the "Im not a tax attorney" seemed to suggest that everything after the "but" was a pure guess. Typical internet phenomenon where people want to reply but have nothing additive to say.

Of course there are ways to debate what the value of a prize is with the IRS; there is at least one publication I can think of on the topic and a set of procedures to follow. Of course, IMHO - it's certainly going to raise some flags and probably spurn a paper audit to send in documentation of the delta.