Poker Player Allen Kessler wins $1.2 million Slot Jackpot

Poker player Allen Kessler hit a Buffalo Power Pay for a $1.2 million jackpot, I only know who he is from Daniel Negreanu's WSOP YouTube VLOG where every time Daniel saw him he would ask, "What's bothering you today Allen?". Allen had a rough WSOP, apparently losing around $100,000.

He was chasing the Mega Progressive, having played for 12 hours before hitting the Power Grand Jackpot.
Turns out the total jackpot is paid out in an annuity, so Allen has a choice of $60,505 per year for 20 years or a lump sum payment of $805,120, I think the lump sum is the way to go, seems pretty, generous. What choice would you take?


www.pokernews.com / casino / allen-kessler-lands-1-2-million-jackpot-in-las-vegas.htm

https:// brobible.com / sports / article/poker-pro-allen-kessler-wins-12-million-slots-jackpot/

i feel like this should be a discussion about who pays you out in a casino... the statement being physically posted on the machine... like is this a freakin lottery... annuity... lump sum... give me my freakin money

Quote: heatmap

i feel like this should be a discussion about who pays you out in a casino... the statement being physically posted on the machine... like is this a freakin lottery... annuity... lump sum... give me my freakin money
link to original post

In the past it was required to be posted on the machine if it is an annuity.

Quote: DRich

Quote: heatmap

i feel like this should be a discussion about who pays you out in a casino... the statement being physically posted on the machine... like is this a freakin lottery... annuity... lump sum... give me my freakin money
link to original post

In the past it was required to be posted on the machine if it is an annuity.
link to original post

I knew Allen mostly from playing VP with him 20-30 years ago. He is a very versatile AP. The last I saw him was when we both had a free $1000 buy-in for a hold'em tournament at the Atlantis in Reno 10 years ago. He did not recognize me.

Quote: Mental

Quote: DRich

Quote: heatmap

i feel like this should be a discussion about who pays you out in a casino... the statement being physically posted on the machine... like is this a freakin lottery... annuity... lump sum... give me my freakin money
link to original post

In the past it was required to be posted on the machine if it is an annuity.
link to original post

I knew Allen mostly from playing VP with him 20-30 years ago. He is a very versatile AP. The last I saw him was when we both had a free $1000 buy-in for a hold'em tournament at the Atlantis in Reno 10 years ago. He did not recognize me.
link to original post

Interesting, I didn't know he was an AP. I only knew him from being a successful poker player.

Regardless of whether I took the lump sum or annuity, I'd be able to retire immediately.

Quote: heatmap

i feel like this should be a discussion about who pays you out in a casino... the statement being physically posted on the machine... like is this a freakin lottery... annuity... lump sum... give me my freakin money
link to original post

The annuity is mentioned on the machine or in the rules. That the manufacturer pays wide areas is not though. At least, I do not think it is.

Quote: DRich

Quote: heatmap

i feel like this should be a discussion about who pays you out in a casino... the statement being physically posted on the machine... like is this a freakin lottery... annuity... lump sum... give me my freakin money
link to original post

In the past it was required to be posted on the machine if it is an annuity.
link to original post

I did see a photo in one article of a small disclaimer on the machine that jackpots over $500,000 are paid out in an annuity.

Quote: TigerWu

Regardless of whether I took the lump sum or annuity, I'd be able to retire immediately.
link to original post

If this was going to allow me to retire I'd definitely take the annuity to avoid the big upfront tax hit!

Quote: TigerWu

Regardless of whether I took the lump sum or annuity, I'd be able to retire immediately.
link to original post

If this was going to allow me to retire I'd definitely take the annuity to avoid the big upfront tax hit!

Quote: Actuarial

Quote: TigerWu

Regardless of whether I took the lump sum or annuity, I'd be able to retire immediately.
link to original post

If this was going to allow me to retire I'd definitely take the annuity to avoid the big upfront tax hit!
link to original post

I would take the lump sum because I assume taxes will only go up.

