Dan Heimiller + Phil Gordon Beef Over Petty Cash < $15K
When we think of names like Dan Heimiller and Phil Gordon, we picture respectable and responsible members of the poker community. It's pretty shocking, then, to find out that the two have an outstanding dispute between them involving a debt that Heimiller owes to Gordon. The most unbelievable part of the story is that they're feuding over just a few thousand dollars!
About the Disputants
As already mentioned, both parties to this dispute are accomplished and well-known practitioners of the game of poker. Here's some info about them in case you might be unfamiliar with either one:
Phil Gordon
Phil Gordon
Phil Gordon, 55, grew up in Georgia, and he put the B.S. in Computer Science that he earned at Georgia Tech to good use. Becoming the first employee of Netsys, he wound up a millionaire when that company was acquired by Cisco.
Turning then to poker, Phil embarked on a career that included 21 WSOP cashes, 6 WSOP final tables, and one WPT title. Though he has booked more than $2.8 million in live tourney wins, a WSOP bracelet has thus far eluded his grasp.
Gordan is perhaps equally acknowledged for his endeavors away from the felt. He was one of the group of people who originally designed the software used by Full Tilt Poker and became a part of Team Full Tilt although this ended in disaster with Black Friday in 2011. Phil has also authored a number of poker books, like “Phil Gordon's Little Green Book.”
Dan Heimiller
Dan Heimiller
Dan Heimiller is 63 years old and has a career in poker spanning more than 30 years. He didn't waste much of that time either, posting solid results year after year. In fact, he has cashed in the WSOP at least once for 28 consecutive years.
During his time on the tournament poker scene, Dan Heimiller has won three WSOP bracelets, made it to 31 WSOP final tables, and secured 140 WSOP cashes. In total, he has earned more than $3.5 million from WSOP events alone and a further $4.5 million from other live tournaments.
As is the case with many poker pros from his generation, he's well-versed in forms of the game other than No Limit Texas Hold'em. Indeed, among his notable tourney results include such delights as Limit O/8, 8-Game Mix, 7 Card Stud, HORSE, and other variants.
Jungleman the Instigator?
The whole reason why we know about this dispute is because it was brought to the attention of X users by none other than Daniel “Jungleman” Cates who's no stranger himself to unpaid financial obligations. Cates was a participant in the infamous “durrrr Challenge” whereby he played Tom “durrrr” Dwan for high stakes with Dwan allegedly dragging out the proceedings and failing to pay Jungleman what was owed.
Back in March 2025, Cates posted on X explaining a new strategy for dealing with poker cheaters. He encouraged everyone to send in their stories and proof of any scams or cons that they had experienced:
It seems that the Heimiller/Gordon dispute was one of the matters submitted under this new “angle” as Jungleman is in possession of a history of messages between Phil Gordon and Dan Heimiller. Presumably, these screenshots of the conversations were sent by one of the parties to the disagreement (probably Phil Gordon).
Cates gave an overview of the case on X:
The attached conversations are kind of confusing, and so we will summarize them here rather than reproducing them exactly.
Evidently, the quarrel dates back to 2010 when Dan Heimiller and Phil Gordon went partners in something called the “Wynn player auction.” It's not clear exactly what this refers to, but it appears that their joint venture was successful and made a profit. The winnings were evidently paid to Dan Heimiller who was supposed to send Gordon his portion of the haul: a responsibility that was not discharged.
Phil first noticed this overdue obligation while going through his papers and finding records of their partnership, and he contacted Heimiller about it in November 2016. Heimiller claimed that he had had to borrow money and was still in debt. Phil responded that it was “not a big deal” and encouraged Heimiller to pay the debt when he “[made his] way back.”
However, Phil changed his tune on Aug. 14, 2017 when it turned out that Dan Heimiller had made a “$1m bet on a fight.” In light of such an extravagant wager, Gordon was rightly curious as to why Heimiller could not “pay the very small amt [sic]” he owed to Phil.
Fast-forward to 2024…14 years after the original deal was made. A lot had happened in the world of poker in the intervening time, including the death of Phil's friend Perry Friedman. Gordon told Heimiller that he would be in Las Vegas for Friedman's celebration of life and inquired about the possibility of settling up.
This is where Dan Heimiller seemed to go off the rails. He denied that he would ever make good on the debt. He claimed that because Full Tilt Poker failed to pay him, he would not be paying Phil Gordon who had profited from the defunct poker site.
How Much Is at Stake?
One baffling wrinkle to this story is the amount of money involved. Dan Cates, in his original message about the conflict, stated that it was $15,000. However, in the recorded text conversions, Phil Gordon claimed that the debt was $8,000. Dan Heimiller contends that the amount was about $3,500.
It's pretty strange that the exact amount owed is in dispute. Even with haphazard recordkeeping, one would think that they could narrow it down a bit between $3,500 and $15,000. Regardless of the exact figure, such chump change is almost not worth fighting over for these grizzled sharks who've both won millions of dollars apiece.
Our View
Having examined the provided evidence carefully, we're squarely on the side of Phil Gordon. Unless there's something else happening behind the scenes that we're unaware of, we strongly advise Dan Heimiller to pay what he owes to Phil Gordon.
Heimiller's contention that Gordon's association with Full Tilt absolves Dan of any debts he owes to Phil is highly suspect. In any case, during their earlier conversations, Heimiller freely acknowledged the debt, and this Full Tilt rationalization only appeared later on.
It's hard to see how Heimiller failed to get paid his Full Tilt balance anyway. Under the Full Tilt remissions process, users were paid out their balances in full with some exceptions for Team Pros and affiliates.
The most likely explanation is that Heimiller failed to submit his request for remission from Full Tilt before the deadline had passed. This would be extremely foolish if the money were significant enough for him to care about, but then again, it's probably not out of character for someone who lets debts go unpaid for 15 years.
Reactions From the Community
Most of those who have been following the controversy agree with us that Dan Heimiller ought to pay Phil Gordon his money. Such are the sentiments of X users “Tony Del Monte” and “Rmoney22”:
Phil Gordon Gives Dan Heimiller an Out?
About a day after Dan “Jungleman” Cates posted about the situation on X, Phil Gordon made an offer to Dan Heimiller:
Whether Heimiller will follow Phil's suggestion and bring this matter to a resolution is unclear.
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