Solid Gold
On Monday, July 31st, a good friend of mine called to let me know he was in town and playing in a large and prestigious poker tournament. You’ve probably heard of it – the $10,000 buy-in championship event at the World Series of Poker. At the time, he was sitting with about $40,000 in chips, impressive considering he began the event with $10,000. In actuality, my friend’s current tally was very impressive, seeing how some early bad beats had dropped him down to the $3K realm and he had been forced to battle his way back. My friend said that he was playing pretty well and, all things considered, if he could just catch a little bit of luck and have some of his big hands hold up, he honestly felt that he had a shot of winning the tournament. This declaration was neither boast nor bravado, just a simple statement between friends with the casualness of someone asking you to pass the salt during a meal. Of course, I wished him luck with his mammoth endeavor.
“If I make the final table, I want you there,” he said before we hung up. “Count on it,” I replied automatically, not really expecting to have to alter my travel plans, since I was out of town. After all, it was only his first day of play and, with a ridiculous total of 8,773 players in the field, while my friend was an excellent poker player, with just as much skill as many of the household name pros, I honestly didn’t dwell on the promise.
Fast forward 10 days.
I was numb. Reality and surreality were coexisting on the same plane. Out of that aforementioned huge field of 8,773 players, only two remained. My friend was one of ’em – and he had most of the chips. This was crazy! And it was about to get crazier. But perhaps a fast-forward is the wrong action here. A rewind is much more appropriate, roughly two years and change…
I first met Jamie Gold at the Hollywood Park Casino. Sure, there were better places to play cards in Southern California – The Bike and Commerce are both more visually appealing and have significantly greater action – but HP was just a stone’s throw from my Marina del Rey condo, which meant less traffic, more poker. My kind of equation. It wasn’t long before I snagged a seat at a $2-$5 No Limit table and found myself sitting across from an affable and talkative TV producer of roughly the same age.
We hit it off immediately. No mystery there, as I’ve yet to meet anyone who hasn’t liked Jamie right off the bat. He’s one of those rare Hollywood types who doesn’t treat everyone he meets like a stepping stone (aka networking opportunity) towards bigger and better things. Perhaps more importantly, I really liked the way he played poker. Translated: It was great for my wallet. Jamie just couldn’t seem to find any two starting cards that he didn’t like. And he wasn’t afraid to push his chips into the middle. He didn’t come across like a zillionaire trying to bully the table with a bottomless bankroll; just a die-hard gambler who craved the action and, when he felt he had the best of it – which was often – he fully intended to put his opponent to the test for all of his chips.
Jamie’s maniacal brand of poker attracted more than a few rounders – skilled cardsharps that homed in on weaker, overly aggressive players, also known as fish. At the time, Jeff Grau was one of the more successful “fish hunters” around. An ex-tight end/long-snapper for the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins, Grau got burned out on football and switched his focus to the felt. Before long, he was running over poker players as if they were third-string defensive backs. Jamie was one of Grau’s victims. On more than one occasion.
“I took quite a bit of money from him,” Grau says of his tanglings with Gold. According to Grau, Jamie’s stack was an absolute rollercoaster – he was either flush with chips or busted. “Betting, bluffing, he was in virtually every pot, and it wasn’t hard to take advantage of that type of play.” But one day Grau found himself sitting next to Jamie and they struck up a conversation. “I instantly liked the guy. And I knew that he could be a very good player. He just needed some pointers, some coaching. He had to tone down the wildman tactics a bit.”
When it came to poker, and people, Grau’s reads were usually spoton. He sensed something in Jamie – an inherent, but as yet untapped, ability. Of course, at the time, Grau had no idea just how correct he was. Interestingly enough, in Jamie’s case, the writing was “in the cards” early on. At age two, Jamie used to count incredibly fast, but with his own spin on the numbers: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, jack, queen, king, ace. He grew up playing cards with his grandfather and it was no surprise to his family that, while in 5th grade, he got a perfect score on the math portion of the SATs, prompting his mother to suggest he leave elementary school and attend college immediately. But Jamie refused. He didn’t even want to skip a grade. Instead, the young math whiz participated in “Olympics of the Mind,” a special program for the mentally gifted, entailing logic, brainstorming, and problem-solving. Essentially, all the tools and talent were there. The only thing missing was the proper forum. Who knows what might have happened if pre-teens had been allowed at the poker tables?
