Professional Poker Players May Qualify For Unemployment During COVID-19 PandemicCARES Act Extended Benefits To Independent Contractors And Self-Employed |
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One downside of becoming a professional poker player was that as a self-employed person, you lack the ability for federal assistance programs. After all, the self-employed never had a salary, to begin with.
In the wake of the coronavirus-induced casino shutdown, those rules are changing and professional gamblers have the ability to file for unemployment benefits, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Rosa Mendez, a spokeswoman for the Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation told the LVRJ that professional gamblers might qualify for assistance because of the CARES Act and must file as self-employed or as an independent contractor.
The CARES Act was signed by President Trump March 27 and extended unemployment benefits to both self-employed individuals and independent contractors.
Professional poker player Chris Konvalinka told the newspaper that he would be applying for assistance and that “It seems like a freeroll to me.”
“Worst case, they say no,” added Konvalinka.
Professional gamblers filing for assistance in Nevada may have to wait quite a while before receiving any cash. In 2019, there were a total of 119,232 unemployment claims. In the last three weeks, there were 170,596 claims, which has caused severe delays in payments being made.
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