World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event winner Jamie Gold is embroiled in an ongoing legal dispute over half of his winnings, which he allegedly promised to an L.A.-based television development executive upon the tournament's conclusion.
According to a suit filed by Bruce Crispin Leyser, Gold promised to split his winnings 50-50, whatever they amounted to, as part of an agreement reached during conversations that dated to July, when the two World Series aspirants met.
During these conversations, Leyser and Gold supposedly hatched a plan whereby Gold, staked by online gambling and entertainment company Bodog, would enter the tournament, while Leyser sought celebrity WSOP entrants to don Bodog-branded apparel.
The complaint alleges that Leyser, fulfilling his end, reined in Matthew Lillard, known most recently for playing Shaggy in the Scooby-Doo films, and Dax Shephard, a comedian and cast member of MTV's practical joke show, "Punk'd."
Gold went on to defeat 8,772 contestants to notch the victory and $12 million purse.
According to The Las Vegas Sun, Leyser's lawyer, Las Vegas attorney Robert Schonfeld, has declined to comment on whether Leyser had obtained a written contract from Gold, but has instead referenced a message Gold left on Leyser's answering machine on the morning of Aug. 10, the same day final-table play began.
The complaint alleges that Gold's message was intended to assure Leyser that he would receive his half of whatever Gold brought home that day.
In the recording, the person leaving the message, alleged to be Gold, states: "I wanted to let you know about the money. You're obviously very well protected. Everything will be fine, but nothing's going to happen today, that's for sure. I have the best tax attorneys and the best minds in the business working for me from New York and L.A., and what we're probably going to do is set up a Nevada corporation, and it's going to . . . have to pay out of the corporation. I can’t just pay personally because I could get nailed.”
The person speaking asks for Leyser's patience, as payment may take several days.
"I promise you, and you can keep this recording on my word, there's no possible way you're not going to get your half . . . after taxes."
Schoenfeld also remarked that, to his knowledge, Gold had not agreed to divide the winnings among other parties.
The extent to which the pending litigation bears on Gold's future with Bodog is uncertain. After the tournament concluded, Bodog and Gold reached a two-year sponsorship deal, with the company also agreeing to a $1 million television production deal.
"There is really no new news on that front. We are still doing the deal described in the original release," Susan Mainzer, media relations manager for Bodog.com, said.
Bodog insists that it was not aware of Gold's deal with Leyser, emphasizing instead Gold's efforts to secure celebrities that would represent Bodog at the World Series.
"We made the decision to include him on Team Bodog in the World Series due to his aid in setting up our celebrity team, his successful tournament background and his master-student relationship with Johnny Chan," the company stated. "We are unaware of any side deal he may have made in obtaining those celebrities."
Chief District Judge Kathy Hardcastle signed a temporary restraining order on Aug. 21 barring Gold from collecting his winnings from the Rio Casino in Resort in Las Vegas, where the Main Event was held.
As of today, lawyers for both parties have agreed to a court injunction, which effectively freezes $6 million of Gold's winnings.
Schoenfeld said that U.S. District Court Judge Roger L. Hunt is expected to sign the order soon.
"Everybody agreed the preliminary injunction would be issued," he said.
Gold's lawyers have until Sept. 15 to challenge the injunction.