Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who is a billionaire, won about $1.4 million gambling at a Las Vegas casino last year, according to his latest tax filing.
A spokesperson said the Democratic governor, who’s running for a third term and is also on the 2028 presidential short list, made the money playing blackjack during a vacation with his wife and some friends.
The casino winnings come on top of $4.2 million in capital gains, almost $3.9 million in dividends, and more than $800,000 in taxable interest. Pritzker doesn’t take a salary for his work as governor.
His campaign said he plans to donate the gambling winnings to charity.
“I went on vacation with my wife, with some friends. I was incredibly lucky. You have to be to end up ahead, frankly, going to a casino anywhere — it was in Las Vegas — and I like to play cards,” Pritzker told reporters at a news conference Thursday.
The governor apparently enjoys playing poker too, according to his campaign, and even started a charity poker tournament.
In total, Pritzker and his wife, MK, reported an income of $10.6 million for 2024.
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Gambling has grown quickly in Illinois during Pritzker’s time as governor. In 2019, he signed a law that legalized sports betting, approved six new casinos, and expanded the number of slot machines in bars and restaurants. The move helped fund his $45 billion infrastructure plan.
Pritzker’s family, whose fortune comes from the Hyatt hotel chain, has been connected to the casino industry for decades. Before he was first elected in 2018, Pritzker invested in a company that owned a small, 1% share of Elgin’s Grand Victoria Casino.
With an estimated net worth of about $3.9 billion, Pritzker no longer has any direct stake in gambling businesses. His assets are held in a blind trust, meaning he can still benefit financially but isn’t involved in managing the investments, which helps avoid conflicts of interest.
Pritzker and his wife, MK, paid nearly $3.7 million in federal taxes and more than $869,000 in state taxes for 2024. They also donated $3.3 million to charity last year, according to his campaign.
Last year was Pritzker’s highest-earning year since 2021. Over the years, he’s spent hundreds of millions of dollars funding his own political campaigns as well as supporting other Democrats across the country.
Featured image: ABC via YouTube
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