Andrew Robl Testifies He Coached Tom Goldstein in $50 Million Poker Win
High-stakes poker legend Andrew Robl testified to a federal jury on Thursday that he coached embattled attorney Tom Goldstein for a series of heads-up matches starting in 2016. The result? Around $50 million in profit for Goldstein, Robl and other poker players who were in on the action.
Goldstein's heads-up matches against billionaire Alec Gores and two foreign gamblers named "Tango" and "Chairman" were first revealed in a January 2025 indictment against Goldstein, which noted that the superstar attorney had been coached and staked by two unnamed professional poker players.
One of those coaches was revealed earlier in the criminal tax fraud trial to be poker player Keith Gipson, while Robl's testimony on behalf of Goldstein confirmed the cash game legend's role in the made-for-movie matchups.
Goldstein has pleaded not guilty to all charges, which include tax evasion, falsifying tax returns, failing to pay taxes, and making false statements to two separate mortgage lenders.
After his testimony, Robl declined PokerNews' request for comment.
"He Won a Lot of Money"
Robl, the defense's first witness, is one of the most successful high-stakes cash game players of all time, dominating in his appearances on shows like The Big Game and High Stakes Poker. He told jurors at the federal courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland that he's known Goldstein since around 2010 and that they have "a friendship around poker."
In 2016, Goldstein asked Robl to coach him to take on Gores, an American billionaire known to play high-stakes poker, alongside fellow poker pro Keith Gipson. Robl, who also bought some of Goldstein's action, testified that other poker pros helped with the coaching, including heads-up expert Phil Galfond.
“I thought I could train him to beat Alec Gores and invest in it and make some money from it," Robl said when asked why he took the offer.
What were they teaching him? Robl explained that “we're just kind of teaching him the basics,” as well as to adapt his game to different opponents.
“His opponent (Gores) had a particular style, and once we knew that we (adjusted),” Robl said.
Robl estimated he had 10-15% of Goldstein's action during the 2016 matches against Gores, which saw Goldstein winning a personal-best of $26.4 million.
“He won a lot of money," the high-stakes pro said.
Robl remembered personally profiting around $3 million in the match, and an exhibit later introduced by the prosecution listed the number as $2.9 million.
Two to Tango
Robl also testified about coaching and staking Goldstein for his matches "somewhere in Asia" against "Tango" and "Chairman," who he identified as a "wealthy individual from China" who is close with Malaysian gambling mogul and Goldstein associate Paul Phua.
Earlier, the jury saw text messages between Goldstein and Robl that showed Robl had 5% of the action in Goldstein's match against "Tango" at a $6 million maximum loss. That ended up being bad news for Robl, who testified that Goldstein got in the hole past the stop loss, ending Robl's investment, before climbing back to win $13.4 million.
“I don’t believe I made money from that particular match," he said.
The defense emphasized that Goldstein personally took home much less than the $50 million he won overall in the matches, the majority of which went to backers.
For example, Robl agreed it was "possible" that Goldstein's share of the $13.4 million he won against "Tango" had been around $4.5 million. And in the match against Gores, Robl agreed that $8 million may have gone to Goldstein.
In an effort to explain any improper or incomplete accounting by Goldstein, the defense asked Robl why he didn't require any formal contracts with Goldstein over their poker dealings.
“Gamblers kind of just go by their word and reputation," Robl said.
Goldstein Lost to Robl at Kevin Hart's Party
During cross-examination by United States Department of Justice prosecutors, Robl revealed that Goldstein owed him around $1.5 million in poker debts, including from poker losses at a July 2024 birthday party in Mykonos, Greece, which PokerNews revealed last year was actor Kevin Hart's party — a fact verified by prosecutors today.
He also had a piece of Goldstein when he took on billionaire banker Andy Beal, who earlier in the trial was revealed to be the "Texas Businessman" who initially dodged a $15.6 million poker debt from a match against Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire.
The high-stakes legend also got his flowers, with a prosecutor calling him "one of the world’s best poker players" before asking whether he would've staked Goldstein in full-ring games, which the government alleged he was also playing at the time of the heads-up matches.
“No," said Robl. "He was not a profitable player in ring games. He normally lost.”
According to Highroll Poker, the 39-year-old has $9.9 million in winnings from 234 hours of playing on stream.
Additionally, Robl, who recently competed in the reboot of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, has $5.6 million in live tournament earnings.