Back to the present. So Grau began mentoring Jamie, per se. They would discuss hands, pot odds, and position. “Anything and everything related to poker. From basic strategies to types of play for specific situations,” Grau said. “Then, I started sweating Jamie’s hands at cash games, and I watched him play a few tournaments, giving him tips when I could, answering any questions he had.”
Completely obsessed with poker – and not merely playing, but hellbent on becoming the best player he possibly could – Jamie dedicated most, if not all, of his free time to the felt. The many card rooms of Southern California, frequent trips to Las Vegas, online (mostly at Bodog.com), tournaments, cash games… If the game was No Limit Hold’em, chances were that Jamie Gold was right in the thick of things.
But anyone who knows Jamie wouldn’t be surprised by his zeal to improve, and his seemingly insatiable desire to win. While Jamie would undoubtedly rate himself an 11 on 1-10 competitiveness scale, this allor- nothing mindset goes far beyond the arena of competition. Jamie’s self-motivation to elevate his poker game hails from the same drive that saw him secure employment as one of the youngest talent agents in the business, ultimately heading up his own division, and nearly instantaneous success with his new branded entertainment company, Buzz Nation. It’s not that Jamie simply wants to be the best out there, in whatever field he’s dabbling, it’s that he can’t imagine not putting his heart and soul into attempting to reach that goal. The fact that he does it without stepping on anyone in the process – quite the contrary, Jamie’s usually the first person to offer his assistance! – makes his quest that much more laudable.
Enter Eric Strozer, another key figure in Jamie Gold’s poker development. The owner of a successful So Cal body shop, Strozer played the role of Jamie’s financial backer, giving Jamie the necessary funds to play in some of the biggest cash games in town, including the big game at the Commerce. By mixing it up with a wide variety of players, for stakes that would make successful doctors and lawyers think twice about sitting down, Jamie was able to hone his skills and take his game to the next level – a level way above the play of most.
The result: Jamie started winning. Consistently. In fact, at Larry Flynt’s Hustler Casino in Gardena, California, Jamie was began winning tournaments there so often, management considered changing the name of one of their regular events to the Jamie Gold Invitational. It would seem that Jeff Grau’s raw, unpolished hunk of rock was starting to look very much like, well, gold gold.
A few months before the World Series of Poker, while playing $5-$10 NL with Jamie at the Wynn, I noticed a significant difference in his attitude and demeanor and skill. At the table, he was like a flesh-and-blood computer with a kill switch, processing everything that happened at the table, ready to pounce on an opponent when he sensed weakness. And he was unstoppable, running over the table. And nobody – myself included – could figure him out. When you mucked second best to his big bet, he would shrug, smile and show you a stone cold bluff. And when you beat his chips into the pot, he’d simply smile, shrug and turn over the mortal lock. The poker inferno raging inside him was turned up full wickblast, and you could just sense that something big was going to happen.
Soon. And happen, it did.
The WSOP Main Event… A truly spectacular poker tournament of epic proportion. Players came from far and wide, a good many representing the numerous poker/gambling websites on the internet, including Party Poker, Full Tilt, UltimateBet, and PokerStars, among others. Bodog was also involved heavily in this mix: They had a posh lounge in the Expo and quite a few satellite package winners vying for the title. In addition, they had a trio of sponsored pros – Evelyn Ng, David Williams, and Josh Arieh – along with a few celebrity entrants. Jamie Gold was among the celebrity contingent, an under-the-radar entity until the end of Day One (D), when he found himself sitting in fifth place with $107,000 in chips. The publicity ripples were just beginning.
At the conclusion of Day Two (B), Jamie had fallen off the pace a bit, dropping to a tie for 17th, but still amassing a highly respectable $170,000. He was in position to make something happen; to potentially go deep into the prize pool, and people were paying close attention to the names at or near the top of the leaderboard. His wasn’t drawing much attention at that point, no pulsing neon signs, but boy would that change.
Day Three saw Jamie start to ascend the ladder, working his stack up to $515,000, enough for a tie for 8th place out of 481 players still in the tournament. There was a buzz in the air. Someone was going to win a shitload of money. Jamie’s play had commanded attention, and more than a few people were talking about him.
