Joe Hachem, a mortgage agent from Sydney and a widely known poker pro, wins a lawsuit against a tax collector. Hachem had won the World Series of Poker last July in Las Vegas, taking home over 7 million US dollars. According to Australian taxation laws, Hachem was to pay taxes for his winnings. However, the player did not want to do so, and started a legal process. His lawyer, Peter Donovan, alleged that playing poker was not Hachems profession, but simply a hobby. His actual profession was a mortgage agent and instead of practicing sports or going to the movies, he liked to play poker in his free time.
This time, Hachem was lucky, but in Australia, tax collectors are following his trajectory closely, since Poker has become much more than a hobby in his life. When asked about Hachems future winnings from poker, Mr Donovan said that he will probably pay taxes.
