WSOP Main Event Runner-Up Sammy Farha Shoves Texas Poker Dealer

Back in 2003, Chris Moneymaker’s victory for $2.5m catapulted him to stardom in poker and gave us The Moneymaker Effect. Sammy Farha was the forgotten heads-up opponent of Moneymaker’s, who walked away with $1.3 million but largely disappeared. Now in his late sixties, Farha was playing $1/$3/$6 cash in Texas when he got into a dispute with a dealer of more than 40 years’ experience.

Who is Sammy Farha?

Back in the poker boom of the 2000s, everyone knew who Sammy Farha was. An eponymous character who was as famed for chomping on a cigar as Kojak was for sucking a lollipop, Farha was poker’s natural inhabitant of the game’s smoky backroom quarter. Making heads-up of the WSOP Main Event was a shock for Moneymaker but Farha looked – at the time – born to be there. A natural gambler in his element.

As poker took off following his high-profile result, Farha was everywhere on television. Poker exploded on the small screen and Farha was making decisions for six-figure sums regularly against players like Gus Hansen, Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu. But all that glitters didn’t stay gold for the man with the cigar.

In the years since that infamous heads-up was turned by Moneymaker’s bold bluff, the paths of both the winner and runner-up of that legendary clash could hardly have been any different. While Moneymaker became arguably the greatest ambassador poker has ever seen, Farha disappeared from view after a few years.

Once a staunch player of High Stakes Poker fame, the fall from grace looks complete this week as, at the age of 67, Farha is back playing in a Texas cardroom game where the small blind is a single dollar.

How Did the Argument Take Place?

“You should be an ambassador for poker. But you choose to treat people like absolute trash. “

According to CCTV footage from the game, made available by PokerNews, the argument at the felt was quickly intervened with professionally by everyone at the Houston Social Cardroom in The Lone Star State. Doug Caillier, the dealer in question, was asked to leave his seat and was replaced by another dealer. As security guards moved in, Farha left his seat and challenged Caillier about something. Caillier wasn’t for backing down, and the two men started pointing fingers at each other before Farha shoved Caillier in the chest area.

Caillier, who stated on Facebook that he had gallbladder surgery in that area recently, didn’t respond to the provocation, instead backing away, later telling his followers what he told Farha.

“You’re a poker icon and a Hall of Famer. You should be an ambassador for poker. But you choose to treat people like absolute trash. With dealers, you take it to another level. The way you treat dealers is inhumane, and I will not tolerate it.”

Caillier Unemployed, Files Police Report

Farha isn’t actually a Poker Hall of Famer, but Caillier’s point was a strong one nonetheless. Since the incident, Caillier says that he has been  made unemployed by the cardroom and hinted at non-contract work being carried out by dealers in the location.  He also said that he has reported Farha to the authorities.

“Yes, I was attacked… yes, I went to the ER and yes, I filed a police report,” he said. “A warrant for the poker player will be issued after authorities have received all pertinent documents.”

The 2003 WSOP Main Event runner-up Farha, who also has three WSOP bracelets, followed Caillier around the table as the dealer attempted to leave as security staff moved in to keep the two men separated. The $1/$3/$6 Pot-Limit Omaha cash game carried on, but for Farha, if charges are brought, he may not be clear of a tricky situation, with physical contact made between him and Caillier, albeit slight.

A close relationship between dealers and players in Texas is vital to the poker ecosystem, and Farha’s latest spat – not his first – will not contribute positively to the reputation of The Lone Star State as a place to play live poker.

The WSOP Main Event runner-up may be entering a fight he has no control of – in court.