Monday, April 29, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
Each year, more international players flock to the World Series of Poker, even though some of them know they will have no choice but to leave a good chunk of their winnings with Uncle Sam.
Take, for instance, Australian Gary Benson, who last week won the $1,500 buy-in limit 7-card stud title at the Horseshoe hotel-casino.
Because the land Down Under does not have a tax treaty with the United States, the Sydney resident had to give 30 percent of his $148,200 prize -- $44,460 -- to the Internal Revenue Service.
Tournament Coordinator Jack McClelland noted that while such players lose a lot of their winnings to the IRS -- as opposed to other gamblers -- they also stand to win a lot more money than they would have made by staying home.
Side games popular
And big money -- even diluted by revenuers -- is the main lure of the tournament, now in its 27th year. This year, more than $11 million is expected to change hands in tournament games and untold millions more in side games where no records are kept by the casino.
"Some of them (internationals) come here to play exclusively in side games," McClelland said. "Others enter the satellite games (to win seats in the big games at a fraction of the cost), so their return is still real good if they win the event."
A good many foreign players don't have to worry about paying the taxes -- at least not right away.
For example, Bruno Micchiardi of Toreno, Italy, and Dick Djoa of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, placed fourth and sixth in the $1,500 buy-in Chinese Poker game and got to keep all their winnings -- $6,510 and $5,115 -- because they received a tax exemption through the treaties.
"We have never had a year when the number of international entrants has decreased," said longtime Tournament Director Jim Albrecht, noting that more than 200 of the 2,000 players in town for the event are from foreign lands.
Some, such as Scandinavian Chris Bjorin, maintain a residencies in nations that have tax-exempt status -- in his case England. Otherwise, the Swede would have had to fork over $923 of the $3,078 he won by finishing 10th in the $1,500 buy-in limit Omaha hold 'em game last week.
That same night, Roy Flowerday of Johannesburg, South Africa, had to surrender $616 of the $2,052 he won by placing 16th because there is no tax treaty between his homeland and the United States.
Long way from Sydney
The same was true for Vic Kramer, of Sydney, who had to leave behind $7,920 of the $26,400 he collected for finishing seventh in the $2,000 buy-in limit Texas hold 'em game.
Still, he has been coming to Las Vegas for several years, and one gets the impression he'd rather gamble in Las Vegas than in his land of origin even with the tax issue.
"We have gambling in every state (six) in Australia," the 51-year-old developer said, noting that there is a major annual tournament in Adelaide, 1,000 miles from his home.
Yet Kramer travels a much further distance to Las Vegas at least once a year even though he knows $3 of every $10 of tournament winnings will never see its way to his bankroll.
"I love this place (the World Series tournament)," Kramer said, noting that the best he had done previously in a World Series event was 30th -- out of the money. "It's a real privilege to compete against quality fields."
The foreign representation includes people from countries as large as the continent of Australia to those as small as the island of New Caledonia, 700 miles east of Australia.
Several New Caledonians are scheduled to make their debut at the World Series in the later events, including the $10,000 buy-in no-limit Texas hold 'em tournament championship game May 13-16, Albrecht said, noting that the island nation has no tax treaty with the United States.
This year's foreign field also includes a Russian, a huge contingent of British subjects and a dozen Germans. Those countries have tax pacts with America. The other exempt nations are the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary, Liechtenstein, Malta, Slovenia, Spain and Tunisia.
Began in 1980s
The foreign invasion began in the early 1980s when noted Irish gambler Terry Rogers brought fellow countrymen to the World Series, several of whom placed in the events.
Ironically, Rogers no longer comes to the granddaddy of all gaming tournaments -- and hasn't for several years -- mainly because of the tax situation.
After the Irish came the Brits and then a small band of Costa Ricans, all of whom now live and have businesses in Miami -- another way of escaping the immediate pounding of the tax hammer.
In October 1992, the Binion's Hall of Fame Classic was canceled over the tax issue, but reinstated days later when the casino and IRS, with mediation from state and local officials, reached the compromise that is used today.
Instead of the IRS withholding huge chunks of winnings from all players, American gamblers sign a tax form, taking responsibility for paying their fair share. Players from countries with tax treaties receive the exemption, also presumably to pay their taxes at a later date.
This allows those gamblers the time to prepare tax returns that also reflect their losses and invest some of the winnings to shelter some of the windfalls.
"We are comfortable with the reporting (of taxable income by the gamblers) on the issue," said Las Vegas IRS spokeswoman Marilyn Steen. "This way, they have something (a tax form, which creates a paper trail) in their hand."
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