Quote: DRich

Quote: Actuarial

Quote: TigerWu

Regardless of whether I took the lump sum or annuity, I'd be able to retire immediately.
link to original post

If this was going to allow me to retire I'd definitely take the annuity to avoid the big upfront tax hit!
link to original post

I would take the lump sum because I assume taxes will only go up.
link to original post

It's a 32% effective tax rate on the lump sum, or 14% on the annuity payments. Taxes would have to go up considerably on a lot of very poor people for you to break even.

allen has the best AP strategy i call it the karen. he complains alot and people really dont care but they get annoyed so they give him free stuff jsut so he doesnt ruin the vibes in the room

Quote: heatmap

allen has the best AP strategy i call it the karen. he complains alot and people really dont care but they get annoyed so they give him free stuff jsut so he doesnt ruin the vibes in the room
link to original post

Lol!

I guess I use the Nerak (Karen spelled backwards).

Don't complain, keep quiet and just use other people's players cards to get them to give me a whole bunch of free stuff.

Quote: Dieter

I recommend the annuity, and would probably take it.

If you're smart enough to be making a counterargument based on the time-value of money, you're probably smart enough to not go broke within the first two years of receiving the lump sum payout, and thus not who this advice is targeting.

link to original post

And if you choose the Annuity, you'd better know what an Annuity means. A guy won the Lottery and chose the Annuity. He got his first Annuity check and blew through it frivolously. The next month, he was expecting another annuity check. It didn't come, so he was furious and went to the Lottery Office and yelled at them that his second Monthly Annuity check didn't come. The Lottery Office had to tell a GROWN MAN that an Annuity meant YEARLY, not monthly and his next Lottery check was coming NEXT YEAR. 😵‍💫 He should be thanking his lucky stars that he chose the ANNUITY and not the lump sum because he most likely would have blown through that limp sum frivolously like he did his first Annuity check. At least with an Annuity, more money is coming to him yearly instead of just one big check. 💡

Quote: heatmap

allen has the best AP strategy i call it the karen. he complains alot and people really dont care but they get annoyed so they give him free stuff jsut so he doesnt ruin the vibes in the room
link to original post

For the record, he seems to only play this persona in the poker room. I met him after a WSOP circuit event in Council Bluffs, and he is the nicest guy ever. Stayed after to take pictures, and a whole group of us walked back to the hotel together talking about hands.

Quote: DRich

Quote: Mental

Quote: DRich

Quote: heatmap

i feel like this should be a discussion about who pays you out in a casino... the statement being physically posted on the machine... like is this a freakin lottery... annuity... lump sum... give me my freakin money
link to original post

In the past it was required to be posted on the machine if it is an annuity.
link to original post

I knew Allen mostly from playing VP with him 20-30 years ago. He is a very versatile AP. The last I saw him was when we both had a free $1000 buy-in for a hold'em tournament at the Atlantis in Reno 10 years ago. He did not recognize me.
link to original post

Interesting, I didn't know he was an AP. I only knew him from being a successful poker player.
link to original post

Despite charging ridiculous mark up while selling pieces of his tournament buy ins he isn’t a winning player and hasn’t been in a long time. Alan is performing at about an 80% Roi over the last 12+ years (while selling pieces at 1.2 or higher) and it’s much worse in Holdem events. He was once a good player back in the very early 2000’s but like a lot of players who don’t study or put the work in the game has long since passed him by. He now brags about cashes which are all min cashes because he is a giant nit and never accumulates any real amount of chips. He has money from other sources that don’t include poker and he is using these funds to travel playing poker in the hopes of accumulating enough cashes to get into the hall of fame one day, one might (and people do) say that he is trying to buy his way into the hall of fame. Luckily this tactic won’t work as everyone who votes knows he is a losing player and has been for a long time. He does ok in small field, lower buy in mixed events but is a big loser in the bigger buy in mixed events. Overall Kessler isn’t very much fun to deal with online as he dumps on players who voice opinions that don’t line up with his by posting their Hendon mob results and saying how dare you say that to me with that pitiful Hendon mob. This is amusing again as anyone who knows poker knows Alan’s Hendon mob results are a joke as he is a losing player playing massive amounts of tournaments to accumulate mostly (majority) min cashes.

