2006 WSOP Champion Jamie Gold was raised in Paramus, New Jersey. He grew up in a rather competitive household where his mother loved to play poker and his grandfather was an indisputable champion in Baker's gin rummy. Gold obtained a bachelor's degree from Albany's University of New York, and, in 1991, moved to California to study entertainment law in UCLA.

Gold started his entertainment career at the age of 16 when he interned at a talent agency in New York City. Having obtained priceless work experience, at 21, Gold found work in Los Angeles as a full talent agent. In 1996, he established his own business, JMG Management. Gaining increasing popularity for discovering new talents and propelling the careers of rising Hollywood stars, Gold has worked with such famous heavyweights as James Gandolfini, Lucy Liu and Kristin Davis.

In the recent years, however, Gold decided to quit his career as a talent manager and dedicate his time to producing television. JMG started working on a new poker production featuring prominent poker champion Chris Moneymaker and 10-time WSOP bracelet winner Johny Chan. Over the years, Chan gave Gold valuable poker tips and tutorials. Eventually, Chan became Gold's poker mentor.

Gold took part in the 2006 WSOP Main Event as a member of the prominent Bodog.com celebrity team. Being extremely successful at the poker tables during the games, Gold easily surpassed player after player until he made it to the final table. He dominated the last several days of play, always increasing his pile of chips at the expense of other, more experienced players, such as Allen Cunningham. He ultimately outplayed all of his final table opponents. In total, Gold had to beat 8,773 entrants in order to win the coveted title.

After receiving the title, Gold revealed that he had signed a two-year endorsement agreement with his sponsor, industry-leading online poker room Bodog.com. Gold's agreement with the poker room includes standard promotional appearances and a television production deal. Under the deal, Gold will also host his own table on Bodog.com, where the gaming website's visitors will be offered a chance to play with the Champion.

Gold is a self-admitted poker addict. Prior to his WSOP win, the player spent as many as 40 hours per week at the Commerce, Bicycle and Hustler casinos in the Los Angeles area. Gold's addiction to poker made him test his skills in many high stakes cash games over the last several years. Although he participated in a wide selection of tournaments organized in land-based casino facilities, he almost never competed over the Internet.

2006 WSOP Champion Jamie Gold boasts several other impressive finishes, besides his $12 million first place finish at the World Championship. Gold's other remarkable wins include: a fifth place finish in the $300 No-Limit Hold'em event at the 2006 Winnin' O' the Green at the Bicycle Casino and an eighth place finish in the $500 No-Limit Hold'em event at the 9th Annual National Championship of Poker at Hollywood Park Casino in 2005.