Summary:
- A $300 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament in Florida concluded with 15 players agreeing to an even split.
- Controversial player David Hughes counted among the winners.
- Decision to split might have been triggered by gambling tax implications.
A recent $300 buy-in USA poker tournament that kicked off on March 22 in Florida came to a particularly interesting and rare end with one of the largest multi-way chops ever seen in the game.
The no-limit hold’em event was held at bestbet St. Augustine, a venue that hosts 49 gaming tables with poker games of all limits, along with tournaments and a simulcast room.
The event attracted an impressive turnout with no less than 340 players eager to try their best shot at the $30,000 guaranteed prize pool.
Given the interest shown in the event, it didn’t take long until the total prize pool reached the $83,200 mark.
The 15-Way Chop
While the tournament itself wasn’t anything out of the ordinary, the ending could definitely be labeled as such.
Namely, Paul Mitchell finished in 16th place, pocketing $933. However, it’s what happened next that tuly caught everyone’s eye.
The last 15 players decided to evenly split the remaining prize money, each walking away with exactly $4,461.
While chopping a poker tournament isn’t unheard of, a 15-way split is exceedingly rare. In fact, a nearly identical scenario occurred last summer at Wynn Las Vegas during a $600 buy-in Ladies Event.
The Vegas tourney also came to an end with 15 players deciding to chop the prize pool, with each receiving $4,032.
Their decision, as expected, sparked a lot of controversies and was sharply criticized by the poker community.
Controversial David Hughes, Among the Winners
One of the players involved in the chop is no stranger to controversy.
Namely, David Hughes, a Florida poker player with over $180,000 in recorded tournament earnings who previously made headlines when he won a $250 Ladies Event at Seminole Hard Rock two years ago.
Then, Hughes took home $5,555 after coming out with flying colors from a poker event exclusively dedicated to women, sparking backlash across the poker world.
Now, the same player finds himself at the center of another unusual poker story.
All About the Taxes?
There’s speculation that tax considerations may have influenced the decision to chop so early.
Tournament winnings exceeding $5,000 (minus the buy-in) trigger an automatic 24% federal tax withholding. By settling for $4,461 plus their $300 buy-in, each player remained under that threshold.
Interestingly, only 14 of the 15 participants agreed to be in the official “winner” photo.
While the St. Augustine chop is remarkable on its own, it’s certainly not a unique event in the history of the game. In 2010, a $400 buy-in deepstack event at Foxwoods witnessed a 23-way split.
Similarly, earlier this year, an 11-way chop took place at Canterbury Park in Minnesota. However, in that particular case, the payouts weren’t equal, with pro player Carl Carodenuto securing the largest share of $44,000
