Jonathan Duhamel: Canadian Professional Poker Player. Jonathan Duhamel is an incredibly talented, young poker player from Canada. His most impressive accomplishment was when he won the main event of the World Series of Poker in 2010, but that certainly isn’t his only victory, as he has gone on to win a plethora of different tournaments worldwide. Jonathan Duhamel, born in 1987 is a professional poker player from Boucherville, Quebec, Canada. In 2010 he scored the biggest win of his career by taking down the WSOP Main Event and collecting. The biggest success that propelled Duhamel into the stardom came two years later, during the 2010 World Series of Poker. Playing in the field of over seven thousand players he managed to secure the place at the final table that was scheduled to take place in November of the same year. GPI300: Negreanu Finishes Season at #1, Duhamel Re-Enters Top 10. Kid Poker ends 2013 sitting atop the GPI300, Jonathan Duhamel comes back to the Top. Almost every online casino offer a welcome bonus Jonathan Duhamel Poker Profile in form of a first deposit bonus. For example 100% up to £100. This Jonathan Duhamel Poker Profile means the casino will match your first deposit with 100% up to a maximum of £100. So, if you deposit £100 you will receive £100 extra in bonus money.

2010
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  • »Jonathan Duhamel On The Hook For $1.8M in Unpaid Taxes

Nothing in life is certain except death and taxes and it’s the latter that has Jonathan Duhamel rattled. The 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event champion is embroiled in a tax dispute with Canadian authorities.

Duhamel was a relative unknown until his monster-sized WSOP Main Event victory. Only four live tournament cashes appeared on his Hendon Mob page from 2006-2009. The Canadian decided to play at the 2010 WSOP and it turned out to be life-changing.

He cashed in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed event for $5,724. A 15th place finish in a $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em event, worth $37,276, followed. Then came the big one. Duhamel topped a field of 7,319-entrants in the $10,000 buy-in WSOP Main Event. His reward? A cool $8,944,310.

This massive prize gave Duhamel a bankroll sufficient enough to compete on the world stage. A seven-figure pot plus a sponsorship package from PokerStars saw Duhamel become a regular feature in the biggest live tournaments around the globe.

Jonathan

Duhamel has 15 scores weighing in at six-figures or more. He won his second WSOP bracelet in 2015. First-place in the $111,111 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller saw Duhamel rake in $3,989,985. Bracelet number three came three months later in Berlin. Duhamel won the €25,600 High Roller at the WSOP Europe festival for €554,395 ($628,915).

The Canadian quickly gained a reputation for being an extremely talented poker player. He’s not cashed in a live event since November 2018 but still has $18,012,109 in winnings.

CRA Claims Duhamel Had a Professional Poker Player Business

The Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) and Duhamel disagree on whether taxes are owed on Duhamel’s huge winnings. The CRA is claiming CAD$1,219,114 ($913,765) in federal taxes from 20010-12. Revenu Quebec may put its in own similar-sized claim if the CRA is successful. This puts him on a $1.8 million hook.

Canadians do not pay tax on winnings stemming from games of chance. Poker is considered a game of chance in Canada. All Canadian tax residents carrying out business is required to pay taxes, regardless of their business. The CRA argue Duhamel’s business is that of a professional poker player.

CRA considers Duhamel a professional poker player between 2010-12. It says his long-term success depended on his talent and skill, not luck. A long list of arguments is there for all to see at the Tax Court of Canada. They include:

  • Behaving like a serious businessman when playing poker
  • Devoting 40-50 hours per week to playing poker
  • Poker is Duhamel’s only source of income, aside to his investments
  • Uses his above-average math skills to improve his chances of winnings
  • Obtains a sponsorship contract worth $1 million from PokerStars

Two items stand out from the crowd. PokerStars paying Duhamel $1 million is the first. The court documents show PokerStars paid Duhamel $480,000 in cash and paid for $520,000 worth of tournament entries.

Poker

The fact Duhamel only banked $4.8 million from his WSOP Main Event victory is the other. He swapped percentages with other players to limit his potential losses. Winning the Main Event resulted in Duhamel paying $4.1 million. He also paid 30% tax, less these swaps, to the Inland Revenue Service (IRS), or $1,453,293. Many Canadians refuse to play at the WSOP because of a lack of a tax treaty with the U.S.

Jonathan Duhamel Wsop

2010 WSOP Champion Claims All Winnings Are Due to Luck

Duhamel lives in Quebec and 100% believes he doesn’t owe any taxes to the CRA. His $8.9 million WSOP prize from 2010 was “only the result of chance”, his lawyer said.

Furthermore, he claims to never have received any poker-specific training. He also states he’s never used a system to overcome chance or control his chances of winning.

Jonathan Duhamel Wsop 2019

Jonathan Duhamel Poker

The WSOP Main Event victory gave Duhamel a certain notoriety. PokerStars advertised Duhamel as a professional poker player as a marketing ploy.

None of the parties involved are prepared to talk about the case because it’s currently in the courts. It will be interesting to see the outcome, not least how Duhamel can afford to pay the $1.8 million bill.

His sponsorship with PokerStars ended in 2015 and multi-billionaire Guy Laliberte no longer stakes him. Add to that Duhamel hasn’t played a live event for two years and hasn’t been seen playing online poker, and we could find the former World Champion in a whole heap of trouble.

Jonathan Duhamel Poker Games

Jonathan duhamel poker

Jonathan Duhamel has won the 2010 WSOP Main Event. The 23-year-old professional poker player became the first Canadian World Champion and had a payday of almost $9 million. Duhamel enjoyed a memorable run to defeat the 8 other remaining November Niners, the most famous of whom was Michael “the Grinder” Mizrachi, who finished 5th.

Duhamel’s heads-up match against John Racener lasted just over 40 hands, where he used his overwhelming chip advantage (about 6:1) to decimate the 24-year-old Miami pro. The final hand saw Racener’s Kd8d fall to Duhamel’s AsJh, when the board failed to pair either player’s cards.

As we all know, even the best poker players need to run well in order to make the final table and win the Main Event of the World Series of Poker. Duhamel was no exception. For instance Duhamel clearly had Matt Affleck to thank for being the chip leader, coming into the final table with more than 30% of the chips in play, having taken the latter’s mountain of chips in one of the most heartbreaking bad beats in WSOP history. At the final table itself, Duhamel got lucky when all-in for his tournament life with A-9 against Michael Mizrachi’s pocket 3s. Finally, when 3-handed, he was fortunate enough o pick up pocket queens right when Joseph Cheong was 6-bet bluffing with just ace high, to take down the largest pot in World Series history.

Anyhow, we here at CardPlayerLifeStyle.com wish Duhamel well during his reign as champ. Congratulations.

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