Norm! column

Feb. 25, 2007

Tarnished Gold

[hear the whole Jamie Gold show here]

Jamie Gold, winner of the richest prize in World Series of Poker history, acknowledges that he broke some rules on his way to claiming the $12 million pot. In his first interview since settling a legal dispute over the winnings, Gold admitted he flashed one of his cards at a competitor and that he tipped off a friend by showing a card.

"I kind of just lost myself, and I regret doing that," Gold told New York Times freelancer Steve Friess. "And I basically told a friend of mine what I had because I didn't want him to bust out, and that was also really inappropriate. And I'm going to make sure that doesn't happen again. People are just going to have to forgive me."

Gold, a Hollywood producer from Paramus, N.J., was sued by fellow participant Crispin Leyser, who succeeded in getting half the prize money by going to court. Leyser said he and Gold made a deal going into the poker tournament: Gold would split his winnings in exchange for Leyser's help in recruiting minor celebrities to play in the World Series of Poker under the banner of Gold's sponsor, the poker Web site Bodog.com.

The full interview can be heard at www.TheStripPodcast.com.

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