The stage was set, a warm blue glow cast across a boisterous audience on their feet and struggling to see the 2006 World Series of Poker main event champion. Jamie Gold had just emerged victorious after the two week event, winning a record $12,000,000.


A few days after Jamie had secured a chip lead that he would never relinquish in his quest for the largest payout in poker history, I passed his table and gawked at his chip stack. As I realized that this man may very well be the next champion, I couldn't keep myself from posing a question.

"So," I asked Jamie. "If you win $12 million, what are you going to do with the money?"

Jamie looked over his shoulder and, without skipping a beat, said: "Give it to my father."

I was a bit stunned.

"All of it?" I asked.

"He has ALS... Lou Gehrig's disease."

The players at his table collectively raised their eyebrows. I don't think anyone knew that. And as honorable as the pledge of his winnings to his father might be, there was at least one other person that expected a chunk of the cash. Crispin Leyser, a British television producer now residing in Los Angeles, is suing Jamie Gold for $6 million, exactly half of his winnings.

To clarify, Jamie Gold did not pay his own way into the event. He was sponsored by Bodog in return for his recruitment of celebrities to play and advertise their site.

Leyser claims that Gold requested his assistance in signing those celebrities. Leyser acquired Matthew Lillard, noted for his roles in Scream and as "Shaggy" in the Scooby Doo films, and MTV actor/comedian Dax Shepard.

Gold, says Leyser, was unsure at the time if he wanted to play in the main event, due to items that required his attention back in L.A.. Leyser says Gold told him that he might be able to play, instead.


Bodog ended up insisting that Gold play in the event per their agreement, but not before Gold, according to Leyser, had already promised him half of his winnings in exchange for his help and regardless of which of them played in the event.

While Bodog has publically acknowledged their deal with Gold, they deny any knowledge of an agreement with Leyser. But that doesn't necessarily mean it wasn't there. Leyser claims to have a voicemail sent by Gold mere hours before play began at the final table.

"You've trusted me the whole way," the suit claims Gold can be heard saying in the recording. "You can trust me a little bit more. I promise you there's no way anybody will go anywhere with your money. It's your money."

Pending a resolution to the disagreement, a Las Vegas judge has issued a temporary restraining order that prevents Harrah's, the company that purchased the rights to the WSOP in 2004, from paying gold the $12 million prize. A hearing on the matter is just a few days away.

Jamie Gold, through his publicists, released the following statement:

“Jamie Gold is disappointed that the plaintiff, a person he has only known since July of this year, has elected to file litigation rather than continue the parties' discussions in an effort to find a resolution to this matter.

"Mr. Gold believes strongly in the American judicial system and believes that it is better to present his case there than to try the matter before the court of public opinion.

"He is pleased to have had the opportunity to participate and win the World Series of Poker and is pleased with the quality of the tournament, his outstanding opponents, and Harrahs, the event organizer. Mr. Gold further appreciates the support of his fans and sponsor, bodog.net, and hopes that this unfortunate litigation will not detract from the outstanding efforts of the entire field of participants in the World Series of Poker."

As sad as it might be that such a "disagreement" has arisen, creating controversy and somewhat tainting what was the most successful WSOP main event in history, at least one good thing may have come from it.

There was a bit of an outrage soon after Gold's win, in which the dealer's for the WSOP complained that he had not delivered on his promise of $1 million, should he win the event. It's now become clear that this may very well be because he hasn't been given his money yet.

Stay tuned.

- J