Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Reigning World Series of Poker champion Jamie Gold agreed to an out-of-court
settlement with Bruce Crispin Leyser. Terms of the agreement, tentatively
reached on Friday, February 2nd, were not disclosed. This week, a District
Court judge in Las Vegas is expected to approve the final settlement which
will free up $6 million which had been frozen by an injunction, issued in
September last year. Half of Mr. Gold's $12 million in poker winnings has
been held at the Rio Casino in Las Vegas. The settlement ends a six-month
dispute between Mr. Gold, who won the 2006 World Series of Poker, and Mr.
Leyser, who was reportedly promised half of the top prize. The lawsuit began
when Mr. Leyser, a television company executive, made a verbal agreement
with Mr. Gold prior to the start of poker's world championship event. The
agreement was reiterated in a brief telephone call between the two men which
took place shortly before the final day of tournament.
In both exchanges, Mr. Leyser alleged that Mr. Gold agreed to split whatever
prize money was won. Following his Cinderella-like poker victory, Mr. Gold
reportedly made attempts to set up a corporation in Nevada, which would
handle the disbursement of winnings. When that process took longer than
expected, Mr. Leyser filed a civil lawsuit against Mr. Gold in Las Vegas
District Court, seeking a $6 million judgment. Since then, the case has made
headlines in Las Vegas, and elsewhere. According to terms of the final
settlement, neither party is permitted to discuss the amount of money
ultimately paid to Mr. Leyser, nor the specifics of the case. However, Mr.
Leyser is expected to receive a significant part of the $6 million in
question and will be permitted to collect his share of the winnings within
days of the court's final approval of the settlement.