In July 2026, Tom Goldstein became the latest name on the list of poker players who went to prison, handcuffed in a Maryland courtroom to begin a sentence of 72 months. The lawyer had argued 44 cases before the US Supreme Court and won tens of millions of dollars playing heads up poker against billionaires. Seven weeks earlier, Shawn Sheikhan was released after about two and a half years of a 48 month sentence for running an illegal marijuana business.
They are the two most recent names on a list that goes back to Benny Binion, the founder of the World Series of Poker, who served time in Leavenworth for tax evasion in the 1950s. Some of the players on it cheated at the table. Most were convicted of things that had nothing to do with cards.
This page covers 24 poker players and industry figures who ended up in jail: what they were convicted of, how long they got and where each of them is now. Only eight of the 24 were convicted over the game itself, for cheating or for moving online poker's money. The rest went to prison for drugs, fraud, tax evasion, theft, violence and, in one case, a fatal crash.
Every entry is based on court records, prosecutors' statements or reporting by established news outlets. Cases are grouped by legal status, so a conviction is never confused with an accusation, and the list is updated for 2026.
- Served time: the 24 cases with a final prison sentence, grouped by the type of crime.
- Awaiting trial or sentencing: cases where the sentence is not yet final or the trial has not happened. Anyone not convicted is presumed innocent.
- Avoided prison or cleared: famous names who got probation, a fine or time served, or were acquitted.
The Full List of Poker Players Who Went to Prison
These are all 24 cases, newest first, with the offence, the sentence and where each player stands today. Every player has a full entry further down the page, grouped by the type of crime.
| Player | Convicted Of | Sentence | Year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Goldstein | Tax evasion and false statements to mortgage lenders | 72 months | 2026 | In prison, appeal pending |
| George Janssen | Bank fraud over a car loan scheme | 36 months | 2026 | In federal prison, release due 2028 |
| Cory Zeidman | Wire fraud conspiracy over fake sports betting tips | 46 months | 2025 | In federal prison, release due 2029 |
| Jordan Cristos | Attempted stalking | 14 to 48 months | 2025 | Parole eligible from September 2026 |
| Rudy Gavaldon | Assault with intent to commit murder | 12 to 20 years | 2025 | In prison, parole eligible 2035 |
| Rutger Hennen | A crash that killed a 15 year old cyclist | 6 months | 2024 | Reported to prison May 2024 |
| Shawn Sheikhan | Conspiracy to distribute marijuana | 48 months | 2023 | Released June 2026 |
| Arnaud Mimran | Kidnapping and extortion; carbon tax fraud | 13 years; 8 years | 2021; 2016 | In prison |
| Andrew John Bennett | Importing cocaine to repay a poker debt | 7.5 years | 2021 | Release date not public |
| Peter Jepsen | Spyware on rivals' laptops to see their cards | 3 years | 2020 | Release date not public |
| Travell Thomas | $31 million debt collection scam | 8 years, 4 months | 2017 | Released April 2023 |
| Christian Lusardi | Counterfeit chips at the Borgata | 5 years | 2015 | Released from federal prison 2018 |
| Darren Woods | Online poker fraud with hidden accounts | 15 months | 2015 | Sentence completed |
| Ali Tekintamgac | Cheating at poker tournaments and fraud | 3 years, 5 months | 2014 | Release date not public |
| Chad Elie | Processing illegal online poker payments | 5 months | 2012 | Released |
| Ira Rubin | Black Friday payment processing conspiracy | 3 years | 2012 | Released |
| Brent Beckley | Bank fraud conspiracy at Absolute Poker | 14 months | 2012 | Released |
| John Campos | Processing online poker payments as a bank executive | 3 months | 2012 | Released |
| Ernest Scherer III | Murdering his parents | Two life terms without parole | 2011 | In prison for life |
| David Saab | Importing 14.6kg of cocaine into Australia | 14 years | 2011 | Release date not public |
| Mike Matusow | Cocaine charges after a police sting | 6 months | 2004 | Released |
| Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott | Safecracking, then a nightclub fight | 9 months, then 18 months | 1970s and 1980s | Died 2015 |
| Jimmy Chagra | Drug trafficking, then a plot against a prosecutor | 30 years, later life | 1979 | Paroled 2003, died 2008 |
| Benny Binion | Federal tax evasion | 5 years | 1953 | Released 1957, died 1989 |
Year is when the final sentence was handed down or confirmed. Arnaud Mimran received two separate sentences, in 2016 and 2021. Sources for every case are linked in the full entries below.
