Connecticut Man Faces Prison Term After Failing to Declare Million Dollars in Poker Winnings

Connecticut’s Guy Smith, a building contractor and part-time poker player, may face as much as 30 months in prison according to the terms of a plea deal reached with the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Smith, of Milford, Connecticut, acknowledged winning over a million dollars in poker tournaments “around the US and in the Caribbean,” according to a statement from prosecutors, during the years 2012-2016. Smith also failed to declare another $482,000 from his business, Centerline Interiors. The combined income of roughly $1.5 million left him with an IRS liability of roughly $820,000, including penalties and interest. Smith reportedly ignored repeated warnings from the IRS to declare the income and pay the owed taxes and penalties.

Smith pled guilty to tax charges in a US District Court and faces a possible 24-to-30-month prison sentence, though if he is a first-time offender his actual sentence may be somewhat more lenient.

A search of online records shows that he has about $240,000 in recorded career winnings from major events, mostly at Foxwoods in Connecticut but also at venues in Atlantic City (New Jersey), Florida, Nevada, and even at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the Bahamas.

The difference between the total reported poker profit of more than a million dollars and the less than a quarter of that Smith recorded at live events indicates that tax authorities may have successfully tracked large profits from online play at PokerStars and potentially other sites. Another alternative is that he was a frequent player in smaller events at Foxwoods and elsewhere that typically go unreported in large online databases but are still tracked in casino records.

Smith was released on bond while awaiting sentencing, which will occur early in 2021.