Businessman JP McManus is attempting to secure a $5.2 million (€4.5 million) refund from the US tax authorities after he won $17.4 million in a "serious backgammon match" with Alec Gores.
But who is Alec Gores?
Well for starters, the $17.4 million would not make much inroads into Mr Gores's fortune: according to Forbes, he is worth $2.1 billion (€1.8 billion).
The self-made billionaire's runs a private equity firm, the Gores Group, which specialises in buying under-valued or under-performing parts of businesses from major corporations. It has about $3.1 billion in assets, according to the Gores website.
Born in 1953 in Nazareth, Israel, he emigrated to Flint, Michigan, in the United States, in 1968 and went on to study at Western Michigan University, graduating with a degree in arts and sciences.
Along with his brother, Tom, he founded Executive Business Systems, a computer hardware and software distribution company, in 1978 with $10,000 in funding. The company was sold in 1986 for $2 million, which he used to set up the Gores Group.
Mr Gores ranks number 854 on the Forbes list of world’s richest people. He is divorced and has five children. He currently lives in Beverley Hills, California.
