Soccer Hooligan

Jamie Gold is a television producer and professional poker player based in Malibu, California. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri on August 25, 1969. At birth he was named Jamie M. Usher but his name was changed to Jamie M. Gold after his mother’s second marriage to Dr. Robert I. Gold. He attended Paramus High School in New Jersey and graduated in 1987. In 1991 he graduated with honors from the State University of New York at Albany with a bachelor’s degree. He also studied entertainment law at UCLA.

At the age of 16 he started his Poker star career in the entertainment industry at the J. Michael Bloom & Associates Talent Agency. Soon after at the age of 21 he became a talent agent, one of the youngest in the field at that time. He went into management shortly after and co-founded Gold Bouchard Management Company. His list of clients included Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives), Jimmy Fallon (Saturday Night Live),Kristin Davis (Sex and the City), and James Gandolfini (The Sopranos). He started his own firm JMG Management in 1996.

Although his mother and grandfather were poker players Gold’s interest in the game was influenced by Johnny Chan and Chris Moneymaker, former World Series of Poker (WSOP) winners. Gold received some much needed information and tips from them.

He won his first major tournament in April 2005 earning $54,225. His participation in several tournaments the following year earned him seven more finishes. His biggest win came in August 2006 when he won the biggest cash prize ever for a sports or television event. After eliminating seven of the eight opponents at the final table he went on to beat Paul Wasicka winning the enviable prize of $12,000,000.

Jamie Gold also became famous for his cool, calm demeanor throughout the matches and also for being talkative while he plays. He would successfully deceive his opponents by telling them that he was weak or strong. He was criticized many times for telling his opponents his hand as this was contrary to WSOP rules. He snacked on some blueberries everyday of the match before that grand victory in August 2006. His father, Dr. Robert I. Gold who suffered from Lou Gehrig’s disease died four months after his son won the tournament. He was the first person to receive a call from the champion after the tournament.

After his victory Gold entered into a production contract and a two-year endorsement with his sponsor PokerStar.com. This was short lived, however, as Gold was dropped as a spokesperson in January 2007. Shortly after his victory he was sued by fellow player Crispin Leyser claiming a half of his winnings. The lawsuit was eventually settled two years later.

Gold has made appearances on a number of poker shows and is involved in many charities.