Guy Smith is a businessman in Connecticut who enjoys playing poker professionally on a part-time basis. He also likes to spend time placing sports bets. After earning a few wins, Smith neglected to pay the taxes he owed and is now facing jail time for his actions. Smith was recently sentenced to 14 months in prison after he owed more than $1 million in poker taxes to the federal government.
Last year, Smith pled guilty to one count of tax evasion. He owns the Centerline Interiors LLC company and was warned several times by the IRS that he must declare any poker earnings when he files his taxes. Instead of doing that, Smith kept his winnings a secret.
From 2012 to 2016, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut says that Smith provided a summary of his company’s income and expenses. This information was used to file Smith’s taxes with the federal government.
When supplying the information, Smith did not provide any bank statements or information regarding his poker winnings. In a five year time frame, he never reported gaming earnings and neglected to file for $1.1 million in earnings.
Smith has seen success at the felt and apparently didn’t feel like the government needed their cut. He has seven five-figure wins during his career, even cashing out during a PPC Poker Tour event back in 2016 and earning his best single prize ever, at over $51,000.
The business owner was using his personal bank accounts and his business accounts to fund his gambling habit. He regularly took part in poker tournaments locally as well as in neighboring states. Unfortunately, after earning the wins, he did not file with the government correctly at tax time and is now paying the price.
It is essential that gamblers follow the law after earning a big win and file tax paperwork correctly. Acting like Smith did is sure to land you in jail and possibly even owing more money to the federal government!
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