Jamie Gold Blog

I recently had an amazing experience at the Sundance Film Festival. The trip was set up by my good friend Yancey Arias, an extremely talented actor with innumerable credits (CSI, Live Free or Die Hard, Kingpin and the new Knight Rider, to name a few).

I was invited to get involved with the Ante Up For Africa tourney on Annie Duke and Don Cheadle’s behalf and was honored to emcee the event for them. An exciting group of celebrities and poker pros took part. My thanks to all for supporting such a worthy cause and to Robert for sharing the mic with me.

At Sundance, I was invited to stay in a house with great friends and new friends, members of the Hollywood professional community, finance and poker. Lot’s of friendly poker was played there late night! Joseph Reitman, another really talented thespian and director (CSI: Miami, The Shield, Judging Amy, etc.), was supposed to join us but he booked an acting job at the last minute. While we were naturally excited for him, we were also disappointed as spending time with Joe is always a pleasure.

Overall, it was an overwhelming 24-hour-a-day experience. Between the charity events, the parties and the movies, I was exhausted. I used to go every year as a Hollywood professional but now I’m actually going as a guest of others and being involved with the charity events makes it that much more rewarding. Congratulations to Kasey Thompson, our good friend, for winning the charity event!

After a two solid years of focusing the majority of my playing to support charity events, I’m feeling the itch to get back into the action of the professional poker tour. To that effect, I’m currently considering several different offers from online poker sites that share my same values towards charities and giving back. As you’d expect, these offers are also very generous towards me and I will make a decision before the LAPC’s first $10K event (the PLO $5k rebuy).

It’s important that I continue my work in the television and film business, so which site I choose to go with has to understand my previous commitments. It’s been a most rewarding career to say the least, and I look forward to helping poker become more accepted in the main stream of media, which will certainly help overturn the laws! There are a couple of projects that I am confident will do just that, never know in “Hollywood” but a group of us are doing our best to make it happen. We all know it’s a game of skill with elements of chance, incredible we are still not completely able to play anywhere anytime online without restriction of bank transactions. Needless to say I am looking for, and will find a site that we can all trust, accepts US players, and will teach and support their players without worry of impropriety or monies not being safe.

A reminder, on February 22nd, the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, CA will host the 3rd annual Fallen Heroes Memorial Poker Classic.

Benefiting the Fallen Heroes Fund, which provides financial assistance to the families of fallen officers and firefighters who die in the line of duty while serving and protecting the citizens of Los Angeles County, the tournament starts at 4 PM and the $120 donation/entry fee also includes a hat, shirt, card marker challenge coin and an all-you-can-eat dinner buffet. Levels are 30 minutes long and unlimited $100 re-buys can be made during the first three. There’ll be many celebrities and poker pros in attendance, and some truly great prizes will be up for grabs so please mark it on your calendar. My new friend Scott Diamond has worked tirelessly to make this happen.

Until next time…

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As 2008 draws to a close, our nation – and the world – is buried up to its neck in the worst financial quagmire. Conflicts exist around the globe, natural resources are getting scarce, and the issues facing our environment are many. However, I truly believe that hope is on the horizon.

The election of Barack Obama was the most important election in our country’s history and, potentially, in the history of organized society. If Obama can implement the ideas and strategies that formed his campaign platform, better times for all are sure to come.

In the meantime, there is still much to be thankful for. For my friends, for my family, and for myself, 2008 proved to be a very exciting year and, while finances were fleeting for many, that scenario can always be resurrected. Health and happiness are the most important commodities and the people I love and care about were blessed with both.

On the poker front, there are those who believe poker has reached its peak. However, nothing could be further from the truth. According to the search engine Lycos, poker was the #1 searched for term in 2008. Not Paris Hilton, not Barack Obama – poker.

And worth noting is that our new President Elect is, himself, a longtime poker player. Hopefully, that fact, coupled with the tireless efforts of poker advocacy groups, will spell doom for the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act) and any other ill-advised anti-gaming bills that may crop up in the future.

Speaking of poker advocacy groups, I’d like to extend my personal gratitude to the Poker Players Alliance – aka PPA – for their continued vigilance on behalf of poker players everywhere. To all the PPA’s key members: John Pappas, Alfonse D’Amato, Linda Johnson, Greg Dinkin, Bryan Spadaro, Jan Fisher, Allyn Shulman, Chris Ferguson, Mary Magazine, Rich Muny, Greg Raymer and Howard Lederer – a hearty THANK YOU!

