Jamie Gold

Jamie Gold Profile
	Nickname: Golden Boy Birthdate: August 25th, 1969 Birthplace: Paramus, N.J, United States Residence: Malibu, California Tournaments Won: 2 WSOP Bracelets: 1 Total Winnings: $12,161,719

A record prize of $12,000,000 was heaped onto the table as Jamie Gold and Paul Wasicka went heads-up for the 2006 World Series of Poker. The final table had been dominated by Gold who had already eliminated seven out of the eight finalists and now had almost 90% of the chips stacked neatly in front of him. Munching on blueberries from the bowl that he had taken to every table of the tournament, he quietly accepted defeat in the first hand to a flush draw. In the next hand, he was dealt Q♠ 9♣ with Wasicka holding a 10♥ 10♠. Gold hit a pair of Queens on the flop of Q♣ 8♥ 5♥. Scratching his face, Gold calmly announced, ‘All in.’ He watched Wasicka hesitate, got to his feet and asked, ‘You don’t have a queen, do you?’ Gold’s goading, though criticised, had produced results for him so far in the tournament and so he continued, ‘I guess if you did, you’d call me.’ Gold then correctly guessed that Wasicka had a pair and shouted, ‘Let’s go! Let’s do it!’ before comically checking his cards again. With the stack sizes so uneven, Wasicka had little choice and called. Jamie Gold turned to his friend and mentor, Johnny Chan, barely able to watch as the final two cards, an A♦ and a 4♣ were turned. Grinning, Gold ran to his opponent, hugged him and for a moment the arrogance was dropped as he whispered ‘You were awesome,’ to the defeated Wasicka. Gold then rang his father, who was unable to attend due to illness, to tell him he had won the largest pot in the history of professional poker.

Poker was not Jamie Gold’s first calling. After graduating from the University of New York at Albany, he relocated to California to study Entertainment Law at UCLA. Immediately, he found work as a talent agent and was employed by several renowned agencies before starting his own company, JMG Management, in 1996. He has represented many high-profile clients including James Gandolfini (The Sopranos), Lucy Liu (Charlie’s Angels) and Kristen Davis (Sex and the City). As his company began to move into television production, he met former WSOP champion, Johnny Chan, whilst working on an upcoming poker show. Gold’s conversations with Chan about poker rekindled his passion for the game he was first introduced to by his mother, an avid player. A talent for cards ran in the family as his grandfather was a gin rummy champion and Gold began reading poker books and taking advice from Chan. In the year leading up his WSOP win, he dedicated himself to playing in his local casinos, sharpening his poker skills in large field tournaments. Despite one notable win in the Stars and Stripes tournament and eight final table finishes, Gold was a relative unknown in the poker world when he entered the 2006 WSOP main event as part of the Bodog.com celebrity team.   

Controversy followed Gold’s massive win and he immediately afterwards found himself embroiled in a lawsuit that laid claim to half of the $12,000,000. His former business partner, Crispin Leyser, who had put in half of the $10,000 WSOP entry fee was demanding his share of the fortune and Gold found his assets frozen until an out of court settlement for an undisclosed amount was reached almost six months later. In the meantime, Bodog.com dropped him from their team and he has never managed to repeat his success, having not reached a final table since. His poker tactics have come under scrutiny after Gold was alleged to have shown one of his opponents a hole card during the 2006 WSOP event and in the following year he was warned for telling his opponents what cards he was holding, prior to his elimination. His detractors have even called into question his credibility as a talent agent and television producer.

Despite all this, Gold’s brilliant performance when he dominated the 2006 WSOP cannot be doubted. Chip leader from as early as the fourth day, he bluffed and bullied his way past talented newcomers, celebrities and seasoned professionals alike, to come out first amongst a record-breaking 8,772 entrants. His table manner was at times both calm and animated but always calculated and fascinating to watch. Whether he can duplicate his form of his historical poker achievement remains to be seen but in the 2006 WSOP, Jamie Gold definitely had the Midas touch. 

Jamie Gold WSOP Tournaments & Top Ten Finishes
	Event* Date Position Winnings WSOP Europe WSOP Championship Sep 16th 2007 35th $50,898 38th Annual WSOP Event 52 Jul 2nd 2007 84th $4,840 38th Annual WSOP Event 45 – No Limit Hold’em Short Handed Jun 28th 2007 44th $9,238 37th Annual WSOP Event 39 – Championship WSOP Final Aug 10th 2006 1st $12,000,000 Sport of Kings Event 10 April 7th 2006 2nd $18,400 Winning ‘O’ the Green Event 16 May 15th 2006 5th $6,100 National Championships of Poker Event 8 Oct 26th 2005 8th $1,290 Larry Flynt’s Grand Slam of Poker 2005 Event 6 Jul 21st 2005 7th $2,050 The Mini  Series Main Event Jul 6th 2005 7th $4,725 Heavenly Hold’em May 6th 2005 10th $4,668 Stars and Stripes April 23rd 2005 1st $54,225 Stars and Stripes April 17th 2005 9th $1,060

See full list of our professional poker player bios