That brings us to Day Four, the beginning of what I will forever refer to as The Run. While all the preceding days of play are undoubtedly of equal importance, and perhaps in some cases more so, setting the stage for what was to come, Day Four is when, for all intents and purposes, Jamie Gold introduced himself to the poker community – and the world – with concussive force of an atomic bomb, assuming the role of chip leader with a gargantuan stack of $3.7 million, well over a million more than second place. Despite being assigned to the #2 seat, at one point he was actually occupying #3 because his chips were taking up too much room. At the end of the day, when players bagged their chips, Jamie’s monstrous horde required two bags, held together with wrappings of duct tape. It was both grotesque and beautiful. Only 135 players remained. Now, everybody was talking.
And Jamie would never look back. Going to sleep with the lead is both a blessing and a burden. And to be quite honest, sleep was a luxury Jamie would see very little of in the coming days. The media crush was off the hook; understandable considering that this was the biggest event in the world of poker, boasting the largest field ever assembled, with a whopping $12 million first prize. Everybody wanted a piece of Jamie — photos, predictions, fullblown interviews. and surprisingly, he honored every request. That he was spreading himself wafer thin was apparent to everyone close to Jamie, the future world champ included, but he was media savvy, a great deal more than virtually every other player in the field – including most of the poker pros who had been on top of tournament leaderboards before. Publicity was Jamie’s domain and, while he was a reluctant celebrity, having always been content to make his clients famous, it was his turn in the spotlight and he was not about to shying away from it.
While there was still a considerable amount of poker to be played, pros and amateurs alike were truly impressed by Jamie’s poker prowess. Running his stack up from just over half a million to just under four million took a helluva lot more than luck and opponents were scratching their heads, desperately trying to figure out his style before succumbing to the “Jamie Gold Express,” as some members of the media had dubbed him. Looking back, the moniker seems wholly appropriate, for nearly everyone who came in contact with Jamie during his run was mowed down as if they were but meddlesome, tiny weeds that had sprung up along the tracks of an onrushing freight train.
What is lost on many is that, after a certain point, Jamie’s chip stack was so massive, there was no one left for him to double up through, and yet he continued to increase his chip count – and his lead – by leaps and bounds. His total at the close of Day Five: $7,330,000. Now just 45 players remained.
Wicked PR’s Colin Cooley, working closely with Bodog for the WSOP, had been keeping tabs on their (rising) star player throughout the event. “His table talk is incredible,” Cooley said. “It’s a big part of why he’s winning. When he wants players to call, he talks them into it. And when he wants them to fold, he gets them to throw away their cards.”
Jamie’s years in the entertainment industry gave him an insight into reading people that few could match, and his talkative nature, coupled with his often blatant honesty (which some players mistook for sarcasm), was paying big dividends. . It was like a meld of psychological warfare and hand-to-hand combat. The result was like a marionette show: Jamie pulled the strings and his opponents danced.
However, while he was at peace at the poker table, in his element and very much in control, the maelstrom of activity of which he was the nucleus at the end of each day’s play was beginning to take its toll. Mentally exhausted and physically drained after everyach extended poker session, each day’s triumph garnered more and more attention. While he hadn’t won anything yet, offers – and rumors of offers – were beginning to pile up. As one could imagine, in today’s explosive poker climate, endorsement deals are like lap dances at a strip club – you just can’t get enough of ’em. And since everybody loves a winner, even though Jamie hadn’t officially captured the championship yet – amazingly, far too many assumed his victory was a foregone conclusion, thus adding to his stress load – the chatter about his stellar play, and his incredible accomplishment thus far, had offers pouring in. There was even a rumor that the head of the Blueberry Growers Association, responding to Jamie’s affinity for the brain-food fruit, was interested in signing him to be their newest pitchman. And if the insanity of action occurring in and around the RIO wasn’t enough to drive Jamie off the deep end, consider the fact that Jamie was also dealing with a weighty issue on the home front – his father was in the late stages of Lou Gehrig’s disease, a horrifically debilitating illness. That Jamie could speak about this heart-wrenching scenario to the many media outlets and still remain upbeat, whole-heartedly thanking all interviewers for their interest in his achievement at the end of each Q & A, speaks volumes about Jamie’s character.
Jamie now had a full-on entourage surrounding him everywhere he went. This posse included friends, family, a videographer, PR people, reps from Bodog, and at least two contracted security professionals. What’s with the bodyguards, you ask? Amazingly enough, there were actually rumors out there that suggested the current chip leader might be in harm’s way. Ridiculous? Consider that $12 million was up for grabs – a life-changing sum. Coupled with the untold millions in “perks” that would no doubt be bestowed upon the event’s winner and, well, you needn’t be a rocket scientist to understand why nobody, especially Bodog and Jamie Gold, was taking any chances.
