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Sammy Farha, one of the most popular TV poker players of the 2000s, allegedly assaulted and injured a dealer at the Houston Social Cardroom, according to PokerNews. The club banned him for life, though he was reportedly spotted inside the building a day later.
How a Muck dispute turned violent
The altercation took place around 3:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, when Farha, 67, got into a shouting match with veteran dealer Doug Caillier. Caillier was reportedly treated for minor injuries at a Houston emergency room and released. He dealt at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) during the Binion’s era and has worked major rooms such as Aria in Las Vegas.
Farha was playing his usual $1/$3/$6 pot-limit Omaha game, with a $15 button straddle, at the Houston Social, where Poker Hall of Famer Johnny Chan is a minority owner. Two players went all-in on the flop and agreed to run it twice, and one player scooped the entire pot.
Both players had reportedly turned their cards face-up. Farha, who wasn’t in the hand, started barking at the dealer and asked why the dealer had pulled the losing player’s cards from the muck. The losing player came to the dealer’s defence, telling Farha that he had turned the cards over himself.
Farha then allegedly turned aggressive, cursing at Caillier and threatening, “I’m gonna beat the living f— out of you.” Caillier told him his behavior was unacceptable. Security approached, but Farha allegedly slipped past the guard and punched Caillier in the chest. Caillier walked away without fighting back. Farha allegedly tried to slap him in the face, though it’s unclear whether the slap landed.
Video shows shove, not punch
PokerNews obtained surveillance video from the club. The footage has no audio. It shows Farha yelling and pointing in Caillier’s face, then brushing off a floor manager and shoving the dealer in the chest. Security pushed Farha away.
Caillier says Farha punched him and tried to slap him, but the video appears to show more of a shove. It cuts away briefly during a second exchange near the cashier’s cage.
Dealer suspended as Farha returns
Caillier has been suspended and is unlikely to return, while Farha was spotted at the club a day after his ban. On Facebook, Caillier said the video omits what happened before and after. “This isn’t a payday for me,” he wrote. It’s unclear whether charges have been filed.
Farha, a three-time WSOP bracelet winner and 2003 Main Event runner-up to Chris Moneymaker, became a TV poker fixture on shows such as High Stakes Poker. Multiple dealers and players told PokerNews he has a long history of berating dealers. In December 2021, a former dealer reportedly slapped him during a fight at Legends Poker Room in Houston, and one dealer said he is “despised everywhere.”
