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Jamie Gold's greatest fear is that his dead grandmother's ghost will see him naked!
Gold, winner of the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event, has stared down some of the toughest card sharks in the world, and gone all-in with the best of them.
He's endured the pressure that comes with the WSOP Main Event televised final table, earning pro poker's largest-ever cash prize--$12 million.
But when it comes to spooks, spirits, ghosts, ghouls or poltergeists, he's ready to fold every time.
Appearing as a celebrity ghost-hunter on the one-hour season finale of the popular Travel Channel series "Ghost Adventures" Friday, Gold, several other celebs and a ghost-busting crew scoured the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for the ghost of late entertainer Frank Sinatra.
Gold, however, seemed more concerned with avoiding personal nudity at the expense of a dead relative's ghost than searching for Ol' Blue Eyes' spirit.
During a "spirited" discussion about searching for spooks before the hunt started, Gold expressed fears that if there indeed are ghosts and they are invisible, then the ghost of his late grandma could be in his home and could get a glimpse of him as he got out of the shower.
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"How creepy would it be if you had your grandmother following you around," Gold wondered. "I would never get naked."
Gold was equally skeptical, however, when he was invited to hunt for Sinatra's ghost at the Riviera.
"There's nobody over there now setting this up?" he asked, wondering if the show would be faked.
Assured there wasn't, Gold, along with Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil and Bruce Westcott, who played piano in Sinatra's act for years, accompanied the "Ghost Adventures" ghost-hunters to the Riv, where Sinatra once performed and lived in a penthouse suite.
Visiting that suite, the ghost hunters used a variety of paranormal paraphernalia to ascertain whether Sinatra's ghost inhabited the room.
The verdict?
If not Sinatra, then somebody's ghost was there, it was decided.
After all, they noted, dozens of people had committed suicide in the hotel over the years, so the likelihood of a ghost or two being around was pretty good.
One of the producers of the program was Las Vegas-based sports handicapper Wayne Root, who has delved into TV production in recent years and was listed as "co-producer" of the episode.
Gambling911.com contacted Root after the show aired to ask him if he personally believes in ghosts.
Root dodged the question, but what could he do?
He's an Ivy League grad (Columbia University) who ran for Vice-President on the Libertarian Party ticket in 2008 and knows he'd sound like a crackpot if he said he does.
On the other hand, he can't say he doesn't, otherwise he kills the premise of his very lucrative TV show.
"I believe in presenting entertainment and entertaining personalities to TV viewers," Root said. "I don't judge. I just present. The show is a huge hit because people obviously are interested in the topic. Watching the show is fascinating. Are there ghosts? That's for viewers to decide."
By Tom Somach
Gambling911.com Staff Writer
