One WSOP Main Event finalist lost over half his winnings to the taxman

Poker player and federally licensed tax professional Russell Fox has completed his annual analysis of the final table payouts, and the results are as grim as ever. As Fox wrote on X, one player "lost over half his winnings to taxes."

Between them, the nine finalists won $30.25 million. According to Fox's calculations, more than $12.2 million of that will end up in tax authorities' hands.

What each Main Event final table player lost to the taxman

1. Lucas Jumalon hails from Spokane, Washington, and the state doesn't have income tax. However, he's still going to lose a big chunk of his prize to federal income tax and self-employment tax. According to Fox, he "faces an estimated tax bite of $3,990,826 (39.91%) on his winnings."
   
   
2. Lauri Saaskilahti is a Finnish player who lives in Barcelona, meaning a tax bill of $2,773,000 on his $6 million prize.
   
   
3. Fox classifies Greg Mueller as "semi-retired" rather than a professional poker player and that works in his favor. He'll owe $1,122,000 from his $3,750,000 winnings.
   
   
4. Michael Gagliano will have to pay $1,058,348 to the IRS and $272,335 to New Jersey.
   
   
5. Han Feng was eliminated when his aces were cracked. Now the IRS is coming to have a go. He'll have to pay $889,753 (39.54%).
   
   
6. Rami Hammoud lives in Montreal, Canada. As an amateur player, he doesn't have to pay income tax, but according to Fox, "he’ll face the mandatory 30% withholding ($522,000) to the IRS."
   
   
7. Jamie Shaevel is a professional poker player out of California, and he's going to be hit the hardest, losing around $598,373 to the IRS and $157,127 to the state. That comes in at 50.37% tax or over half his winnings. Now that's a bad beat.
   
   
8. France's Mario Boos doesn't pay anything to the IRS, but he will pay $543,701 to the Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP), leaving him with $706,299 from his $1,250,000 win.
   
   
9. Evagoras Evagorou was the only player who didn't ladder at the final table, exiting in ninth for the minimum $1 million payout. He'll actually lose $346,500 that to tax.

Here's what each player is estimated to keep after tax, according to Fox. The total tax deducted from the final table prize pool is 40.58%.

Check out the full report from the final day of the 2026 WSOP Main Event below. 

'Built for this' – Lucas Jumalon wins WSOP Main Event and $10 millionLucas Jumalon closed out the chip lead against Lauri Saaskilahti in heads-up play to win the 2026 WSOP Main Event.

Matt Hansen / August 25, 2026

^{Feature image created with the aid of AI.}