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Illinois Governor JB Pritzker Wins $1.4 Million Playing Blackjack in Las Vegas casino last year, according to his 2024 federal tax return, released by his campaign on Wednesday.
Governor, who is running for a third term in 2026 and is Among high-profile Democrats On the 2028 presidential short list, drew attention to his high gambling earnings That’s after he and his wife, MK Pritzker, have combined earnings of $10.7 million — more than triple what they will make as of 2023.
“I was incredibly lucky,” said Pritzker, the billionaire heir to Hyatt Hotels. told reporters on Thursday,
The 60-year-old said his winning amount was the result of a “fun” holiday he, his wife and their friends took in the country’s casino capital last year. He said that he likes to play cards.
Pritzker said, “Anyone who has played cards in a casino knows that you often play too long, and lose everything you win.” “I was lucky enough to get out of there before it happened.”
A spokesperson for Pritzker’s campaign told news outlets that the governor had “got wins and losses from a casino in Las Vegas” but did not specify which casino. The spokesperson said Pritzker would donate the winnings to charity.
Pritzker founded the Chicago Poker Challenge, a charitable poker match played in Chicago that raises funds for the Holocaust Museum.
“I encourage people to come to the state of Illinois and gamble at our casinos. We have some very beautiful places to go,” Pritzker said Thursday.
The governor of Illinois has expanded the state’s gambling opportunities, legalizing sports betting in 2019 and authorizing six new casinos.
Many major casinos on the Las Vegas Strip allow players to wager up to $50,000. Some private events or tables will allow wagers of $100,000 or more.
Pritzker’s net worth is approximately $3.9 billion, according to forbesBut keeps most of his assets in trusts. He does not take a salary as governor and has not done so since being elected in 2019.
The Pritzkers have released summaries of their state and federal tax returns for several years — this past year’s summary was particularly notable because it was the most taxable income since 2021. In 2023, the Pritzkers reported $3.2 million; In 2022, it was $2.3 million.
Governor’s campaign spokesperson told Chicago Tribune The Pritzkers’ taxable income was high because “few trusts make distributions every year and the taxable income associated with those distributions varies from year to year depending on the performance of trust assets.”