Despite the insanity surrounding him, and the fact that he had gotten about six hours sleep total during the previous three nights, somehow Jamie managed to clear his mind of all outside distractions and do what he was doing best: PLAY POKER. Fortunately for Jamie, and the other card combatants, Day Six would not be a marathon session; a tiock over five hours is all it would take to whittle down the field to 27 players. And once again, a familiar name was headlining the show. Jamie’s chip count had nearly doubled again – $13,000,000. This kind of domination was unheard of. People were dumfounded. Taking the lead is one thing. Maintaining it, then building on it, was another kettle of fish. And since we’re talking oceanic analogies, Jamie was looking like King Neptune.
Day 7 was the final “regular” day of the tournament, when the remaining field would play down until only nine remained – the final table. Jamie did not weaken. If anything, he seemed stronger. More focused. And perhaps more importantly, more at ease. Of course, when you consider the circus that his life had become off the poker table, with the wants of many continuously now imposing themselves on the needs of one, it’s easy to see how the game of poker became Jamie’s outlet, and he hurled himself into the challenge, taking no prisoners, giving no quarter. When 18 players had been eliminated and only nine remained, Jamie stood tall atop the heap. His chip count, an astounding $25,650,000.
Incredibly,He he had done it again,— maintained the lead while doubling his stack in the process. Regardless of what would happen at the final table, Jamie had put on one of the greatest poker tournament performances the world has ever seen, the likes of which might never be seen again. And while victory was definitely within Jamie’s grasp, this was No Limit Hold’em, where anything could happen. Last place could easily assume first place in just a few hands. But nobody—especially the media—were thinking that way. And thus, the pressure to win continued to build.
Nine talented poker players had played their hearts out for more than a week. Nobody was throwing in the towel prematurely, least of all Allen Cunningham, the lone remaining household name pro in the field, and easily the most experienced player at the final table. Cunningham was dangerous with one chip, let alone his second place tally of $17,770,000, but Jamie wasn’t overly concerned. The players had not been able to figure him out thus far, and he had no intentions of letting them. Wednesday, August 9th – an impromptu day of rest before the final day of play. I joined Jamie and his entourage at the RIO for his final media blitz before the championship was decided. It was around this time that word got out that Jamie was actually thinking of dumping the win – intentionally losing to finish second and avoid the Xenon-like spotlight that would forever illuminate the champion. While words to this effect might have been uttered in the heat of the moment, with all blame going directly to the crushing pressure load the chip leader was bearing, I can guarantee that Jamie, the competitor, would never travel that road. Dispense with all that rhetoric you may have heard about so-called “Hollywood types,” Jamie’s moral compass is as strong, if not stronger, than anyone I’ve ever known, and surrender was not a word in his vocabulary.
That night, Jamie took a bunch of us – including friend and mentor Johnny Chan – to dinner at Okada, a restaurant in the Wynn I had taken Jamie to for the first time a little over a year ago. Despite trying to be a good host, making sure that everyone was being well taken care of, it was easy to see that Jamie was mentally and physically exhausted. Thankfully, after some much-needed healthy nourishment, he excused himself and went off to get a massage and, hopefully, some sleep. The rest of us remained, toasting Jamie, wishing him luck. Good cards, good flops, no bad beats.
And that brings us back to August 10th. The final table. Incredibly, Jamie looked utterly refreshed; more rested than he had throughout the tournament. He exuded calm, and was brimming with an uncocky confidence. In stark contrast, the other eight seemed edgy, especially Cunningham, the competitor I originally thought would be the most relaxed, and Jamie’s biggest obstacle. If you couldn’t feel the electricity in the air prior, on that night it was impossible to miss.
Right out of the gate, Jamie assumed control of the table, picking up where he had left off two days before, winning the first pot and sending a message to the others that the road to the championship bracelet went through seat #8 – HIS seat. He never relinquished that control, or any modicum thereof. Of the seven players that got bounced before it became a heads-up affair, Jamie was responsible for six.
That left him and Paul Wasicka.
