The World Series of Poker, 2006. Jamie Gold wins a staggering $12 Million, the largest payout in any gaming or sporting event in history. Given recent anti-gaming legislation, it may stay that way for a while. But instead of singing all the way to the bank, Gold only receives half of that $12 Million payday.

Why? As you probably know, a man by the name of Crispin Leyser has successfully won an injunction on the remaining $6 Million, which by order of the Nevada legal system remains locked safely away in the vaults of the Rio in Las Vegas. Leyser claims that Gold agreed to give him half of his winnings from a seat sponsored by online "educational" site, Bodog.net, in exchange for providing two celebrities that would, along with Jamie, wear Bodog apparel. Enter the lawsuit, and the injunction.

On November 1, the defense for Jamie Gold filed a motion to have that injunction removed. The document was posted online by Wicked Chops, and you can read it in its entirety here. I've read a few reviews of this document around the net but I thought I'd put in my two cents, given that I've just read the entire thing from front to finish. Yes, this required a smoke break.

When this story first broke, it was reported in the blogsphere, mostly via hearsay, that Gold had made an agreement with Lesyer prior to the start of the main event. According to this motion, however, Gold states that he made no such agreement before the tournament started, and only after Bodog refused to sponsor Leyser, himself, did Gold agree to "share" his winnings.

According to the motion, Lesyer wanted to be sponsored as well, and passed along a couple of celebrities in the hopes he would be. Apparently, Bodog refused, and Lesyer was not offered a seat even though the celebrities (Matt Lillard and Dax Shephard) were sponsored.

Gold claims that even then, it was not agreed that Leyser would receive a full half of the winnings. Even that being said, I must admit that if someone said to me "I'll share my winnings with you," I would probably expect half. That's neither here nor there, however, as Golds states that later on during the course of the event, with a win looking exceedingly probable with every hand of play, and amidst numerous phone calls and text messages from Leyser, Gold agreed to give Lesyer a full half.

What's worth noting is that the motion classifies Gold's offer to share his profits as a "gift," which would mean that he at no time entered an actual contract with Leyser for any kind of service or offering. This is the real meat of the argument, since a "gift" is not an enforceable contract, thereby rendering any legal claim Leyser may make to his half completely moot.

Long story short, Gold does admit to offering half of his winnings to Leyser, but the motion makes the claim that he is not legally obligated to give it to him.

On top of all this, the motion declares that Leyser wanted his half of the $12 Million win before any taxes or tips had been removed from it. Gold claims he left all $12 Million with the Rio after his win to speak with a tax lawyer about the situation, and that lawyer informed him that after taxes and the standard dealer tip-out, Gold could possibly only be left with around $6 Million out of the original 12. If that's correct, if Gold had given Leyser his $6 Million, Gold may have been left with nothing.

As I mentioned, Gold said he received countless phone calls and text messages from Leyser during the course of the event, Leyser attempting to ensure that he would receive what he felt entitled to. The motion calls this "harassment," and I've no doubt it could have been a contributing factor to the fabled bodyguards that surrounded Gold as he closed in on his win.

Here is the text from the infamous "cell phone message," in which Gold attempts to ease Leyser's mind:

"So please just be with me. I can't imagine you're going to have a problem with it. I just don't want any stress about any money or any of that shit going on today, or even after the end of the day. I'm sure you're going to be fine; you're going to be very well taken care of, absolutely fair. We're just trying to hand this properly and after now I don't even want to talk about [the money] or think about it."

This is unclear, and does little to let us know if the agreement was made before or after Gold started playing. All it tells us is that Leyser was obviously wanting something, and Gold was trying to ease his fears and assure him he would be "taken care of." No promises of $6 Million to be found, here.

One interesting thing that this all brings to light is why the dealers never received their $1 Million tip, which Gold had reportedly promised them. Certainly, in the wake of all this litigation and name-calling, with the exact amount of money he's going to be left with uncertain, Gold is unlikely to give that any time soon. The real question is whether or not that tip will get paid out once all this mess is over with. I think it would do wonders for his credibility if Gold were to make good, precisely the opposite if he were not to.

In defense of Leyser's claims that Gold had promised half of his winnings to Leyser after he secured Matthew Lillard and Dax Shephard to play in Bodog gear, Gold's defense in this motion has provided a copy of the agreement. The official agreement that Gold entered with Bodog did not, in fact, preclude his procurement of celebrities in the event. This was most likely an unofficial "understanding."

Also worth noting is the following wording in the aforementioned agreement:

"Confidentiality:
Except as legally required, and except for [Gold's] representative, [Gold] agrees not to disclose any details about the business terms or compensation received for the services provided under this Agreement."

According to the agreement, Gold is forbidden to discuss the nature of his deal with Bodog with anyone except his lawyer. I don't think that particular point will have much bearing on the case, but it's worth noting that he technically violated the agreement and Bodog could potentially release him. I'm no lawyer, of course, that's just my take. Of course, it doesn't really matter - Gold has already won and I don't see a court awarding that $12 Million to Bodog, instead.

In the end, it's looking like the battle is in full swing. It will be interesting to see if the injunction against the remaining $6 Million is removed. The motion makes a strong case for it, though I'm sure the offense will counter with their own.

J