I haven't heard whether there is a cause and effect relationship in part between the two, but I wonder if Jamie Gold's getting in via someone else's seat and then having half of his winnings frozen has anything to do with the WSOP's new policy of no longer allowing people to win a seat directly through an internet qualifier. The online sites will still figure out ways to get people in the tourneys; for example, instead of winning a seat entry that they send to you a player will receive enough cash to get to Vegas and buy and entry themselves. However, everything about Jamie Gold seems kinda shady. The TV show that he is connected to sucks, and the Internet Movie Database does not even list him as being involved with the show. For him to promise half of his winnings to that guy and then try to reneg on it is low-rent. His signing with
Bodog--perhaps the sluttiest poker room out there--was pretty classless too.