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A once highly regarded appellate lawyer and founder/co-founder of SCOTUSblog, Tom Goldstein, claims he won more than $26 million in heads-up poker matches against a fellow poker player, Alec Gores. The latter man, a billionaire, supposedly lost around $50 million to social media playboy Dan Bilzerian.
Goldstein was indicted in federal court in January 2025 on a series of criminal charges tied primarily to tax crimes and false statements.
In October, a federal judge rejected Goldstein's efforts to exclude statements he made in regard to nearly $1 million in cash he carried into the US in 2018. The monies are believed to have been obtained from high stakes poker machines across the globe, according to initial reports.
Goldstein filed to suppress statements made during a 2018 customs screening at Washington Dulles International Airport upon his arrival from Hong Kong.
U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby denied the request to exclude the statements.
She ruled that "the evidence shows that the Defendant was not in custody during his October 25, 2018, customs screening process.”
(pictured: Tom Goldstein)
The New York Times Magazine earlier this week featured an interview with Goldstein, who spoke for the first time since his indictment.
"Millions of people file and then pay late, as I did," said Goldstein, who previously pleaded not guilty to all charges.
PokerNews noted that many of the poker players he went up against were mentioned, but not named, in the original complaint. This is the first time we are hearing who they allegedly are.
Many of the charges against Goldstein, and intrigue into the case, stem from 2016 heads-up matches he played against "three ultra-wealthy individuals" that resulted in over $50 million in profit.
Those individuals were identified in the indictment only as "Foreign Gambler-1," "Foreign Gambler-2," and "California Businessman-2," but Goldstein's interview appears to shed light on their identities, as well as that of his financial backer, California billionaire Stewart Resnick, who gave him a $10 million line of credit for poker games.
SCOTUSblo was one of the most widely read blogs covering the U.S. Supreme Court.
- Ace King, Gambling911.com
