For reasons unknown at this time, 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event winner Jamie Gold is selling his championship bracelet. The bracelet, along with a Corum-designed watch custom-made for his victory, is being auctioned-off by Heritage Auctions.
Bidding for both items will begin on “approximately” July 13th, with a live auction August 1st and August 2nd as part of the Sports Signature Auction in Rosemont, Illinois. The watch and bracelet are amongst thirteen items that are highlighted as “featured” items in the auction, including a Lou Gehrig game-worn baseball cap from the 1930’s, a 1912 Major League Baseball World Series press pin, a 1958 Roger Maris game-worn jersey from when he was on the Cleveland Indians, and a 1962 Stan Musial game-worn jersey.
The auction house describes the physical styling of the WSOP bracelet as follows:
The bracelet features 259 stones including over seven carats of diamonds and 120 grams of white and yellow gold. Rubies are inset to create the red of the heart and diamond suits, while a sapphire represents the spade and three black diamonds the clubs. The clasp is stamped “14K.”
From the provided photographs of the bracelet, it appears to be in very good condition. It does look like Jamie Gold wore it quite a bit, as the back shows signs of wear and tear, but nothing unusual considering it was made seven years ago.
While the bracelet, as the Main Event bracelets tend to be, is quite gaudy, the watch is what might be considered “cheesy” looking. The background is poker-table-felt green with a stack of fanned cards – Ten through Ace of hearts – sitting in the middle. According to the auction site, the watch appears to have never been worn and even has the “protective stickering still applied to clasp and verso.”
Jamie Gold’s WSOP Main Event victory was the richest of all time, earning him $12 million. In years since, the payout structure of the tournament has been flattened somewhat, narrowing the jump in payouts for the top finishers and adding more money at the bottom of the payout ladder. His was a controversial victory of sorts, as he was seen as frequently getting lucky, hitting the exact cards he needed, no matter the hand. Gold also took the art of table talk to a whole new level during that tournament. He constantly chatted with his opponents, and like it or not, seemed to have a skill of getting them to do exactly what he wanted. If he wanted them to fold, somehow he was able to say the right thing to get it to happen. If he wanted a call, he got it.
Gold had one of the most dominant victories ever seen in the Main Event, amassing a gigantic chip lead in Day 4 and using it to roll over the field the rest of the way.
Jamie Gold is not the first Main Event winner to sell his championship bracelet. 2008 winner Peter Eastgate auctioned off his on eBay in 2010 for $147,500, giving the proceeds to UNICEF. 2007 champ Jerry Yang was to have his bracelet and other personal items auctioned by the IRS in April to pay for some of his delinquent tax bills, though details of whether the auction actually took place or how much the bracelet sold for are not known. 1991 Main Event champ Brad Daugherty also put his bracelet up for bids on eBay in 2010, but it never reached his desired minimum, so it did not sell.
