Lucas Jumalon officially won $10 million after taking down the 2026 WSOP Main Event, but his final take home amount is expected to be much lower once taxes are deducted.
The situation is similar for several other players who reached the final table. Jamie Shaevel, for example, is expected to lose more than half of his $1.5 million seventh place prize to state and federal taxes.
The difference has nothing to do with gambling losses after the tournament. Shaevel lives in California, where state income tax is among the highest in the United States. Jumalon, meanwhile, faces a substantial federal tax bill from his championship payout.
Federal tax specialist Russell Fox of Clayton Financial and Tax in Las Vegas once again calculated the estimated tax obligations for the nine players who reached the Main Event final table. His figures show how much each player could keep after federal, state and local taxes, although payments to staking partners or backers are not included.
For Shaevel, the calculations are particularly severe. More than $157,000 of his $1.5 million payout is expected to go toward California taxes. Another $598,373 is projected to be owed to the IRS, leaving him with an estimated overall tax burden of 50.37%.
Canadian finalists benefit from a lighter tax situation
The two Canadian players at the final table, Rami Hammoud and Greg Mueller, are expected to keep a larger percentage of their winnings than most of the field.
Mueller finished third and collected $3.75 million. On paper, the difference between his payout and the $6 million awarded to runner up Lauri Saaskilahti was $2.25 million.
After estimated taxes, however, that gap becomes much smaller. Saaskilahti is projected to keep only around $600,000 more than Mueller.
Saaskilahti is a Finnish player who resides in Spain. Under the tax treaty between the United States and Spain, he is not expected to owe U.S. income tax on the prize. His liability in Spain is much larger, with approximately $2.77 million expected to go to Spanish tax authorities.
Mueller’s situation is different. He is reportedly semi retired from professional poker, which affects how his earnings are treated for tax purposes. Estimates suggest he will pay around 30% of his $3.75 million prize and retain approximately $2.63 million.
Hammoud finished sixth for $1.75 million. As an amateur player who works as an analytics manager in Montreal, he is not expected to owe Canadian income tax on the winnings. He still faces a 30% U.S. withholding, which would amount to roughly $522,000.
Jumalon’s $10 million prize falls to around $6 million
Jumalon faces the largest tax bill in absolute terms because he won the biggest prize at the table.
The 22 year old player from Washington state is projected to pay a combined $3,990,826 in federal and self employment taxes. That would leave him with approximately $6,009,174 from the original $10 million payout before any agreements with backers are taken into account.
His estimated tax rate is 39.91%, which places him around the middle of the final table when comparing percentages rather than total amounts.
Jumalon also became the second youngest champion in WSOP Main Event history and the first winner of the tournament from Washington state. His victory places him among the most notable new names in tournament poker.
For players following major poker results through platforms such as BCPoker, the numbers also show why the advertised tournament prize and the money ultimately retained by a winner can be very different.
Other finalists face major tax deductions
Michael Gagliano, a professional player from New Jersey, is projected to face one of the heaviest tax burdens among the nine finalists.
He finished fourth and earned $2.75 million. Federal, self employment and state income taxes are expected to total $1,330,683. That represents approximately 48.39% of his prize, the second highest effective rate at the table.
Shaevel remains the player expected to surrender the largest percentage of his winnings, with more than half of his prize going toward taxes.
Across all nine final table participants, the combined prize money totaled $30.25 million. Estimated taxes account for approximately $12.27 million of that amount.
That means a substantial portion of the money awarded at poker’s biggest final table will ultimately go to tax authorities rather than remain with the players.
