2006 WSOP Championship Final Table: UPDATE:

[ArnieBragg 1]

Gold discovers other side to fame

 

Posted 9/25/2006 10:47 PM ET

 

By Steve DiMeglio, USA TODAY

 

As a former talent agent and manager in Hollywood with a respectable roster of clients, among them James Gandolfini, Jimmy Fallon and Felicity Huffman, Jamie Gold toiled in the shadows of celebrity for years.

After dusting 8,772 players with his aggressive, talkative style to win the World Series of Poker's main event in August — and $12 million — the spotlight has found Gold.

 

"Anywhere I go people are asking me for autographs," says Gold, 37. "I can't believe that people want me to sign my name for them."

 

His celebrity status is destined to grow as ESPN broadcasts replays of the WSOP, including tonight's first showing of the Aug. 10 final table. Last week, Gold threw out the first pitch at a Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game. He's spent days doing commercial and photo shoots, many for Bodog.com, a Costa Rican-based online gambling company that signed Gold to a multimillion-dollar endorsement deal. He's done numerous interviews for papers and magazines. He'll start appearing on talk shows soon.

 

"Things haven't really slowed down," Gold says. "This all seems normal to me. I've been exposed to levels of celebrity, but I was helping other people go through it. Now I have to go through it."

 

His instant stardom hasn't been without controversy. Immediately after winning the main event, he became the target of anonymous postings on blogs where he was accused of exaggerating his Hollywood credentials.

 

"Everyone I've known in Hollywood slammed them," Gold says. "They vouched for me. I didn't think people would challenge my background."

 

A few weeks later, television producer Crispin Leyser filed a lawsuit claiming Gold reneged on a deal to split his winnings, leading a Las Vegas judge to freeze half of the $12 million. Gold would not comment on the suit.

The bulk of the money Gold has received will go to the care of his father, Robert, who suffers from Lou Gehrig's disease, and starting a foundation for research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

 

"The money will absolutely help him be as comfortable as possible for his last days," Gold says.

 

"That's the most important thing in all of this."

 

Gold also is concentrating on his new career as a television producer. He is a partner of Buzznation, a television production company that has started auditions for the reality show Hottest Mom in America.

 

"It's going to be American Idol for moms," Gold says. "The response has been huge. I was in Dallas for auditions before going to the WSOP. My life that I had before winning the WSOP has not gone away.

 

"Poker is my hobby."

 

In the last two years, Gold started devoting 30 hours a week to his hobby. Since he won the main event, he's played regularly on Bodog.com and finished 17th in a tournament in the Turks and Caicos. As poker's new ambassador, Gold says he'll play in as many poker tournaments in as many countries as possible.

 

"I accomplished something pretty amazing, but I still need to become a great poker player," he says. "I'm not a great poker player. I'm a good poker player. I need 10 years before I become a great poker player.

 

"People have asked me if I'm good as (poker stars) Phil Hellmuth, Danny Negreanu, Johnny Chan, and I tell them there is no way I'm anywhere near the level of those guys. But give me 10 years and we'll see."

[IAMWood 6]

Yeah, he did play well in some spots but he got a ton of cards. But in a tourney that size, whomever wins will have to get a ton of cards. He will not be able to pull the same stuff again in the future. It was funny in one spot, he was begging for a compliment, sayin something like this," I am getting a lot of cards, but I am playing well, right, right right...." He is a tool. I wish I had the bankroll to enter some tourneys..

[ArnieBragg 1]

Per Wikipedia:

 

In April 2005 at the Bicycle Casino, he won his first major no limit Texas hold 'em tournament, earning $54,225. Over the next twelve months, Gold had seven more in the money finishes in California tournaments.

[UncleHulka 0]

Yeah, he did play well in some spots but he got a ton of cards. But in a tourney that size, whomever wins will have to get a ton of cards. He will not be able to pull the same stuff again in the future. It was funny in one spot, he was begging for a compliment, sayin something like this," I am getting a lot of cards, but I am playing well, right, right right...." He is a tool. I wish I had the bankroll to enter some tourneys..

That was an unbelievable run. Gus Hansen has to be insanely jealous now that someone luckier than himself is on the same planet.

[kutulu 1,676]

Seriously, if I can't play on line, I will have no interest in watching these televised poker events. I'm surprised some of the big corps. didn't oppose this BS more forcefully:

 

Congress approves Internet gambling ban bill

 

 

By Peter Kaplan

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Most forms of Internet gambling would be banned under a bill that received final U.S. congressional approval early Saturday.

 

The House of Representatives and Senate approved the measure and sent it to President George W. Bush to sign into law.

 

The bill, a compromise between earlier versions passed by the two chambers, would make it illegal for banks and credit card companies to make payments to online gambling sites.

 

Democrats had accused Republicans of pushing the bill to placate its conservative base, particularly the religious right, before the November 7 congressional elections.

 

"It's been over 10 years in the making. The enforcement provisions provided by this bill will go a long way to stop these illegal online operations," said Sen. Jon Kyl, an Arizona Republican and a chief sponsor of the measure.

 

Negotiators from the Republican-led House and Senate reached a deal on the legislation Friday and attached it to unrelated legislation to bolster port security, which the Congress approved.

 

The final bill dropped earlier provisions opposed by some gaming interests that would have clarified that a 1961 federal law banning interstate telephone betting also covers an array of online gambling.

 

Investors in British-based gaming companies such as BETonSPORTS Plc, Partygaming Plc and 888 Holdings Plc have tracked the legislation.

 

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican and potential 2008 presidential candidate, recently appeared at a hearing in Iowa -- the state that holds the first presidential nominating contest for the 2008 election -- to listen to concerns about Internet gambling.

[UncleHulka 0]

Seriously, if I can't play on line, I will have no interest in watching these televised poker events. I'm surprised some of the big corps. didn't oppose this BS more forcefully:

That's a crock, actually. The new law is toothless since it can't prevent people from using intermediaries like Netteller or Paypal. And to think that someone just started a thread complaining about a "do nothing" congress.

[kutulu 1,676]

That's a crock, actually. The new law is toothless since it can't prevent people from using intermediaries like Netteller or Paypal. And to think that someone just started a thread complaining about a "do nothing" congress.

 

Netteller will get me around the law? Time to finally get that thing working.