Despite the economic turmoil, poker players raised and contributed millions of much-needed dollars for fantastic charities and causes in 2008, further illustrating their bottomless generosity and compassion. These incredible statistics make me truly proud to be a part of the poker community. To that effect, the early months of ’09 have a number of amazing charity poker tournaments and I am confident the turnouts will be equally stellar, if not even better.

Personally, I can’t wait for 2009, a year I welcome with excitement and anticipation. I have major media projects coming to fruition – projects that I am both proud and elated to be working on with really close friends and extended family.

I want to thank Eric Morris, Matt Parvis, Jeff Markley and everyone at Bluff Magazine for giving me the opportunity to have this voice online in a poker forum, as well as continuing to support my Poker Philanthropist articles which, besides calling attention to great causes, I believe will play a small part towards the legalization of online poker.

My deepest thanks must also go to Leslie Abell and Sean Fredericks for their undying loyalty, care and hard work. And a special loving thank you to Adam Slutsky, whose tireless efforts have made all this possible.

In closing, I’d like to wish everyone a happy, healthy and hopeful 2009.

Sincerely,

Jamie Gold

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What better way to start off the New Year than to donate money to a great cause and have an amazing time in the process?

On February 22nd, the Bicycle Casino in Bell Gardens, CA will host what promises to be a truly memorable charity poker tourney, the 3rd annual Fallen Heroes Memorial Poker Classic.

Benefiting the Fallen Heroes Fund, which provides financial assistance to the families of fallen officers and firefighters who die in the line of duty while serving and protecting the citizens of Los Angeles County, the fund was founded by Officer Scott Diamond, an avid amateur poker player with over 22 years of law enforcement experience – two decades of which with the LA County Sheriff’s Department – and his good friend, and another big fan of poker, Officer Craig McClelland.

The tournament starts at 4 PM and the $120 donation/entry fee also includes a hat, shirt, card marker challenge coin and an all-you-can-eat dinner buffet. Levels are 30 minutes long and unlimited $100 re-buys can be made during the first three.

Legendary actor and ardent poker player James Woods will be in attendance, along with a bevy of world-class poker professionals, such as: Nam Le and Quin Do.

Just some of the numerous high-profile sponsors include: Full Tilt Poker, Card Player Cruises, Wise Hand Poker, the Los Angeles Lakers and, of course, the host site for the event, the Bicycle Casino.

There’s an impressive list of prizes including:

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It’s been a while since my last post so I’d like to offer a belated Happy Thanksgiving and an early Season’s Greetings to all.

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of returning to the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas for the inaugural Dream Team Poker Tournament. This is a fantastic new concept in poker, allowing three-player teams to compete in the same event. With each player amassing points for his/her order of finish – the higher the better – the team that compiles the most points wins.

Dream Team Gaming is the brains behind the event and is comprised of CEO Daniel Delshad, Chief Game Architect Mario Ayala, DTG President Homan Sefaradi and the three remaining DTG cofounders: Edward Fishman, Lawrence Cohen and the honorable Mayor Jimmy Delshad.

The weekend consisted of some amazing dinners with friends, a slew of off-the-hook private parties, a pre-event VIP red carpet chock full of photographers and media and, of course, the tournament, itself. I had the pleasure of teaming up with two of my closest friends: Sam Simon, creator of The Simpsons, arguably one of the most successful TV shows of all time, and established freelance writer/Bluff columnist Adam Slutsky, both of whom happen to be darn good poker players. Unfortunately, both Adam and Sam got taken out on Day 1; at least they got their chips in when they were ahead. I advanced to Day 2 and was in pretty good shape – great shape, I thought – when I took pocket kings up against the pocket 8s of Bluff Magazine’s publisher, Eric Morris. But his four-card flush sent me to the rail. Congrats to Team Bluff (which also included Bluff’s illustrious editor Matt Parvis and super-talented young poker pro Justin Bonomo) who went on win the event. Don’t rest on your laurels, guys – we’ll be gunnin’ for you next year!

The event was a phenomenal success and attracted a wide array of poker stars. My compliments to DTG for doing such a fabulous job with the first-time tournament and, as always, my sincerest thanks to all my friends at the Hard Rock who always take such great care of me whenever I’m in town.

Next up was the filming of a fantastic documentary on poker, shot right on the beach in Malibu, just the flip of a chip from my home. I was well prepared for the taping and my buddy, Sam Simon, was also in on the action.

After that it was off to NYC to emcee a star-studded poker event at Gotham Hall, hosted by Russell Simmons and Helena Houdova, benefiting the Sunflower Children’s Foundation. While you’ll learn more about this incredible event in an upcoming Bluff article, I’m proud to say we raised close to $1 million courtesy of some incredible big-ticket auction items, including a trip into space with Richard Branson, as well as a vacation on his private island.

