https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...nding-n1168136

Doesn't sound like it. Poker doesn't fall into any of those categories.

It would cover prop players as long as they are getting a W-2.

If they pay taxes I don’t see why not.

My friend's accountant says no.

Aww shucks. And here I always thought that the line "Check is in the mail!" was golden.

Do you pay unemployment insurance? Then you're eligible.

Because paying taxes (as in a 1040) is not enough. You* or your employer needed to pay unemployment tax both federal and state.

You*: self employed pro or independent contractor?

You as a poker player probably did not contribute a penny toward an unemployment account.

Same with me as a sports referee. I can even show them a partial schedule for spring sports that I had already been assigned ($1050.00 fees lost). I am not eligible for unemployment benefits.

lol @ poker players being eligible for unemployment

"whoops i lost my bankroll, time to collect unemployment."

From reports on the web, some who are not normally eligible for unemployment (self employed, contract workers, etc) are eligible under the stimulus bill.

Whether or not a "self employed poker player" qualifies and if so, for how much, I have no idea.

Well how are these gig workers getting it then? Are they not Independent contractors?
Does anyone pay unemployment tax/insurance on that?

COVID-19 FAQ on NV Unemployment site

"Am I eligible for unemployment benefits if I am self-employed and am unable to
work during the crisis?
No. Currently, there is no program available through UI to assist self-employed workers"

https://cms.detr.nv.gov/Content/Medi...9_0325_ENG.pdf

Maybe you collect from somewhere else?

Or maybe you can wait until the bill is actually passed?

This is it, assuming it passes.

https://www.politico.com/f/?id=00000...3-777f92a00000

'unemployment' is an insurance program, if you aren't paying the premium, you aren't going to be eligible to collect the benefit. Pretty basic concept

It is soooo poker players to collect unemployment while grinding

Hookers and prostitutes grind too. But that doesn't necessarily mean they will be able to collect unemployment while doing so either.

Except most of them do.

I don't know how the stimulus bill is written, so I'll assume for this discussion that a poker player could get a share of that money, even though I think that's unlikely.


Let's say that you are a legitimate Schedule C business as a poker player. Even so you could still be denied, for a lot of reasons. Poker players don't get fair treatment from the IRS.

Let's say that you decide to put up a small ice cream stand. You follow the local laws and regulations. You have no employees. You work eight hours a day five days a week, you make a profit and you file with the IRS. The IRS is fine with that. Congratulations! You own a Schedule C business!

Now we'll get back to being a poker player. You play or study on a regular basis, and you make a profit. You are probably a legitimate Schedule C business (that's how I file) but here's the problem.

You might be asked to prove that poker is your job. Most people can have more that one schedule C business, for example, landscaping and photography, but because the IRS considers you a gambler, you won't be treated the same way as Ice Cream Guy.

You might be asked to prove that poker is your only job, or at least your main job. That means that you have to spend more than half of your work hours on poker (playing, studying, administrative time, etc.) You might be asked to back that up with records.

I'm ready for that. I keep great records for both live and online. I could look up how much I paid in rake on September 15, 2018. I could look up my hours for any given week and tell you how many hours I worked, and break that down in quarter hours to studying, playing and administrative (for example, improving my spreadsheets.)

I'm not after a share of the stimulus money. My point is that if you list your occupation as poker player (Professional Poker Player is the Department of Labor job classification) there are a lot of ways that you could be shot down.

Hmmm

What’s the difference between a hooker and a prostitute

Tx

Hookers have sex for money and prostitutes get elected to office.

3-18-2020 Wayne, NJ Looked for home games Didn't find any.
3-19-2020 Atlantic City, NJ Phone call No casino card rooms open

3-24-2020 Paterson, NJ Looked for home games Didn't find any.
3-25-2020 Clifton NJ Went to VFW Nobody wanted to play.

You don't have to look for work to get unemployment now anyway, but unfortunately it doesn't look like it works for Pro poker and sports bettors, even tho you keep seeing headlines of self employed people that previously didn't qualify now do.

I tried on the NV site and when it got to the important part of selecting one of your previous employers from the selections they show, even if it wasn't recent, None of them applied to me, so I picked none of the above.

Next screen showed Not eligible. I filed 2018 as pro gambler and haven't filed yet for 2019 since I owe money.

No poker player registers under the self-employed as it needs one to pay the whole health care tax that in some countries means up to 80% total taxes.

One is non-employed and one either is under the free health care or pays 100 (to 200) per month as full private health insurance. If not working during some time (of the year) one can registers as unemployed if one has a permanent residence (after 5 to 10 years) or gets kicked out of the country.

If one doesn't register as unemployed but just needs some more, if one is broke (no savings, possibly living on rent) one might get help for the rent and/or to the other minimum living costs and it is under other social benefits that are paid by the same source or another (state, city or whatever) and maybe one will not get kicked out of the country in this case or after having lived there a couple of years or whatever but no one knows.

if you have an EIN it would help... But if you filed your taxes last year you will get 1,200 once or twice