Jamie Gold is an American poker player and TV producer who won the 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.
The 2006 WSOP Main Event was the largest Main Event in history, with 8,773 entries and Gold's first prize of $12,000,000 was the highest payday in any poker tournament until the 2012 WSOP Big One for One Drop.
Read More: Jamie Gold Wins 2006 WSOP Main Event
Biography
Gold was born in Kansas City, Missouri on August 25, 1969. He moved to Paramus, New Jersey and earned a bachelor's degree from the State University of New York at Albany, and later studied entertainment law at UCLA.
Using hard-earned experience and his education, Gold was able to build a good reputation throughout the entertainment industry. With this, he was able to become the youngest franchised agent at only 21 years old and soon went on to start his own talent agency, JMG Management.
He first got into poker when he began working with former WSOP Main Event winners Johnny Chan and Chris Moneymaker for an upcoming television show.
2006 WSOP Main Event
Gold entered the 2006 WSOP Main Event, and held a significant chip lead from Day 4 onwards. He ate blueberries at the final table, with his final table performance noted for his relentless aggression and table talk.
He defeated Paul Wasicka heads-up to win the largest World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in history, earning $12,000,000.
Read More: Jamie Gold Looks Back on the 2006 WSOP
In 2013, Gold's Main Event braceletwas auctioned off for $65,725. It later transpired that Gold was not the person auctioning the bracelet. Jamie had given the bracelet to a friend who fell on hard times, and his friend later that year put it up for auction..
Gold has cashed a further 10 times at the WSOP, with his best finish since winning the Main Event a fifth-place finish in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em event at the 2015 WSOP.
Jamie Gold Top Five Poker Cashes
YEAR | EVENT | BUY-IN | PLACE | PAYOUT (USD) |
---|---|---|---|---|
July 2006 | WSOP Main Event | $10,000 | 1st | $12,000,000 |
March 2016 | WSOP Circuit Bicycle Casino | $1,675 | 2nd | $139,820 |
June 2015 | WSOP NLHE | $1,500 | 5th | $120,952 |
September 2007 | WSOPE Europe Main Event | £10,350 | £27,150 | |
April 2005 | Stars & Stripes Los Angeles | $225 | 1st | $54,225 |
WSOP Main Event Winners 1997-2006
YEAR | ENTRIES | CHAMPION | COUNTRY | PRIZE |
---|---|---|---|---|
2006 | 8,773 | Jamie Gold | United States | $12,000,000 |
2005 | 5,619 | Joe Hachem | Australia | $7,500,000 |
2004 | 2,576 | Greg Raymer | United States | $5,000,000 |
2003 | 839 | Chris Moneymaker | United States | $2,500,000 |
2002 | 631 | Robert Varkonyi | United States | $2,000,000 |
2001 | 613 | Carlos Mortensen | Spain | $1,500,000 |
2000 | 512 | Chris Ferguson | United States | $1,500,000 |
1999 | 393 | Noel Furlong | Ireland | $1,000,000 |
1998 | 350 | Scotty Nguyen | Vietnam | $1,000,000 |
1997 | 312 | Stu Ungar | United States | $1,000,000 |