Should "Deal Making" be illegal? - Page 19

On September 02 2011 09:59 Karak wrote:


You guys really have to just stop guessing at what the answers to these questions are. Please do a little googling!

On September 02 2011 10:05 Kaitlin wrote:


I had begun to write a more detailed explanation of how this entire scenario could blow up if the IRS got involved, but I deleted it because if people want to do this shit, then so be it. Just be aware that the IRS offers 10% reward of taxes and penalties collected on information provided for people not paying taxes. Allegations like this pop up on forums and any one person could see an opportunity to drop a dime to the IRS, as there really is no reason not to and they get 10% of any collection.

Long story short of the part I deleted: This "deal making" situation results in either a player not reporting what the tournament reported that they won, or the second place player having an influx of cash which he is not reporting to the IRS (since first place would have paid taxes on it). Any followup investigation would inevitably lead to the IRS contacting the tournament to figure things out. If this activity is against the tournament rules, they can follow up with whatever consequences were agreed upon in entering the tournament, including requiring repayment of the prize money, potentially.

On September 02 2011 09:54 aksfjh wrote:


You'll play your hardest until you feel beat. There's no desperation factor. Especially if there is no desire to please fans, there will be no resilience in the match. We don't need more Idra games where players leave at the first sign of defeat.

On September 02 2011 10:08 Brainling wrote:


Did you even read what Karak said about poker tournaments? This is all facilitated, above board, with the blessing of the IRS (with proper forms). It doesn't HAVE to be illegal, or against the IRS's rules, it only becomes that when people whine about situation they can't possibly understand (because they don't make their living in a pot variant game).

On September 02 2011 10:09 Kaitlin wrote:


You think I'm guessing ? LOL at googling for an answer ...

On September 02 2011 09:54 aksfjh wrote:


You'll play your hardest until you feel beat. There's no desperation factor. Especially if there is no desire to please fans, there will be no resilience in the match. We don't need more Idra games where players leave at the first sign of defeat.

On September 02 2011 10:11 Kaitlin wrote:


To answer your question, no I hadn't read his answer about poker tournaments, as our posts passed in the ether. However, this is NOT poker. If the SC2 tournament is not okay with such splitting, it's not at all the same. These very documents you guys cite are the very proof that sink your ship.

On September 02 2011 07:49 bkrow wrote:

While that sounds just lovely for a local LAN tournament that has no implications for anyone - sure i couldn't care less. But when you realise that SC2 isn't just about you and your roommate, or how "hard" you may have worked to get to the finals, you'll see that it does matter.

The only reason you are getting paid to play a computer game is because of the thousands of fans the generous sponsors. If they knew you had decided to split the money and weren't going to play properly, i imagine the tournament organisers would be pretty mad as would the fans and the sponsors. The example in the OP lead to a 1 base carrier rush and your example included 6 pool vs 6 pool - you have effectively destroyed the finals for everyone watching. Can you imagine something like for Mvp vs CoCa at MLG?

Maybe you should think a little bit less about yourself and a little bit more about the community.

On September 02 2011 10:10 Karak wrote:


I don't think this is accurate at all. There's no reason players couldn't privately file 5754s (or whatever forms are applicable) and have no issues.

If deal-making is explicitly against the tournament rules, it creates an interesting legal situation I'd have to think more about (if the tournament had evidence of deal-making), but it would be hard to a) imagine a tournament making such a rule or b) finding out or ) actually taking legal action as a result.

Furthermore, I see no reason why the IRS would care as long as the proper forms are filed. They are unlikely to even notice at all, obviously.

On September 02 2011 10:13 Karak wrote:


Do you have any authority or sources to back up your claims? Harrah's EXPLICITLY does not facilitate chops for WSOP events, however WSOP chops are very common and raise no tax flags or legal hot water for those involved. I really think you are just throwing out baseless conjecture unless you know something I don't. (And if that's the case, I'd very much appreciate being able to learn about it).

And like I said before, if an SC2 tournament EXPLICITLY makes a rule against deal-making, that raises some interesting questions/situations, but I see no reason why this would get anyone in tax trouble with the IRS. The IRS couldn't care less.

On September 02 2011 10:11 Karak wrote:


I'm just saying your opinion (on that issue) is completely incorrect and uninformed. I've filed many returns based on this, I have accountants handle many of the details and I also am, as is prob obv from my prior posts, in the legal industry. While I am not a tax expert, there is a plethora of well-written guides on how to handle tax situations for horse/backer/chops written by many capable CPAs/tax attorneys if you simply google it. I'm friends with several tax attorneys who deal with these situations all the time and can ask them what the proper forms are if you really want to know.

On September 02 2011 10:22 Trowa127 wrote:
I guess it depends on whether the players are still going to have a genuine final; obviously its never going to be 100% genuine becuase you are going to win cash either way, but the idea isn't too bad (if it didn't effect the amount of effort put in by either player).

As a side note, why is TT1 such a fucking troll? He is about as relevant as a burnt out 80's disco act and still proceeds to chat shit constantly on TL like anyone actually cares what he has to say? Why can't everyone just chill the fuck out and get on with their lives.