Sammy Farha Banned from Texas Card Club for Allegedly Assaulting Dealer

2003 WSOP Main Event runner-up Sammy Farha has been banned for life from Houston Social Cardroom in Houston, Texas. According to media reports, he allegedly punched dealer Doug Caillier in the chest after a dispute during a $1/$3/$6 Pot Limit Omaha cash game on Thursday, October 22nd.

Interestingly, Farha got extremely angry at a hand he was not even involved in.

Two other players played an all-in pot, in which they decided to run it twice. The same player won on both boards, thus taking the entire pot. However, for an unclear reason, Farha was adamant that the dealer actually picked the losing player’s card out of the muck — something even the involved player himself did not try to claim.

As the exchange became heated, security got involved. However, according to the preliminary news reports, Farha pushed through the security staff to punch the dealer, Caillier, in the chest. The victim was taken to the emergency room, where he was treated for minor injuries.

What makes the incident even more peculiar is that Caillier is actually a highly experienced, respected dealer who had dealt in many World Series of Poker events in the 1990s in an earlier part of his career — someone unlikely to make such a colossal blunder Farha accused him of.

The administration of Houston Social Cardroom acted swiftly, placing a lifetime ban on the 3-time WSOP gold bracelet winning poker legend.

Video of the Sammy Farha Incident in Houston

PokerNews, the outlet that originally broke the story, has obtained the security camera footage of the incident between Sammy Farha and the dealer in the Houston card club.

The video shared by PokerNews shows Farha getting up from the table as Caillier is leaving for a dealer change, getting close, and accosting his victim. However, the physical contact the perpetrator initiated can more accurately be described as a shove rather than a punch, contrary to the original reports about the incident.

This is not the first time Farha has acted aggressively towards dealers in a poker room.

In December 2021, Farha found himself in a physical confrontation at Legends Poker Room, also in Houston, Texas, with a former dealer named AJ. The conflict arose after the dealer asserted that Farha had contributed to his firing from the 88 Social club. When they crossed paths again at Legends, a quarrel ensued, during which the dealer slapped Farha and shoved him against a wall. Numerous local dealers rallied behind AJ, even setting up a GoFundMe page to cover his legal expenses.

Farha's conduct at the WSOP also gained notoriety, particularly in 2025 during the Big-O tournament, where it was reported that he yelled vulgarities at a dealer, a situation that was publicly condemned by well-known commentator Jeff Platt.

Despite all that, Sammy Farha has an unquestionable place in poker history.

In 2003, amateur poker player Chris Moneymaker defeated him heads-up for the WSOP Main Event title, which sparked the ‘Moneymaker boom’ worldwide, elevating poker to a level of popularity never seen before.