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A lot of speculation has been raised as to how well 2006 World Series of Poker winner, Jamie Gold, is doing financially when it comes to his poker career.
Much of the talk began in early January when, on the new episode of PokerRoad, they briefly spoke about Jamie Gold and there was mention by Ali Nejad mentioned how Gold has gone from having $8 million to nothing.
The speculation surrounding Gold's finances grew more intriguing when it was reported he was seen playing $2 to $5 no limit hold em and $5 to $10 no limit at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. Supporters claim he's playing these games for pure enjoyment. Detractors claim his "reckless nature has caused him to come close to squandering his entire bankroll."
What we do know for certain is that Jamie has been involved in a plenty of charity poker work of late, which hardly sounds like somebody who is blowing wads of cash at the poker tables. The idea that he is playing $2 to $5 no limit hold em seems to support the notion he has some degree of discipline.
Jamie Gold has also acknowledged that he is looking to team up with a new online poker room, one that does take customers from the U.S..
Unfortunately these are few and far between. There is Full Tilt Poker, which seems a bit saturated with talent at the moment, PokerStars, Cake Poker, our friends at Doyles Room (now part of Cake), the Merge Network and a handful of smaller card rooms.
Bodog, ranked among the lower top 15 of online poker rooms in terms of real cash players, previously dropped Gold after his big upset win in 2006.
This leaves us with UltimateBet.
Gold acknowledged this week that his charity work involved UltimateBet spokesperson, Annie Duke.
"I was invited to get involved with the Ante Up For Africa tourney on Annie Duke and Don Cheadle's behalf," Gold says.
And while the choices are somewhat limited for the time being, most meet the criteria he is looking for.
"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," he states.
And while UltimateBet had been involved in a much publicized "insider" cheating scandal last year, that card room feels it has implemented measures to prevent a similar incident from happening in the future, including a change to new software (the Cereus platform).
Gold won the largest pot of any World Series of Poker events and enjoyed a status similar to that of Chris Moneymaker - a player who seemingly came out of nowhere and helped propel the World Series of Poker to that next level. Gold's win had a storyline that drew even more interest to the event (Hollywood agent forced to share winnings with a promoter - oh the drama).
Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
