By August Darnell | May 14, 2009

Less than three months after signing with online poker site Aced Poker, 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event Champion Jamie Gold has parted ways with the company. The split was confirmed earlier this month, though the exact details surrounding Gold’s departure remain unclear. Since leaving Aced, Gold has signed on with poker agency Poker Icons, who has already begun working in tandem with the poker champ on a charity poker event in Cannes to benefit the Sunflower Children Foundation and the Wilhelm and Karl Maybech Foundation.

In February of this year Gold and Aced Poker, a site on the Merge Gaming Network, announced what was allegedly one of the more lucrative online poker sponsorship deals ever struck. Gold was rumored to be receiving in the neighborhood of $2 million for endorsing the relatively small site. As part of the deal, Gold would play online at Aced Poker and promote the site at live tournaments around the world while Aced would cover his tournament buy-ins and provide additional compensation.

The relationship between Aced and Gold appeared to start out on the right foot when Aced co-sponsored a fundraiser for Children Uniting Nations featuring Gold during Oscar season. Shortly after that, Gold captained Team Aced to a Dream Team Poker event victory in March of this year, but the business partnership quickly soured after that.

Public relations specialist Lisa Wheeler, who was brought on by Aced to handle and promote the signing of Gold, told Poker News Daily that Aced executives were virtually unreachable in the weeks following the announcement and suggested the whole endeavor was a giant publicity stunt. ACED Poker Room Manager Brandon Berndt responded to Wheeler’s comments stating:

“This whole situation is really getting blown out of proportion.It is true that unfortunately things didn’t work out with Jamie, but that’s about the only thing that has been reported correctly.A lot of things are being said by one person, who happens not to be Jamie Gold, that carry no water.”

This is not the first time the former poker champ has parted ways with an online poker room. When Gold made his historic run in the 2006 WSOP he had a business relationship with Bodog and was signed to a two-year deal with the site following his big win, but they parted ways shortly thereafter in the wake of ongoing legal trouble surrounding a supposed deal between Gold and Crispin Leyser regarding Gold’s $12 million first place prize from the Main Event.

Gold appears to have moved on from his brief business dealings with Aced and has recently signed with Poker Icons to represent him and collaborate with him on the numerous charity poker events he participates in. Other clients on the Poker Icons roster include Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, Peter Jepsen, JJ Liu and Alex “AJKHoosier1” Kamberis.

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