Jordan Cristos, a poker professional with more than $3.6 million in live tournament earnings, has been sentenced in Las Vegas for threatening both World Poker Tour (WPT) CEO Adam Pliska and Family Court Judge Regina McConnell.
The 38-year-old poker player from California, known for winning the 2013 WPT Legends of Poker title at The Bicycle Casino, entered an Alford plea — acknowledging that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict him while maintaining his innocence. The charges stemmed from a series of incidents involving stalking, threats, and domestic violence.
Sentence and Court Remarks
District Judge Monica Trujillo handed Cristos a sentence of 14 to 48 months. This ruling followed a previous one-month jail term he served in September for a domestic violence conviction. During sentencing, Judge Trujillo expressed serious concern over Cristos’ repeated behavior and prior violations of court orders.
“I am extremely concerned by your prior history, by your repetitive behavior,” Trujillo said, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “It’s clear to the court that even when you had help and required counseling, if something doesn’t go your way, you continue to harass people and violate prior orders.”
As part of the plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to dismiss a separate stalking case. Cristos had also been charged with stalking Leon Wheeler, Director of Poker Operations at Resorts World Las Vegas.
Background and Career
Cristos’ legal troubles began in June, when he was charged with multiple offenses, including stalking, threatening, and domestic violence. The threats against Pliska and Judge McConnell, who oversaw a child custody case involving Cristos, led to his latest conviction.
He has been held at the Clark County Detention Center for five months. Earlier this summer, he made one cash in a World Series of Poker (WSOP) online event on June 8.
Cristos, who also won a U.S. Poker Open event in 2019, has long been known within the poker community for his erratic social media behavior. He often posted aggressive comments toward other players, and his X (formerly Twitter) account has since been deactivated.
His sentencing adds another chapter to his troubled off-the-felt history.