From 3 months to life: the shortest sentence on the list is John Campos's three months for his part in Black Friday. The longest belongs to Ernest Scherer III, a professional player serving two consecutive life terms without parole for murdering his parents. After him, the longest sentences still being served are Arnaud Mimran's 13 years for kidnapping and Rudy Gavaldon's 12 to 20 years for assault with intent to commit murder.
Poker Players Jailed for Cheating
Four players on this list went to prison for cheating at the game itself. One smuggled fake chips into a live tournament, one spied on rivals' laptops, one used fake journalists to read opponents' cards and one hid behind secret accounts online. Cheats who were banned rather than charged are covered in our ranking of the biggest poker cheating scandals.
Christian Lusardi: Counterfeit Chips at the Borgata
Status: Served time. Released in 2018.
In January 2014, Christian Lusardi brought counterfeit chips into the opening event of the Borgata Winter Poker Open in Atlantic City, a $500 tournament with a $2 million guarantee. He won a $2,000 bounty as chip leader of his Day 1 flight and cashed for just over $6,000 on Day 2.
The scheme came apart in the plumbing. Fake chips with a face value of $2.7 million clogged a sewer pipe at Harrah's, where Lusardi had flushed them down his hotel toilet. The tournament was halted with 27 players left and later cancelled by New Jersey regulators.
- Convicted of: second degree trademark counterfeiting and third degree criminal mischief, in New Jersey.
- Sentence: five years in state prison, plus $463,540 in restitution to the Borgata and $9,455 to Harrah's for the plumbing damage.
- Time served: New Jersey paroled him in July 2016, but he went straight to federal prison to finish a separate five year sentence for selling bootleg DVDs, and was released in June 2018.
Sources: the New Jersey Attorney General's office for the charges and restitution, PokerNews for the tournament details and his parole, and Flushdraw for his transfer to federal prison.
Peter Jepsen: Spyware on Rivals' Laptops
Status: Sentenced to three years on appeal. Release date not public.
Danish pro Peter Jepsen won EPT Warsaw in 2007 for more than $400,000, but his most profitable edge came from somewhere else. From 2008 to 2014 he installed malware on the computers of other high stakes regulars, usually at European Poker Tour stops, so he could see their hole cards when they played online. Accomplices helped install the software, according to CardPlayer.
Copenhagen City Court convicted him in December 2019 and gave him two and a half years. He appealed, and in December 2020 the Eastern High Court raised the sentence to three years and ordered the confiscation of DKK 22.4 million.
- Poker credentials: EPT Warsaw champion in 2007.
- Convicted of: hacking and fraud, for using spyware to see opponents' hole cards between 2008 and 2014.
- Sentence: three years on appeal in December 2020, up from two and a half years.
- Confiscated: DKK 22.4 million, worth more than $3.6 million at the time.
Ali Tekintamgac: Fake Journalists at the Table
Status: Sentenced to 3 years and 5 months in 2014. Release date not public.
German player Ali Tekintamgac won the WPT Spanish Championship in Barcelona in 2010 for €278,000. Later that year he was refused his seat at the Partouche Poker Tour Main Event final table in Cannes after cheating allegations.
His method was to place accomplices posing as members of the media behind his opponents, where they read the hole cards and passed them to him in code. In July 2014 the Augsburg District Court sentenced him to three years and five months for cheating and fraud.
- Poker credentials: WPT Spanish Championship winner in 2010.
- Convicted of: cheating and fraud, using fake journalists to spy on opponents' cards.
