Poker player Jordan Cristos was handed a sentence of between 14 and 48 months earlier this week after making threats against World Poker Tour CEO Adam Pliska and a family court judge.
In September, the 38-year-old pleaded guilty to attempted stalking with use of Internet or electronic communication. Cristos left threatening messages toward Judge Regina McConnell that included a death threat, according to prosecutors. McConnell had been overseeing a child custody dispute involving the poker player.
Cristos, who is a former WPT champion, also allegedly sent threatening messages to Pliska and other WPT employees in an effort to have his online poker account reactivated, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
Repeated Unlawful Behavior
District Judge Monica Trujillo said the Palmdale, California, native had shown a history of repeatedly breaking the law. Cristos already received a sentence of 180 days in Clark County jail for another stalking-related charge.
“I am extremely concerned by your prior history, by your repetitive behavior,” Trujillo said. “I do understand rehabilitation. However, it’s clear to the court that even when you had help and you had the required counseling, that for some reason… if something doesn’t go your way, that you continue to harass people and you continue to violate prior orders.”
Cristos’ public defender hoped to help Cristos avoid additional jail time. He has already spent four months in the Clark County jail and expressed remorse to the court.
“I’m very sorry for my behavior and what’s happened in the past, and I promise it will never happen again,” Cristos told Trujillo.
However, prosecutor Laura Rose noted that he had already violated a domestic violence protective order in another case. Cristos was ordered not to have any contact with the woman involved in the case, but covinced another person to send her an email. The email had details of his case and was titled, “Wrongfully Incarcerated.”
Trujillo said she was taking the protective order violation into account in the sentence.
Poker Players In Jail
At the tables, Cristos has almost $3.8 million in live tournament earnings. His biggest score came when he won the 2013 WPT Legends of Poker at the Bicycle Casino for $613,355.
In other poker-related crime news, WSOP Circuit winner George Janssen recently pleaded guilty to fraud after using fake documents to obtain $3.9 million in business loans. WSOP bracelet winner Cory Zeidman also received a 46-month sentence in federal prison for fraud related to a sports betting operation.
- Photos by WPT