Lisa Tenner did a phenomenal job of marketing the event and her husband, Mark, was equally amazing providing poker lessons to all those interested in improving their game before the tourney started. My thanks to James and everyone involved for making this a truly spectacular event.

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Last weekend I was invited back to the Hard Rock in Las Vegas, a venue I feel really comfortable at. I have many friends there that run the place and they always treat me incredibly well. On this occasion I was there to shoot the Howard Stern Show. In the process I got to teach some of the show’s guests how to play poker. The entire crew – Mike, Lonnie, Ronnie and Scott – were totally genuine and a lot of fun to hang with. I also met Gary and everyone from Rick’s – let me tell you, they throw a fantastic party! Naturally, I also spent some time in the Hard Rock’s new poker lounge& great room with an amazing atmosphere. The whole weekend was an absolute blast!

Also on the subject of teaching& I was thrilled to be invited to UCLA as a guest lecturer for a Statistics and Probabilities class. This was really rewarding to me as I’m always excited to give back whenever possible. Approximately 70 students who really understand how statistics and probabilities relate to poker took part and I think I gave them many things to think about. They were all so gracious and kind; I enjoyed myself as much, if not more, then they appeared to. Perhaps in my retirement – or maybe another life – if I have the time, I could be a teacher. It’s a source of true joy for me, something I’m really comfortable doing and, without trying to sound pompous, I happen to think I’m pretty good at it.

Have a safe and fun Halloween and please check in next week. I’ve got some exciting adventures on the horizon. Until then…

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This week kicked off with the Road 2 Recovery Charity Poker Tournament at the MGM Grand, benefiting the Injured Riders Fund, an organization dedicated to assisting professional AMA-licensed Motocross/Supercross riders who have sustained career-ending injuries. Many poker and extreme sport celebs were in the house, giving their time and money for a fantastic cause. I met some great people, made some new friends – Jimmy Button and the whole crew from Wasserman Media Group among them – and Lisa Wheeler and Rob Greasie were amazing as always, putting on yet another first-class event. I’d also like to offer a special Thank You to Carey Hart for being such a generous host at the after-party. You’ll read more about it in an upcoming Bluff article.

Another impressive improvement at the Hard Rock worth mentioning is what appears to be the coolest anti-club in Sin City, Wasted Space. Co-owned by Carey Hart and all-star Yankees slugger Jason Giambi, the rock lounge will feature an ever-changing assemblage of today’s headlining rock artists coupled with some of the hottest DJs on the planet.

Next, Steve brought me over to the UNLV baseball diamond for a wild promo – to try my luck against an extremely tough pitcher. I was hoping I wouldn’t embarrass myself – it’s been nearly 20 years since I played ball – but somehow I managed to go two for three, earning $500 worth of Hard Rock chips in the process. I was also invited to take part in yet another cool Hard Rock promotion – Dream Team Poker; I’ll explain this event further in the weeks to come. I’m really looking forward to it.

The only downside to the weekend was seeing the Los Angeles Dodgers get eliminated from further contention courtesy of the Philadelphia Phillies, losing four out of five games, no less. I’ve been a lifelong Dodgers fan and I really thought this was going to be their year. I was hoping to see a Dodgers-Red Sox series, right along with all the network executives. They’ve got a great team – hopefully they can come back even stronger next season.

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Talk about an exciting week& The CAP Euro in Barcelona, Spain was an incredible experience. Being the keynote speaker was the icing on the cake. I had never been to Barcelona before – one of the cities I wanted to visit in my lifetime – and despite the language barrier, which made things interesting at times, the trip was tremendous.

Prior to CAP Euro, I wasn’t that familiar with everything affiliates have to go through to create business for all the sites – business that funds the majority of our poker tournaments. I was truly impressed and I have a newfound respect for everything they do.

As it turns out, I missed some zaniness& The Mossos d’Esquadra (Spanish police) raided the Hotel Princesa where the CAP Euro freeroll poker tourney was taking place. While I don’t have all the details, I know the tourney was stopped and that cards and chips were confiscated. Fortunately, no one was arrested. Still, I feel sorry for everyone involved. Those are great people doing excellent work.

Anyway, I made innumerable new friends – people I look forward to getting to know in the years to come.

I also had the opportunity to spend some quality time with Michael Caselli (editor of Bluff Europe), Lou Fabiano (Casino Affiliate Programs owner), Jeremy Enke and Greg Powell (The Jeremy & Greg PAP Show), and Alex Pratt (publisher of iGaming Business Magazine). We enjoyed great dinners and insightful and entertaining conversations. Thank you for being such awesome hosts!

