Rick Salomon Loses $2.8M Payout

Professional American poker player Rick Salomon has been refused a $2.8 million payout by a French court after the decision was made that poker is a game of chance, which doesn’t require any kind of physical skill and exercise. The pro player sued a Saudi sheikh for what he claims were unpaid winnings after competing in a game that took place at a French Riviera hotel. However, with this ruling, Salomon will have to go forward without his alleged winnings. The verdict was rendered in the first week of December although the court hearing before a judge occurred in October.

About the Decision

Salomon, who is the former husband of “Baywatch” star Pamela Anderson, made a claim that wealthy Saudi sheikh Raad al-Khereiji owed him the $2.8 million sum after they competed in a 2014 Texas Hold’em game of poker. This took place at the Tiara Miramar Beach Hotel, located near Cannes. Salomon is particularly fond of such private games, and he is more notable for his performance at the live tables rather than at online poker sites.

The Game in Question Took Place at the Luxurious Tiara Miramar Hotel on the Mediterranean Sea

According to Salomon, he had tried communicating with Khereiji on several occasions in order to get him to pay the alleged outstanding debts, and this had been ongoing since the finish of the 2014 game that was played. This was explained during the trial which took place in October, and the case actually hinged on a law from 1804 that's still on the books today as Articles 1965 and 1966 of the French Civil Code. This law translates as:

Art. 1965
       Legislation does not grant any action for a gaming debt or for the payment of a bet.

Art. 1966
       Games proper to train in the use of arms, foot or horse races, chariot races, tennis and other games of the same kind which involve skill and bodily exercise, are excepted from the precedent provision.
       Nevertheless, the court may dismiss the complaint where the sum seems excessive.

This law limits the type of gaming debts that are enforceable by the courts to any which involve weapons, include horse or foot racing, chariot racing, tennis matches, and any others that involve physical skill and/or exercise. Therefore, with this law being in operation, gambling debts cannot generally be enforced.

Ronald Skol, the French lawyer who had taken the case and stood for Salomon, also explained that several other professional poker players had heard that Khereiji had promised to transfer the $2.8 million to his client. This, he said, was to be done through a lawyer based in Los Angeles. Yet, Salomon made the claim that that same lawyer contacted him at a later date, telling him that the debt would not be paid by Khereiji due to him believing that it was a friendly game of poker without stakes.

This explanation strikes us as bizarre. Gentlemen of the means and habits of Salomon, Khereiji, and the other participants in the game seldom meet in ritzy accommodations for high-stakes rounds of play money poker. Although if they do elect to conduct themselves in this manner, we have a list of freeroll poker sites that may perhaps warrant their interest.

Attempt to Circumvent the 1804 Law

While Khereiji’s excuse as to why he didn’t pay the debt up may sound like quite an unlikely scenario, the 1804 legislation that remains in action within France caused problems for Salomon’s case. It was this statute that provided enough of a defense for Khereiji’s lawyer as poker does not fit into the definition of the types of games that the court can enforce debt payments for due to it not being a physical contest.

Yet, Sokol would try and counter this claim, stating that the contest had actually lasted for a period of 48 hours thereby making it a game that also required endurance to complete. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to convince the judge of the claim for the $2.8 million debt, and he went on to rule in favor of Khereiji.

Sokol did note that Salomon had managed to achieve a couple of smaller victories during the case. To begin with, the court rejected the absurd request from Khereiji that Salomon should be forced to pay his legal fees. Additionally, it allowed gambling records to be brought into evidence, which showed that Khereiji had spent $34 million within a period of 29 months at the Ivey Room, located at the Aria in Las Vegas. The Ivey Room was named after professional poker player Phil Ivey, who has also been having his own issues with a $124K prize that was seized by the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa.

Speaking of the outcome of the court case, Khereiji’s lawyer, Paul-Albert Iweins, spoke to The Telegraph and said that Salomon’s request was contrary to law. He continued:

There was an infinitely small chance of winning because even supposing there was such a debt, which my client totally contests, you cannot pursue someone in France for a gambling debt, full stop.

Sokol Seeking Out Possibilities of Appealing the Ruling

Because of the evidence that the court heard over Khereiji’s $34 million spending spree in Vegas, there could be an opening for an appeal to be made. The information within that could establish the Saudi sheikh as being a knowledgeable gambler, and that may end up being the loophole that Salomon asks his lawyer to take advantage of should he go ahead with an appeal. Speaking to The Guardian on the outcome of the case, Sokol said:

We are considering taking this all the way to the French Supreme Court as the French rule on gambling debts has been in effect since 1804.

He finished off by saying that there hasn’t been case law since that time in the civil courts potentially hinting that it should be cause for an update to the legal framework. Sokol intends to consult with his American colleagues in order to make a final decision on whether or not an appeal is a worthy route to take. He spoke of having little trouble in convincing the court that poker is a game of skill, but that when it came to the condition of it needing to be a game of physical exercise, that’s where the downfall of the case came from.

Salomon Well-Known in More Ways Than One

Born and raised in Neptune Township, New Jersey, Salomon rose to prominence in the professional poker scene, and he’s known for often competing in high-stakes games. According to the statistics, he has won over $9.9 million in live tournament winnings, and that places him amongst the top 100 players who have won the most in offline tournament poker history.

Poker Player Rick Salomon

Yet, it’s perhaps his activities outside of the poker world that have garnered him a reputation more so than those taking place within it. He was featured in an infamous 2003 sex tape with his then-girlfriend Paris Hilton, which was leaked to the internet, and this led to Salomon filing a lawsuit against the company that distributed it as well as a lawsuit against the Hilton family. Yet, in April 2004, Salomon chose to begin distributing the same sex tape himself via the adult film company Red Light District before dropping the lawsuit against the Hilton family.

He’s also well-known for his numerous marriages, annulments, and divorces to famous female celebrities. It was in 1995 that he married voice actress Elizabeth Daily, having two daughters with her before going through a divorce in 2000. He then married actress Shannon Doherty in 2002 although that was annulled after only nine months.

Salomon's marriage to Pamela Anderson came in October 2007, but they separated less than 10 weeks later. The two went through numerous reconciliations and break-ups, but they both filed for divorce in 2008 citing fraud as their reason. The couple would re-marry in January 2014, but then Anderson filed for divorce once more in July of the same year. Salomon paid out $1 million as a settlement to Anderson.

Rick Salomon's Ex-Wife Pamela Anderson

Enjoy Poker Safely in the US

You may want to steer clear of getting involved in lawsuits over gambling debts and doubtless of suffering through multiple marriages as well. There's no need to expose yourself to shady goings-on in private games because we know of several online poker rooms that will be able to help you out (though if you spend too much time on them to the exclusion of your family, your marriage may suffer anyway). Take a look at our recommended internet poker venues for Americans to get started on your online poker adventure.