Judge Keeps $6 Million WSOP Prize Locked Up

U.S. District Court Judge Roger Hunt rejected a motion by the lawyers for 2006 World Series of Poker champion, Jamie Gold, to lift an injunction set in September that is keeping half of Gold’s $12 million prize locked up at the Rio Casino in Las Vegas. Additionally, Judge Hunt expressed his belief that Crispin Leyser, the television producer who claims that Gold promised him $6 million will win his case.

Said Hunt, “His (Gold’s) actions, in the court's view, do not give the plaintiff much assurance that the money would, in fact, be available in the event of a judgment in his favor. The likelihood of success weighs on the side of the plaintiff.”

Leyser alleges that in exchange for recruiting celebrities to represent online poker room, Bodog.com (the room that was sponsoring Gold), in the Main Event of the WSOP, Gold promised to split anything he won with Leyser. The day of the final table, Gold left Leyser a phone message assuring him that he would still be getting half.

Gold’s attorneys remain defiant. “We recognize our client made the promise,” said Patrick Byrne. “But we believe that when all of the evidence of the case is before a jury that they will see there was no consideration for the agreement.”

Byrne contends that Gold only promised to give Leyser anything after Leyser got the celebrities to play, which makes it a gift, not a contract.

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Update #1

Originally published December 22, 2006