All this being said I’m obviously not a fan of him because of how he treats rec players online. Btw he also insta blocks anyone who dares to debate him or dispute what he posts. My dislike of him actually comes from AP dealings with him. He has betrayed the trust of a good friend (AP) of mine. He didn’t scam him or anything but info was shared and it was made very clear that this info wasn’t supposed to be shared, Alan shared it anyways. He likes to teach poker players advantage slots because it allows him to have an in with them. The problem here is he is hurting the AP environment to make friends and doing it with some information that isn’t his to share.

I’d say this is just my two cents but I think this post is more like 75 cents due to the length of it lol.

Quote: Actuarial

It's a 32% effective tax rate on the lump sum, or 14% on the annuity payments.

Wouldn't that 14% be only if you had no other income? If we assume the household income is between $75k and $125k already adding that $65k from winnings would put you back into a higher tax bracket. If someone can live on $65k income for the next 20 years I would assume they will be struggling pretty bad in a decade or so getting killed by inflation and general rising prices. $65k will probably be below the poverty level over that span.

Quote: Actuarial

Quote: heatmap

allen has the best AP strategy i call it the karen. he complains alot and people really dont care but they get annoyed so they give him free stuff jsut so he doesnt ruin the vibes in the room
link to original post

For the record, he seems to only play this persona in the poker room. I met him after a WSOP circuit event in Council Bluffs, and he is the nicest guy ever. Stayed after to take pictures, and a whole group of us walked back to the hotel together talking about hands.
link to original post

No wonder he looks apathetic to the chainsaw corner Daniel is just being Daniel lol

Quote: MaxFlavor

He was chasing the Mega Progressive, having played for 12 hours before hitting the Power Grand Jackpot.

www.pokernews.com / casino / allen-kessler-lands-1-2-million-jackpot-in-las-vegas.htm

https:// brobible.com / sports / article/poker-pro-allen-kessler-wins-12-million-slots-jackpot/
link to original post

How many spins was the Mega accumulator at for him to sit there for 12hrs chasing it?
Was he playing it straight up or using the 'buy a bonus' feature?

I don't know a lot about just a few articles, but I did see somewhere he was using a buy bonus feature.

it's right at 5% interest. Would definitely prefer the lump sum and take my chances that I could beat that.

The taxes is the big issue. If other income is under $140k, I think there are some clear savings. Still some savings up to about $550k per year. I have never had much problem keeping my income under that amount. That would push me into taking the annuity.

After federal taxes, the lump sum is only $525k; the annuity is $45.6k. That's 6-7%, which leaves me a little more indifferent. I would probably take the annuity, because it's much more likely there are years my other income falls short, rather than goes way up. The whole point of million-dollar jackpots is to no longer have to sell my labor for money.

Quote: TomG

The whole point of million-dollar jackpots is to no longer have to sell my labor for money.

I agree, but a $500k lump sum or a $42k annual payment wouldn't allow me to retire. If it was three times that I might consider it.

No amount of money allows a person to retire. The only thing that allows a person to retire is for them to stop working.

Quote: MaxFlavor

I don't know a lot about just a few articles, but I did see somewhere he was using a buy bonus feature.
link to original post

He spent 12hrs buying a bonus?!
That Mega better be 4 digits in spins

Quote: TomG

No amount of money allows a person to retire. The only thing that allows a person to retire is for them to stop working.
link to original post

Exactly you have to let yourself retire just like forgiving yourself it’s all the same - a burden you hold - you didn’t choose to be here and you owe the world nothing

I retired in high school the first time I smoked weed haven’t been here since

Yeah true, especially 20 years out that is going to be nothing. If you're a typical retiree though, with your house paid off (big if) $5k/month is higher than average.

