Probably not the right person to threaten
Poker pro Jordan Cristos has one title and over $900,000 on the World Poker Tour (WPT), but his chances of ever playing in a Tour event look dubious. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the 38-year-old Cristos has been in jail since June for threatening a judge and the CEO of the WPT.
On September 15, Cristos pleaded guilty to “felony attempted stalking with use of the internet or electronic communication for e-mails he sent to Family Court Judge Regina McConnell.
Cristos was a party in a child custody case and threatened to sue McConnell if she didn’t take his side. The lawsuit would have forced her off the case. The Review-Journal says that he allegedly considered creating a website to detail the lawsuit and would have published McConnell’s home address.
Furious, Cristos ventured to the Facebook page of the church McConnell attended and posted a “vulgar” message about her. He followed that up with a post of McConnell and her daughter in which he said he hoped she died.
Shuffle up and deal with it
He was similarly unhinged in an unrelated targeting of WPT CEO Adam Pliska. It sounds like Cristos had previously had his online World Poker Tour account banned, and on more than one occasion, told Pliska that he would delete negative social media posts about the WPT if his account was reinstated.
Cristos told Pliska that he would be “effectively sentencing all of your staff to an Open season” if the account was not restored. What that means is not precisely clear – did the threat refer to more social posts or something more dangerous?
In another communication, Cristos warned Pliska: “….if you do not accept my offer, then you are going to meet the legend and the stalker in more ways than one.”
That certainly sounds more threatening. Cristos did say later that he “regretted” what he wrote, but as is always the case, there is no telling if he was genuinely sorry for what he did or if he was just sorry he got caught.
Jordan Cristos has nearly $3.7 million in lifetime live tournament earnings, including the previously mentioned $900,000 on the World Poker Tour. His one Tour victory – in the 2013 WPT Legends of Poker Main Event – earned him $613,355 and remains his largest cash and only major tournament win.
Cristos has one other World Poker Tour final table to his name, as well as six World Series of Poker final tables, but no WSOP bracelets.
Image credit: World Poker Tour