American poker pro Jean-Robert ‘JRB’ Bellande recently shared a surprising anecdote from his career in a podcast with Johan ‘YoH Viral’ Guilbert: His very first poker backer was allegedly none other than Tom Dwan.
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Bellande, who has been one of the most famous faces at the high-stakes tables since the early 2000s, told that Dwan supported him back then in his early years in high-stakes play. The collaboration likely took place around 2009, when Dwan was about 22 years old and had his first TV appearances in formats like High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark. Dwan was already known as ‘durrrr’ on Full Tilt Poker at the time and dominated the most expensive games there with aggressive play.
Dwan himself was not always the backer
Although Dwan supported JRB in his career, Dwan himself was not always just in the role of the financier. Court documents show that Dwan was financially supported by others in the past, including the Malaysian player Paul Phua. Part of these funds were forwarded by the controversial lawyer Tom Goldstein, who is currently charged with tax fraud.
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According to these documents, Goldstein transferred at least $1,29 million to Dwan over several years to cover losses or as a staking contribution. The payments were made in 2016, 2017 and in 2021. Goldstein and Dwan sat across from each other at the tables of the Hustler Casino Live Million Dollar Game in 2024, where Goldstein lost over $2,7 million, including a legendary situation in which he folded the winning hand at showdown.
High Stakes Poker Financial Labyrinth
Tom Dwan, one of the most iconic high-stakes players in the poker world, thus not only had impressive successes at the table but also played a key role as a backer for Jean-Robert Bellande in the past. Later, the roles changed, and Dwan himself was supported by others, which once again shows the often complex financial networks in high-stakes poker.
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