resident, “The Grinder” doesn’t have to worry about state income tax. However, the federal government will take a huge chunk of his winnings. 

Federally, Mizrachi will have to pay income and self-employment taxes. Fox calculated that Mizrachi would pay $3,967,255 (a 39.67% tax rate) to the feds. Consequently, he’ll walk away with $6,032,745 of his winnings.

The tax specialist didn’t stop at Mizrachi. He calculated tax payments for the remaining eight players.

Runner-up John Wasnock, of North Bend, Washington, also lives in a state without an income tax. The investment consultant will have to cough up $2,209,894 in federal income tax (36.83%). His rate is slightly lower than Mizrachi because he won’t pay the self-employment tax because he doesn’t play poker full time. 

Wasnock as a professional and will take home $3,790,106.

Braxton Dunaway is a non-professional Texas resident. In other words, he’ll have the same tax liabilities as the two finishers ahead of him.

Texas does not have a state income tax and he won’t have to pay self-employment tax. Dunaway will owe the feds $1,475,473 in federal income tax. He’ll walk away with $2,524,527 of his $4 million winnings.

Kenny Hallaert & Luka Bojovic Keep It All

Belgium’s Kenny Hallaert, who now lives in London, England, may have been in one of the best spots from a tax perspective. The U.S. has a tax agreement with the U.K., so he’ll owe nothing to the IRS.

Furthermore, the U.K. doesn’t tax gambling winnings, so he’ll keep all of his $3 million fourth-place winnings.

Fifth-place finisher Luka Bojovic of Vienna, Austria, is in a similar situation. The U.S. has a tax treaty with Austria and the country also doesn’t tax gambling winnings, so he’ll keep all of his $2.4 million.

Leo Margets Has Worst Tax Situation

Poker pro Adam Hendrix finished sixth for $1.9 million and lives in Las Vegas. Nevada doesn’t have a state income tax, so Hendrix’s total tax bill will be $698,000 (36.89%). 

Spain’s Leo Margets earned $1.5 million for seventh place and faces the biggest tax burden of all players at the final table. The IRS has a tax agreement with Spain, but that country taxes her at 47%. She’ll pay $705,000 to the Spanish government and walk away with $795,000.

Fox called Spain “One of the least poker-friendly countries when it comes to taxes.”

Eighth-place finisher Jarod Minghini lives in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and won $1.25 million. The poker pro will pay $481,553 in federal taxes (38.52%), keeping $768,447. All five of the American players at the final table were from states without a state income tax.

South Korea’s Daehyung Lee took ninth for $1 million. The U.S. tax treaty with his home country doesn’t account for gambling winnings, so $300,000 will be withheld for the IRS. Fox reported that South Korea has a tax rate ranging from 6% to 45%, along with a 10% local tax. He should be able to recover the $300,000 from the IRS via a foreign tax credit, but will pay $517,212 in taxes in South Korea for a tax rate of 51.72%.

Grouped together, the final table participants won $31,050,000 and will pay out $10,054,387 in total taxes, according to Fox, for a tax rate of 32.37%. 

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