Quote: Actuarial

Yeah true, especially 20 years out that is going to be nothing. If you're a typical retiree though, with your house paid off (big if) $5k/month is higher than average.
link to original post

My goal in todays dollars is around $8k a month of which I will get about $2500 a month from Social Security. I just need to have enough invested to generate $5.5k or so a month in income. I think if I work four more years until I can collect SS I will make my goal. Unfortunately, my wife is 10 years younger than I am so it is unlikely that I will be able to share in her SS money.

Quote: 100xOdds

Quote: MaxFlavor

I don't know a lot about just a few articles, but I did see somewhere he was using a buy bonus feature.
link to original post

He spent 12hrs buying a bonus?!
That Mega better be 4 digits in spins
link to original post

390 is Biggest I've seen but I haven't looked that much.
What was it when he started chasing?

Quote: PokerGrinder

Quote: DRich

Quote: Mental

Quote: DRich

Quote: heatmap

i feel like this should be a discussion about who pays you out in a casino... the statement being physically posted on the machine... like is this a freakin lottery... annuity... lump sum... give me my freakin money
link to original post

In the past it was required to be posted on the machine if it is an annuity.
link to original post

I knew Allen mostly from playing VP with him 20-30 years ago. He is a very versatile AP. The last I saw him was when we both had a free $1000 buy-in for a hold'em tournament at the Atlantis in Reno 10 years ago. He did not recognize me.
link to original post

Interesting, I didn't know he was an AP. I only knew him from being a successful poker player.
link to original post

Despite charging ridiculous mark up while selling pieces of his tournament buy ins he isn’t a winning player and hasn’t been in a long time. Alan is performing at about an 80% Roi over the last 12+ years (while selling pieces at 1.2 or higher) and it’s much worse in Holdem events. He was once a good player back in the very early 2000’s but like a lot of players who don’t study or put the work in the game has long since passed him by. He now brags about cashes which are all min cashes because he is a giant nit and never accumulates any real amount of chips. He has money from other sources that don’t include poker and he is using these funds to travel playing poker in the hopes of accumulating enough cashes to get into the hall of fame one day, one might (and people do) say that he is trying to buy his way into the hall of fame. Luckily this tactic won’t work as everyone who votes knows he is a losing player and has been for a long time. He does ok in small field, lower buy in mixed events but is a big loser in the bigger buy in mixed events. Overall Kessler isn’t very much fun to deal with online as he dumps on players who voice opinions that don’t line up with his by posting their Hendon mob results and saying how dare you say that to me with that pitiful Hendon mob. This is amusing again as anyone who knows poker knows Alan’s Hendon mob results are a joke as he is a losing player playing massive amounts of tournaments to accumulate mostly (majority) min cashes.

All this being said I’m obviously not a fan of him because of how he treats rec players online. Btw he also insta blocks anyone who dares to debate him or dispute what he posts. My dislike of him actually comes from AP dealings with him. He has betrayed the trust of a good friend (AP) of mine. He didn’t scam him or anything but info was shared and it was made very clear that this info wasn’t supposed to be shared, Alan shared it anyways. He likes to teach poker players advantage slots because it allows him to have an in with them. The problem here is he is hurting the AP environment to make friends and doing it with some information that isn’t his to share.

I’d say this is just my two cents but I think this post is more like 75 cents due to the length of it lol.
link to original post

None of this is really shocking. He wasn’t even playing that machine at an advantage. He just got lucky by winning the progressive. The guy is such a degen he continued chasing the mega after they paid him the progressive.

Can’t stand those who betray trust and then teach others with information given to them in confidence. No wonder so many AP’s are poker players or dealers. They all have the same things in common. Most are dumb and greedy. Every conversation I’ve had with one resulted in them trying to convince me they were the best ever.

Now that he has been outed as an AP by way of this progressive hit he probably will get trespassed from a bunch of places.

Well you said he’s a degen, but then you say he’s an ap that’s been outed. So if he’s a degen why would casinos kick him out.