- Sentence: three years and five months, from the Augsburg District Court in July 2014.
Darren Woods: Hidden Accounts Online
Status: Sentenced to 15 months in 2015. Sentence completed.
British pro Darren Woods won a WSOP bracelet in 2011 and was once sponsored by 888poker. Between 2007 and 2012 he opened fake accounts at online poker sites and payment processors, which let him play against opponents under hidden identities.
He pleaded guilty to nine counts of fraud by false representation, and in January 2015 Sheffield Crown Court sentenced him to 15 months and ordered him to repay around £1 million. The judge said the odds in his games had been rigged in his favour.
Why so few cheats go to prison: most poker cheating is dealt with by the room or the site, through bans, frozen balances and refunds, rather than a criminal charge. Superuser accounts, real time assistance tools and collusion rings have cost players millions, yet only four players on this list have been jailed for cheating at the game itself.
Black Friday Prison Sentences
On April 15, 2011, US prosecutors unsealed an indictment against PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker and 11 people connected to them, the day poker still calls Black Friday. The prison terms handed down in 2012 did not go to famous players. They went to the people who moved the money: a site executive, two payment processors and a Utah banker, all sentenced by Judge Lewis Kaplan in Manhattan.
Ira Rubin: Three Years for the Payment Processor
Status: Served time and released.
Ira Rubin processed payments for all three sites. Prosecutors said he helped disguise tens of millions of dollars in poker transactions through phony companies, websites and even fake offices set up to fool visiting bank officials.
Both the prosecution and the defence asked for 18 to 24 months. Judge Kaplan gave him three years instead, and told him in court, according to PokerNews:
“You are an unreformed conman and fraudster.”
Judge Lewis Kaplan, sentencing Ira Rubin
- Convicted of: conspiring to violate the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, bank and wire fraud, and money laundering.
- Sentence: three years in prison and three years of supervised release, handed down on July 26, 2012.
- Forfeited: $5 million.
Brent Beckley: Absolute Poker's Payments Chief
Status: Served time and released.
Brent Beckley was one of the founders of Absolute Poker and its head of payment processing. He pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act and to bank and wire fraud, over the same kind of front company scheme Rubin ran.
On July 23, 2012, Judge Kaplan sentenced him to 14 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He also forfeited $300,000.
Chad Elie: Five Months for Disguising Poker Payments
Status: Served time and released.
Las Vegas payment processor Chad Elie moved money for PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker from 2008 until early 2011. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and to operate illegal gambling businesses, and on October 3, 2012 he got five months in prison, two years of supervised release and a $500,000 forfeiture. According to prosecutors, he hid the payments in three ways:
- 1He opened a bank account he falsely said was for payday loans, to disguise PokerStars transactions.
- 2He opened a second account at another bank, claiming it would process payments for internet membership clubs.
- 3From autumn 2009 into early 2011, he offered to invest millions of dollars in three failing banks, SunFirst Bank, All American Bank and New City Bank, if they would process poker transactions.
John Campos: The Utah Banker Behind $200 Million in Poker Payments
Status: Served time and released.
John Campos was vice chairman and part owner of SunFirst Bank in St. George, Utah, one of the banks on Elie's list. In return for a $10 million investment from a payment processor, the bank agreed to handle online poker transactions. The Justice Department said SunFirst processed about $200 million in poker payments and earned roughly $1.6 million in fees.
Campos pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanour: causing a federally insured bank to accept money connected to illegal gambling. His sentence of three months in prison, handed down on June 27, 2012, is the shortest on this list.
The bosses got time served: Full Tilt Poker CEO Ray Bitar forfeited $40 million and was sentenced to time served in April 2013, after Judge Loretta Preska said she would have imposed a substantial prison term if not for his extremely serious heart condition. PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg received time served and a $30,000 fine in September 2020, and Scott Tom, one of the founders of Absolute Poker, spent seven days in jail in 2017 after a misdemeanour plea. The wider story of the shutdown and its aftermath is in our look at Black Friday 15 years later.
