He defeated a record field of 8,773 players to capture a record $12 million prize at last year's World Series of Poker.

So what does Jamie Gold of Paramus do for his next challenge?

He sits down with the best cash players in the world for the third season of Game Show Network's "High Stakes Poker," which debuts 9 p.m. Monday.

Gold, who dominated the World Series with his play and talk, offered a humble reason for his appearance on the show that requires each player to come to the table with a minimum of $100,000 in cash.

"Before I was a poker player, I was a fan. So it was an honor for me to play with these guys," Gold said of the competition, which included poker superstars Doyle Brunson, Barry Greenstein and Daniel Negreanu.

Gold and Brunson hook up in a pair of big hands early

"I knew I was out of my league," Gold said by phone from California on Friday. "But one day I'll be able to tell my grandkids that I played against the best players in the world and I'll have the TV tapes to show them."

For Gold, the months since his victory have been tinged with controversy and grief. He's involved in a lawsuit over half his winnings and his father, Dr. Robert Gold, passed away last month after a battle with ALS.

This week, in addition to "High Stakes," he'll also appear on NBC's new poker show, "Poker After Dark," playing with world champions Brunson, Johnny Chan, Chris Ferguson, Carlos Mortensen and Chris Moneymaker. ("Poker After Dark" airs 2:05 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday with a weekly wrap up show at 1 a.m. Sunday.)