Goldstein Trial Features Whales, Stakes, and Crypto in Ninth Day

Rick Salomon, a professional poker player who famously filmed a sex tape with Paris Hilton and leaked it in 2003, took the stand in Tom Goldstein’s trial Thursday morning.

He was there to testify about money the government believes Goldstein was hiding in Hong Kong and Goldstein’s heads-up matches against “whales,” or poker players who lose big, in Asia.

When you want to play whales in Asia, Salomon said, you often have to go through Paul Phua, which means “you have to give him a piece.”

Perhaps in an attempt to show that Goldstein maintained secret bank accounts in Asia, it introduced a 2016 text Goldstein sent to Salomon saying “I have money in Hong Kong and Robl"—meaning professional poker player Andrew Robl—"can get it.” He sent it while trying to secure backers to play billionaire Alec Gores.

But on cross Salomon testified that he assumed Goldstein was referring to Phua’s money, and that he wasn’t aware of any secret Goldstein accounts.

Phua—identified in the indictment as Foreign Gambler-3—is a casino owner who stakes a lot of players, Salomon said, meaning he backs them financially. He has featured prominently throughout the trial as someone who frequently had “a piece” of Goldstein’s games.

The government also introduced a few text messages between Salomon and Goldstein, in which Goldstein asks if he and 10 other people going to see the musical Chicago might be able to “say hi” to Salomon’s ex-wife, Pamela Anderson, who was performing in the show. He also sent a text message about meeting Paris Hilton. Goldstein’s defense team had sought to keep the text messages out as cumulative and prejudicial.

Goldstein attorney Jonathan Kravis asked Salomon if Goldstein was even remotely “one of those people” who is obsessed with celebrities. Salomon, who said he knows Goldstein very well, answered in the negative.

The government also called Chuck Pacheco, a talent manager, professional gambler, and former client of Goldstein’s.

Pacheco, referred to as “The Producer” in the indictment, testified that he received a $170,000 gambling payment from Goldstein’s law firm, Goldstein & Russell PC.

Pacheco has also faced IRS scrutiny in connection with his gambling winnings.

The other two witnesses called Thursday were IRS special agent Quoc Tuan Nguyen and Katie Bart, a former firm manager whom Goldstein allegedly offered things of value.

Nguyen’s expert testimony—based on what the prosecution team told him, as he wasn’t part of the investigation—focused on summarizing information about Goldstein’s cryptocurrency accounts and his use of VPNs and Proton Mail, which features end-to-end and zero-access encryption, in an attempt to show that Goldstein was hiding his gambling activities.

But on cross, the defense made the point that Goldstein used centralized exchanges, which keep records the government was able to subpoena. He also emailed the same records the government suggests he was trying to hide from his law firm’s email account, so there was no “zero-access” protection.

Zero-access means even the service provider can’t access the encrypted information stored on its servers.

Bart, who testified that she received immunity in exchange for her cooperation, testified about things of value that Goldstein allegedly offered her “at least in part” to dissuade her from cooperating with the IRS investigation. She will resume her testimony Monday.

Goldstein is facing one count of tax evasion, eight counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false and fraudulent tax returns, four counts of willful failure to pay taxes and three counts of making a false statement on a loan application. Among other things, prosecutors say he mischaracterized gambling-related expenses as business expenses and concealed income from the IRS. The government said it expects to conclude its case in chief Feb. 4.

Goldstein is represented by Munger Tolles & Olson LLP

The case is United States v. Goldstein, D. Md., No. 8:25-cr-00006, 1/29/26.