Poker Players Convicted of Fraud and Tax Evasion
Fraud and tax cases on this list stretch from Benny Binion in 1953 to Tom Goldstein in 2026, and none of them involved cheating at the table. Scams that ended in lawsuits or unpaid debts rather than prison are covered in our list of the biggest poker debts and scams.
Tom Goldstein: Six Years for Hiding Poker Winnings
Status: In prison, appeal pending.
Supreme Court lawyer Tom Goldstein played in poker games involving tens of millions of dollars, according to the Justice Department. A jury convicted him on 12 of 16 counts on February 25, 2026, for hiding poker winnings from the IRS and more than $14 million in poker debts from mortgage lenders. How poker winnings are taxed in the US today is covered in our US poker tax guide.
- Background: argued 44 cases before the US Supreme Court and was one of the founders of SCOTUSblog.
- Convicted of: tax evasion, failing to pay taxes on time, helping prepare false tax returns and making false statements to mortgage lenders.
- Sentence: 72 months in prison, $3,103,427 in restitution and five years of supervised release.
Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby sentenced him to 72 months on July 24, 2026, and on September 23 the 4th Circuit refused to release him while he appeals. Our full report on Tom Goldstein's conviction and sentence covers every count and his heads up matches against Andy Beal and Alec Gores.
Cory Zeidman: A WSOP Champion Selling Fake Betting Tips
Status: In federal prison. Release projected for February 2029.
Cory Zeidman won his WSOP bracelet in 2012, taking the $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi Low Eight or Better event for $201,559, and has close to $700,000 in live tournament cashes. Between 2004 and 2020 he also ran a sports betting advice business that federal prosecutors called a massive fraud scheme.
He pleaded guilty in December 2024 to conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, agreeing to about $3.6 million in restitution and forfeiture. In October 2025 he was sentenced to 46 months, more than the 33 to 41 months prosecutors had recommended. According to prosecutors, the scheme worked like this:
- 1National radio adverts drew in bettors looking for an edge.
- 2Salespeople using fake names, among them Ray Palmer and Gordon Howard, signed them up with high pressure tactics.
- 3Clients were told the company had inside information on player injuries, dirty referees or fixed games, so their bets carried no risk.
- 4The picks they paid for were either made up or taken from internet searches.
George Janssen: Nearly $4 Million in Fake Auto Loans
Status: In federal prison. Release projected for December 2028.
George Janssen, a former used car dealer from Bad Axe, Michigan, is a four time WSOP Circuit ring winner with more than $500,000 in live cashes. Between 2016 and 2023 he defrauded credit unions with close to $4 million in fraudulent auto loans, including loans he persuaded friends to take out.
His case made national news in December 2023, when he was found bloodied and bound with zip ties on a rural road near his hometown, saying he had been held captive for more than a month. No one has been charged over the alleged kidnapping, and the claim has never been tested in court.
- Convicted of: bank fraud, after pleading guilty in 2025.
- Sentence: 36 months in prison and three years of supervised release from Judge David M. Lawson on April 10, 2026, more than the 24 months he asked for but below the 51 months recommended under the sentencing guidelines.
- Restitution: $908,235.
- While awaiting sentence: he won an MSPT event in Michigan in October 2025.
Travell Thomas: The $31 Million Debt Collection Scam
Status: Released in April 2023.
Travell Thomas had more than $500,000 in tournament earnings, and the Associated Press described him as one of the nation's top poker players. He also owned Four Star Resolution, a Buffalo debt collection company behind a $31 million fraud that targeted thousands of people between 2010 and 2014.
His collectors inflated balances and placed the same debts with several offices so they could be collected more than once. According to the US Attorney's office, collectors also used these tactics:
- Claiming Four Star worked with local government and law enforcement, including the county and the district attorney's office.
- Telling people they had committed crimes such as wire fraud or check fraud and would be arrested.
- Threatening to have their driver's licences suspended.
- Sending mailers dressed up as letters from courts and government agencies.