And then there was action. Wasicka bet, Jamie moved all in. Somehow, as he had done so many times over the course of ten days, he goaded his opponent into calling. This was it, the “Degree All-In Moment.” The cards were revealed. Jamie was ahead. Turn, river. Jamie threw up his arms. Victory! History! And if you thought things were insane prior to his win, well, as the saying goes, you ain’t heard nothing yet…
Sports Illustrated, Leno, Letterman, Best Damn Sports Show… Magazines, television shows, internet sites… Every media outlet under the sun (and a few that will probably remain hidden in the dark places) all wanted their time with Jamie Gold, 2006 World Series of Poker Champion, the new face of poker.
Weird TV shows were being offered to him, as were endorsement deals for any number of products. There was even talk about a TV movie being made about his life. No doubt a book deal or two would also be offered.The Game Show Network was also part of the fray, an invite to play with the pros on High Stakes Poker, a program Jamie loves to watch and a game Jamie is champing at the bit to join. From a seat at the finale of this year’s boxing reality show, The Contender, cozied up right beside superstar pugilist-turned-producer Sugar Ray Leonard, to being the answer in a national crossword puzzle, to being the headline in a Russian publication, it seems as if the world – and not just the poker world – was enamored with Jamie Gold. And let’s not forget all the upcoming major poker tournaments around the globe. Jamie has guaranteed entry to any and all for years to come.
Amusingly enough, the offer Jamie was most enthused about had nothing to do with royalties, prize pools or products. He was asked the opportunity to throw out the first pitch at an upcoming Los Angeles Dodgers baseball game.
“They’re my favorite team,” he said with a smile. “I can’t wait.” Besides being a huge deal for Jamie, it’s also quite a coup for Bodog. Said Calvin Ayre, Bodog’s big dog: “Jamie is a great guy. All our staff that worked with him at the WSOP were impressed with his charm and intelligence and we’re looking forward to working with Jamie on his reign as the WSOP winner.”
For a site that was looking to switch its focus from the sports betting arena to the realm of poker, the timing couldn’t have been better.
And speaking of timing… In the wake of Jamie’s incredible accomplishment, there’s been a considerable amount of muck being thrown. Sad that it should come to that, but in a land where many tend to objectify and vilify those who have achieved fame, fortune, and success – a trifecta Jamie bagged in one fell swoop – this is to be expected.
While I am a member of the media, a fraternity of which I’m proud to be associated with, I’m not Switzerland. I have no qualms adding my two cents, although I’d rather pump in a C-note.
First, it disheartens me to know that so many journalists have bought into the “If it bleeds, it leads” mindset. Talk about the charity Jamie is establishing, or the desire to provide around-the-clock care for his ailing father, or the friends he encouraged to drop their jobs and join him on his upcoming globe-trotting poker adventures, instead of whether or not he ever represented some of the A-list whose names have been mentioned. (For the record, everything Jamie stated is true.)
And then there’s the claim that Jamie said the hit HBO series Entourage was about him, and that Jeremy Piven’s character, “Ari Gold,” was named in his honor. I’m not even going to bother debunking that falsehood. Listen to a broadcast, or read the transcript, from any of the many interviews Jamie gave before and after his win and pay close attention to his responses when asked about that. Let his exact words clear the slate, not my defensive hearsay.
And as for the $1 million and/or $2 million tips he supposedly promised to give the dealers if he won; c’mon people, who in his right mind would make such a decree? Vile gossip is a horrible thing.
Which brings me to Finally, the lawsuit (which probably will be ruled upon by the time this is published). For the record, I don’t know Crispin Leyser, a former UK TV producer with a few credits and current WPT Boot Camp instructor. Nor am I privy to any deal he may have made with the reigning WSOP champ. However, I do know Jamie Gold, and I know him well. He’s honest to a fault and a man of his word. He’s not the type to screw someone, regardless of how much cash is on the line – $12 million or $12 billion. If Jamie made a deal with you, Skippy, he’ll honor it. If not, and you’re just trying to take advantage of him, in much the same way many unscrupulous people gravitate to the successful like moths to a flame, then go twist.
I knew Jamie before he won the biggest poker tournament in history, vaulting him to the very top of the of the tournament earnings list, surpassing every poker pro in the world. While he played brilliantly, perhaps better than any other WSOP champion that preceded him, the greatest compliment I can bestow upon him has nothing to do with cards… Jamie was a great guy before he won the WSOP, thereby becoming a household name. The money and the fame won’t alter him.
Nothing’s changed. Well, okay, maybe a little but he is still the same guy.
