Who else will be watching Tobey Mcguire's poker winnings?

June 28, 2011 Poker dealers, massage girls, security guards, comfort food, and a full bar for the spectators. Sounds like you would leave this party smiling, right? Well, as you will see, Tobey Maguire and the other celebrities who created a "secret celebrity poker circle", complete with the aforementioned amenities, have little to smile about now.

Bradley Ruderman, Ponzi schemes, and secret poker meetings.
Beverly Hills hedge fund manager Bradley L. Ruderman, likes to play poker with celebrities, and owned two hedge funds, Ruderman Capital Partners and Ruderman Capital Partners A. Ruderman raised the money for his funds by falsely claiming returns as high as 60% through stakes in high-profile companies. Duped investors lost over $44 million. Now he has found out that he is 1) not a popular guy with the FBI or investors and 2) required to pay back investors in addition to dealing with his other legal troubles.

Where is my $5.2 million?
Now, we know where at least $5.2 million of it went. You see, Ruderman got to play at the secret celebrity poker games. It was at those games that he lost the $5+ million, $300,000.00 of which was won by apparent poker pro Tobey Maguire.

Sore poker loser Ruderman decided to sue Tobey Mcguire for his poker money back, which he is supposed to turn over to bilked investors. The poker games took place in Los Angeles, and according to California law, any winnings from unlicensed poker games are deemed illegally gained, thus making it legal to seize the winnings.

Gambling and your tax return.
While it looks like Mcguire will have some legal issues to deal with he should also consider the another government entity who will closely watch this story. The IRS says that any winnings you get through gambling activity must be reported as income on your tax return. Failing to report this source of income will bring the same legal ramifications, penalties, and interest as not reporting other types of income.

The IRS does give gamblers a break, however. Your gambling losses may be reported as deductions against your gambling winnings up to the amount you've won.
Read more about the IRS gambling winnings guidelines here.

Other celebrities with poker issues in the news: Jamie Gold and Nick Cassavetes