After Spain it was back to New Jersey to spend a little time with my Mom and some old friends. Now I’m down in Florida working on new business, an exciting project I hope to talk about more in the future. Until next time&

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While my experience at the Borgata’s Main Event didn’t work out as I had hoped, I still had a fantastic time. I truly enjoyed the Water Club and everyone at the Borgata took such great care of me. That said, it was my pleasure to help promote the tournament via newspaper, television and radio promos; hopefully they were pleased with my efforts. I think the turnout was quite good. Overall, it was great to be back home in New Jersey. Seeing friends and family takes the sting out of failing to cash in the tourney!

Now I’m on my way to Barcelona, Spain for the CAP Euro (Casino Affiliates Program; www.CasinoAffiliatesProgram.com) convention. The four-day gaming industry event attracts people from all over the globe and I’m both honored and excited to play a role in this year’s installment.

I’ll be talking about online poker, a subject I happen to know a little bit about. After all, it was because of online poker that I won the biggest prize in poker history. Were it not for the massive global explosion of tournament poker directly fueled by online poker sites, thereby resulting in a record number of entries for the ’06 WSOP main event (8,773) coupled with my own comped buy-in courtesy of Bodog, chances are I wouldn’t have the many opportunities I do today. To that effect, I’m honored to follow the legend, Doyle Brunson, as this year’s keynote speaker. I’ll be sure to give you a report about the trip when I return.

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A very bittersweet week for me, reminding me of the overwhelming struggle my dad had, but overall I can’t even begin to describe how truly rewarding and personally gratifying it was to work with the MDA and the Jerry Lewis Telethon in my father’s name. In addition to being there live to field calls and take donations, they also allowed me to do a Public Service Announcement for ALS. All tolled, they raised more than $60 million in a 24-hour period. My sincerest thanks to all those who contributed and, on a personal note, to Mr. Jerry Lewis: Jerry, you’re an amazing man and the world is a better place because of you!

Now I’m heading off to the Borgata to play in the Main Event. I’ll be staying at their new Water Club, which I’ve heard is quite amazing, and I also plan on sampling the fare at Izakaya, their take on a Japanese pub with sushi that is supposedly out of this world. It’ll be nice to be back in my home state of New Jersey and see my mom and a few close friends. I don’t get back often enough and I always cherish the time when I’m there.

Sadly, my crazy schedule means I won’t be able to attend the honorary Mayor of Northridge Nancy Cartwright’s Monte Carlo Night charity event at her home on September 20th. Benefiting the PALS New Devonshire Youth Center for At-Risk Kids, I was there last year and had an awesome time. This year is expected to be even better. Tons of celebs from the Hollywood and poker communities show up and I encourage everyone within a 1,000-mile radius to swing by!

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This is a very special weekend for me& I’m participating for the first time as an ambassador for the MDA, an organization I am supremely proud of and truly honored to be connected with. The MDA’s ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) Division helped my father the most during his illness and it is my never-ending love for him and the care and compassion they exhibited, not just towards him but towards my entire family, that makes me genuinely excited to repay some of their kindness by assisting their efforts.

Of course, my involvement also causes an upwelling of feelings that I’ve suppressed since his passing. It hammers home that I don’t have my dad anymore. But he’s with me in spirit and I know he’d be as excited for me to take part in this telethon as I am.

The telethon is in Las Vegas and airs Sunday night, in the vicinity of 11 PM Pacific Time. I’ll also be answering phones live on Monday in Los Angeles. So please, tell all your friends and, if you can spare it, help me to raise a ton of money so we can find a cure for this dreadful disease.

After that, I’m heading back to New Jersey to play poker at the Borgata (the Borgata Main Event) with my mom – one of my all-time favorite things to do. It’s been a while since I played there and I’m hoping to stick around a little longer this time – hopefully all the way to the end.

I have fantastic memories of gambling in Atlantic City, specifically at the Borgata, with my dad. He really wasn’t much of a gambler but he didn’t mind 21 every now and then I would drag him to the blackjack table with me and the pit bosses were kind enough to remove a chair so we could fit in his wheelchair. I’d ask my dad how much he wanted to bet, he’d say a hundred, I’d put a $500 chip up and he’d say Take that off! He was much more careful with his money than I was and I loved him for that. He kept me levelheaded – a great deal more so than my instincts would have. So many great memories there – really looking forward to it.

Beyond that, I really wanted to play in the Legends of Poker at the Bike but previous commitments kept me from being able to attend. Hopefully next year I’ll have the time.

Until next week&

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