WSOP HISTORY: Jamie Gold Wins Record Prize

Team Bodog player nets $12 million and coveted gold bracelet

Aug. 11, 2006

By Jake Gosselin
Bodog Nation Contributing Writer

Jamie Gold did the impossible. He maintained a chip lead at the World Series of Poker Main Event from Day 4 all the way to the bracelet – a stretch that lasted a full week.

If someone had done this back in 1992 it would’ve been amazing, but now, with a field of 8,773, it is truly a feat for the ages.

Gold, a former Hollywood agent turned television producer from Malibu, Calif., amassed a commanding chip lead starting on Day 3 when he ended the day with $3.7 million in chips. He went on to maintain that lead, ending each subsequent day as the chip leader. An amateur sponsored by Bodog.com, Gold sat down at the final table with a whopping $26,650,000 in chips – $8.88 million more than his nearest competitor.

Gold capitalized on his chip lead in all situations. Over the course of the 14 hours of play on the final table, he eliminated seven of his eight opponents, including top poker pro Allen Cunningham.

On winning poker’s largest ever tournament and its prestigious bracelet an elated Gold stated, “I won because of the blueberries.” Gold was alluding to the fact that he had been seen with a bowl of blueberries on everyday he played. He had eaten blueberries before his first day of play and didn’t want to jinx himself by changing anything. So blueberries it was, all the way to the championship.

Gold stirred up some controversy in the poker world recently when he suggested in an interview with Bodog Nation that he might consider throwing the final table in order to escape the burden of fame.

After his victory early Friday morning at the Rio Casino & Resort, Gold responded to questions about whether he actually thought of dumping.

“No,” Gold asserted. “No way. I wanted to win really bad. That’s why I went after everybody the way that I did.”

He added: "At one point it just hit me. I realized, the accomplishment meant a lot to me and from that point on, I knew I had to win it."

The big moment finally came after a $1.7 million pre-flop raise by Paul Wasicka was called by Gold. The flop came Q/8/5 and Wasicka bet $1.5 million. Gold moved all in and Wasicka, after much contemplation, called. Wasicka turned over pocket 10s to which Gold answered with Q/9, giving the Team Bodog player top pair. The turn was an Ace, the river was a 4, and the bracelet was Gold's.

Gold’s buy-in to the Main Event was picked up on a hunch by Team Bodog, which saw his skills and knew of his recent success.

"Jamie came to us through our Hollywood connections," said Calvin Ayre, Founder of Bodog.com. "We knew he was a good player with some impressive tourney results and that he was coached by Johnny Chan. We thought he'd be a strong competitor but an amazing run like this one we really can't call, we did see his potential though."

More than 500 players qualified to the various WSOP tournaments by playing poker online at Bodog.com. Gold was among the 400 Team Bodog players participating in the Main Event. Originally from Paramus, N.J., the 36-year-old former agent has represented a number of A-list celebrities including James Gandolfini, Felicity Huffman, Lucy Liu and Brandy. Gold quit being an agent six months ago and is now the head of production at Buzznation, a branded entertainment media and production company based in Los Angeles. Gold is currently in development on a branded reality television series.

An avid poker player, Gold grew up in a family of card players, with his mother, Jane, a longtime poker player and his grandfather a gin rummy champion. Gold plays close to 40 hours a week in Los Angeles-area card rooms and in the 15 months prior to the WSOP had earned just under $100,000 in tournament winnings. Gold has also had the opportunity to learn from one of the game's biggest legends – 10-time WSOP bracelet-holder Johnny Chan. The two men met while working together on a poker television concept. In exchange for Gold's assistance, Chan promised to help him refine his game. Both Gold's mother and Chan were at the WSOP cheering him on, but with Chan literally standing behind him throughout the entire final table, Gold had all the support he needed to win.

"He believed in me," Gold said. "He told me I could win this."

But even with his poker pedigree and legendary mentor nearby, the person who was the source for Gold’s strength and motivation throughout the two-week tournament could not be in Las Vegas to watch him make history.

Gold's father, Dr. Robert Gold, has ALS, better known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, which makes him immobile. According to Gold, the money he has won at the Main Event will go toward making his father as comfortable as possible.

"He's not well and unable to travel,'' said Gold of his 76-year-old father, "This is all for him."

PHOTOS (scenes from Jamie Gold's big moment, from top left): Team Bodog's Jamie Gold raises his arms after giving the most dominant WSOP Main Event performance in recent history; Gold makes a play; Gold is congratulated by his final opponent, Paul Wasicka; Gold wins! Gold wins!; Gold sizes up the competition; Gold juggles part of his $12 million in winnings; The showdown; Gold cannot believe it; Gold celebrates the WSOP triumph with his mother, Jane.