The conquest of Lucas Jumalon in the Main Event of the WSOP 2026 guaranteed a prize of US$ 10 million. However, this amount remained only on paper. After taxes, the American ended up with about US$ 6 million, which shows that taxation played a decisive role in the financial outcome of the final table.
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Thus, the impact varied greatly depending on the country and state of residence of each player. While some finalists took advantage of international tax agreements or live in places with lower tax burdens, others had to give up almost half of the prize to tax authorities.
In this way, the case of Lauri Saaskilahti draws attention. The Finnish player, residing in Spain, took US$ 6 million for the runner-up position. However, since the tax treaty between the United States and Spain avoids American taxation, he concentrated his tax obligation in the European country. Still, he was left with approximately US$ 3.227 million after taxes.
However, players living in U.S. states without state income tax, such as Washington and Texas, preserved a larger portion of their earnings. On the other hand, residents of states like California and New Jersey faced significantly heavier taxation, further reducing the net value of the prizes.
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Check out the prize money and taxes of the final table:
| Position | Player | Prize before taxes | Prize after taxes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lucas Jumalon | US$ 10,000,000 | US$ 6,009,174 |
| 2 | Lauri Saaskilahti | US$ 6,000,000 | US$ 3,227,000 |
| 3 | Greg Mueller | US$ 3,750,000 | US$ 2,628,000 |
| 4 | Michael Gagliano | US$ 2,750,000 | US$ 1,419,317 |
| 5 | Han Feng | US$ 2,250,000 | US$ 1,360,247 |
| 6 | Rami Hammoud | US$ 1,750,000 | US$ 1,228,000 |
| 7 | Jamie Shaevel | US$ 1,500,000 | US$ 744,500 |
| 8 | Mario Boos | US$ 1,250,000 | US$ 706,299 |
| 9 | Evagoras Evagorou | US$ 1,000,000 | US$ 653,500 |
Taxation reduced more than US$ 12 million from the final table prize pool
Additionally, the nine finalists received US$ 30.25 million in prizes. However, about US$ 12.27 million went to different tax authorities around the world. Thus, only US$ 17.98 million effectively remained with the players, equivalent to just under 60% of the total paid by the WSOP.
However, among the biggest individual impacts, Michael Gagliano lost almost 48.4% of the US$ 2.75 million prize due to federal and state taxes. Meanwhile, Jamie Shaevel, a California resident, recorded the highest proportional tax burden at the final table. As a result, he was left with only US$ 744.5 thousand of the US$ 1.5 million earned for seventh place.
Finally, the survey was conducted by American accountant Russell Fox and reinforces that the announced prize amounts represent only part of the story. Lucas Jumalon finished as the champion at the tables and also as the biggest financial winner, but taxation showed that winning the title does not necessarily mean receiving the entire announced prize.
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