ShareImage courtesy of PokerGO.com
Of course, it goes down in the record books as a $10,000 million prize for Espen Jorstad after he etched his name in poker history by outlasting a field of 8,663 players to win the 2022 World Series of Poker Main Event.
But records can be deceiving in the world of high stakes poker when factoring in variables such as selling and/or swapping pieces of action with fellow players. Don't forget, winners also have to shell out a hefty share to the taxman -- usually.
Fortunately for Jorstad, the taxman won't cometh for him thanks to the UK's favorable statute that permits gambling winnings to go untaxed. Had the Norwegian still resided in Norway instead of the UK, a whopping$2,800,000 of prize money would have been sliced from his winnings.
Sharing the Wealth
Dodging the taxman's bullet is pleasurable in and of itself, but perhaps even more pleasurable is spreading out millions of dollars in winnings to friends and backers. Jorstad did exactly that, revealing via social media that his take of the $10 million first place prize was $5.6 million, with $4.4 million going to players with whom he swapped shares.
"Very nice feeling to make my friends a lot of money!" the poker champ exclaimed.
Capping his 2022 WSOP with a Main Event title was a test of perseverance for the 34-year-old considering that his summer stay in Las Vegas included busting out of 10 tournaments in a row. Those 10 events weren't all at Bally's WSOP, as Jorstad played in tournaments at the Aria, Wynn and Venetian casinos as well.
Tag Team Title
The cold streak came to an end when the Norwegian teamed up with Patrick Leonard in the $1,000 NLHE Tag Team event. The pair overcame 275 other teams to capture their first ever gold bracelets and prize money of $74,033 each.
The fun was just starting for Jorstad at that point, as just a few days and a few tournaments later he was on his way to topping the second largest Main Event field in WSOP history. His rail included 14 others who had anywhere from 1% ($100,000) to 7.5% ($750,000) of his action.
Jorstad detailed his 2022 WSOP in a Twitter post, revealing that he also hit the online felt during the summer, winning enough for the $10,000 Main Event buy-in, and then some. Congratulations to the champ and to his buddies who shared in the wealth of the $10,000 million first place prize!
