Allen ‘Chainsaw’ Kessler had endured the kind of WSOP summer he might have liked to forget. Dropping tens of thousands in buy-ins, Kessler was unfortunate to book a losing series, as he bricked the last dozen plus events to leave himself down in a number of ways. One win on the Buffalo slot machine later, he booked an incredible seven-figure win that has saved his summer.
Chainsaw Meet Buffalo
“It’s relaxing to play slots after sitting at a poker table.”
Allen Kessler might have thought he was going to be chopped down himself when he sat at the Buffalo slot machine at the Thunder Valley Resort & Casino in Northern California.
“It’s relaxing to play slots after sitting at a poker table. I can afford it, and I find it a release. Plus, the casino looks after me and there’s free food, so they don’t have the same edge.”
Betting $125 a pop on the machine for 12 hours, Kessler said that he had been in the chair for effectively “12 hours” when the jackpot hit. And what a jackpot.
Here’s the moment Chainsaw cut down the Buffalo.
Kessler was betting $125 a pop after being down around $12,000 at the time of his bink. Players from Vanessa Kade to Jeremy Ausmus were delighted for the WSOP legend, who has famously cashed 251 times, winning four Circuit rings yet has never won a WSOP bracelet. He’s still won over $2.3 million in WSOP earnings alone, however, so a great deal of pride went into his World Series in 2024.
Being a losing series, this saves it by a long way, leaving well over $1 million in profit to bank… or does it?
Take the Deal, or 20 Yearly Payments?
As slot machine regulars will know, if you win a large jackpot such as the one Chainsaw did, you don’t walk away with holdalls stuffed with greenbacks. Kessler played that particularly game just because he enjoys it.
“I love the sound effects,” Kessler tells us. “I love the bonus games – Aristocrat have cornered the slot market during the past few years. They have the most innovative slot machines, especially Buffalo!”
The $1.2m Kessler won was subject to a few terms and conditions. Essentially, what the amount boiled down to was 20 yearly payments of $60,500 totalling the full $1.2m or a significantly reduced lump sum.
Kessler put the question to the masses on Twitter once he broke down the payment terms of the casino in question: “Jackpot prizes of $500,000 or greater will be paid by Aristocrat in periodic payments over 20 years, or a discounted lump sum upon proper jackpot and winner verification, the small print on the slot machine said.
“Math geeks,” Kessler wrote. “They are having a rep from Aristocrat meet me in around 2-3 hours regarding my $1.2m jackpot. I can take one lump sum or payments over 20 years. What is the number I should accept as a lump sum amount? Bear in mind with my diet I may not live 20 years!”
Kessler, famous for cutting corners – and coupons – to save money on meals around WSOP time, had a quandary. Matt Berkey posted a typically business-like response:
“This is a question for your accountant, not Twitter. I suspect tax implications along with dollar utility will be the deciding factor. Seems at least close to me unless you can mostly write the winnings off.”
Did Kessler ‘Cut and Run’?
Others didn’t think it was close at all, with the lump sum payout of $805,120 being offered considered very high once Kessler took into consideration compound interest, or as some saw it, the chance to ‘put it all on bitcoin’. If that happens, we’d be more surprised that if Daniel Negreanu walked into the Wynn tonight and ordered a sirloin steak medium rare. Kessler, however, was pretty set on the deal.
“I finally have the two options available for my 1.2m slot win. Option 1 is $60,505 annually for the next 20 years. Option 2 is a discounted although very generous lump sum offer of $805,120. It seems like a slam dunk to take the $805k unless I’m missing something.”
“These two things are not equal,” said Team Lucky’s Matt Glantz, who knows a thing or two about winning million-plus prizes given his WSOP bounty event heroics. “Not even close to equal. Plus, you are down in tournaments this current year. You won’t have to pay the full tax amount on the lump sum. You can also play tournaments for the rest of 2024 at a discounted effective buy-in. Congrats.”
According to Kessler’s fanbase of over 5,500 followers on X who voted, 86% of them believed that he should take the lump sum. So did he?
“Yes. My accountant advised on that for several reasons: my age, the inflation rate, making $60k worth way less in year 20, and investment opportunities currently available to recoup the difference. Those reasons, along with possible taxes if Californian casinos decide to tax winnings in future years.”
Hey, it pays the WSOP Main Event entry fee for the next 80 years, at the very least.
