A former Supreme Court lawyer whose career unraveled after it came to light in January that he had evaded taxes and used company funds to cover his gambling debts has revealed all in a recent interview. Tom Goldstein spoke with The New York Times Magazine to reveal that he was living a second life until everything finally caught up with him.
Goldstein is facing 22 counts in his trial, which is set to begin in January. Goldstein explains in the interview how he was able to hide the extent of his gambling for a long while. It was when he began entering major public tournaments that people in his life started expressing concerns about how much he was spending.
managed to win $26m in 2016 playing against California businessman Alec Gores
He also started playing in high-stakes cash games behind closed doors, where he quickly racked up $9m in losses after getting a $10m line of credit from a billionaire. It wasn’t all bad, as Goldstein managed to win $26m in 2016 playing against California businessman Alec Gores. About 75% of his play was staked by investors, but he still took home about $12m during his good run, during which he racked up total winnings of $50m.
Goldstein then began a long-running heads-up battle against an unnamed Southern businessman, which contributed to his giving up his law practice in March 2023. Goldstein’s fortune turned when a new federal prosecutor, Stanley Okula, was assigned to the investigation, which led to the formal charges in January.
Goldstein can’t play poker anymore as part of his bail conditions and he estimates that his lifetime play nets out at a loss of between $10m and $15m. Despite this, he still sees poker as his future once the court case is all said and done.
