The
history of poker
hasn't
seen a whole lot of Jamie
Gold
since he took down the biggest cash prize in the game's history,
catapulting himself to the top of the all-time winner's list, but
after taking a bit of time off he's back and ready to do some damage.
From a Celebrity talent agent turned celebrity poker player,
Jamie
Gold
is the world’s top earning poker player, with over $12 million in
prize money banked thus far in his short career.
Like
many other world's best poker players,
Jamie Gold began his life as something entirely different - a talent
agent. Through his work, he brought some of today’s big stars into
the spotlight; big names such as Lucy
Liu, Jimmy
Fallon, and Kristin
Davis once worked
closely with the now-famous Gold. He began his move into the
professional world by obtaining his bachelor’s degree from the
University of New York, and continued on to begin his study of
entertainment law.
At
the age of 21 Jamie Gold
had acquired a good reputation in the world of entertainment, and
continued in his life of success by founding an entirely new talent
agency, JMG Management. Through this organization’s involvement
with the world of poker,
Jamie Gold became acquainted with renowned poker pro
Johnny Chan, who gave
the young businessman a few tips about the business of professional
poker.
Jamie
Gold was exposed to card games
from an early age. His mother was an avid poker player,
while his grandfather was a top ranked gin rummy player. For many
years Jamie Gold restricted his play to recreational poker,
reading books on poker strategy and playing online. In 2004
Jamie Gold began participating in several poker tournament,
achieving his first money finish in August of 2004. Seven months
later Jamie Gold picked up his first tournament win, taking home
$54,225 from the Stars and Stripes No Limit Hold ‘em Tournament.
Jamie
Gold finished in the money on
another eight occasions during the course of 2005 and 2006, before
landing the biggest prize in the history of professional poker. At
the 2006 World Series of Poker
main event, Jamie Gold easily outplayed his professional opponents
and won the $12 million prize with a skillful bluff. Since
taking his WSOP title, Jamie Gold has divided his time between
playing poker tournament, poker charity events and
running his talent agency.
Aside
from his $12 million first place finish at the 2006 WSOP, Gold has a
number of other in-the-money finishes under his belt, such as a
fifth-place finish in the $300 No-Limit Hold'em event at the
2006 Winnin' o' the Green at the Bicycle Casino; a
seventh-place finish in the $100 No-Limit Hold'em event at
Larry Flynt's Grand Slam of Poker IV at the Hustler Casino in
2005; and an eighth-place finish in the $500 No-Limit Hold'em
event at the 9th Annual National
Championship of Poker at Hollywood Park Casino in 2005.
In
the wake of his win, Jamie Gold
signed a two-year endorsement and production contract with his WSOP
2006 sponsor, Bodog.com.
The agreement included the standard tournament buy-ins and
promotional appearances as well as a $1 million television production
deal. In addition, Jamie was to host his own table on Bodog.com,
where he was to play frequently with Bodog.com players.
Unfortunately, the deal wasn't to last, however, as Bodog Poker
dropped Jamie Gold as a spokesperson in January 2007.
Jamie
Gold's style of play has
sparked controversy on more than one occasion. His most famous tactic
borders on illegality, and involves disclosing his hand strength to
force stronger hands to fold. As a skillful bluffer with a strong,
aggressive game, Jamie Gold is able to hold his own against more
experienced professional poker players.
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