Judge Katherine Polk Failla sentenced him in April 2017 to 100 months, or eight years and four months, and ordered him to forfeit $31 million. Thomas cried in court and said the authorities had saved his life by barring him from gambling, according to the AP.
Benny Binion: Leavenworth Before the WSOP
Status: Released in 1957. Died in 1989.
Benny Binion opened the Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas in 1951. In 1953 he pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion and was sentenced to five years, which he served at Leavenworth.
While he was inside, he sold a stake in the Horseshoe to New Orleans gambler Joe W. Brown, who ran the casino in his absence. Binion returned to Las Vegas in 1957, and his family took back control of the Horseshoe over the following years.
He served time before founding the WSOP: Binion's prison term ended 13 years before he invited a handful of players to the Horseshoe for the first World Series of Poker in 1970, the event that puts him among the most influential people in poker history. He died on December 25, 1989, and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame the following year.
Poker Players Sentenced for Drug Crimes
Five players on the list went to prison over drugs, and the cases could hardly be more different. They range from a 1970s Las Vegas high roller who got 30 years for trafficking to a man who smuggled cocaine after one bad night at the card table.
Shawn Sheikhan: Four Years for a Cannabis Wholesale Business
Status: Released on June 4, 2026.
Shawn Sheikhan has about $1.5 million in tournament cashes and six WSOP final tables, and his best known TV moment was a running feud with Mike Matusow at the 2005 WSOP Main Event. Away from the tables, prosecutors said he ran Cannaland, a business in Spring Valley, California that sold marijuana wholesale to illegal dispensaries in San Diego County from at least 2019 until February 2022.
A raid on April 7, 2021 seized more than 3,000 pounds of marijuana, worth about $6 million, along with five firearms. His lawyers asked for probation and community service, but the judge gave him the 48 months prosecutors had asked for.
- Convicted of: conspiracy to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana.
- Sentence: 48 months and three years of supervised release, from Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo on November 3, 2023.
- Forfeited: nearly $300,000 in cash and casino chips.
- Time served: reported to prison by January 1, 2024 and was released on June 4, 2026, about two and a half years into his 48 month term.
Mike Matusow: Six Months After a Police Sting
Status: Served time and released.
Mike Matusow, one of the best known faces of the poker boom, faced cocaine charges in 2004 after an undercover police sting in Las Vegas. The case ended with six months in the Clark County Detention Center.
- Poker credentials: four WSOP bracelets and close to $10 million in live tournament earnings.
- Charged with: cocaine offences, after an undercover sting.
- Sentence: six months in county jail.
- Back at the tables: finished 9th in the 2005 WSOP Main Event for $1,000,000, the same Main Event as his clash with Sheikhan.
Andrew John Bennett: Cocaine to Cover a Poker Loss
Status: Sentenced to seven and a half years in 2021. Release date not public.
Andrew John Bennett was not a professional, but his case shows how fast a poker debt can turn into a prison term. Aged 56, he lost £60,000 at a card game after drinking heavily during play, then tried to bring more than 125 grams of high purity cocaine into Jersey, with a street value of £18,000 to £25,000.
Customs stopped him, and his advocate told the court he felt relieved because the nightmare was over. The Royal Court in Jersey sentenced him in October 2021, according to the Jersey Evening Post:
- Importing cocaine: six years and three months.
- Refusing to give police the passcodes to his devices: 15 months, added on top.
- Total: seven and a half years.
David Saab: 14 Years for Importing Cocaine
Status: Sentenced in 2011. Release date not public.
Australian pro David Saab won an Asia Poker Tour event in 2008 for $280,000 and cashed in the 2008 WSOP Main Event for $135,100. His poker earnings topped $500,000 before his arrest over a shipment of 14.6 kilograms of cocaine sent from Canada.
In September 2011, Judge Liz Gaynor of the Victorian County Court sentenced him to 14 years, with a minimum of 10, calling him the principal organiser in Australia of the importation. His two fellow defendants got eight years each.
- Poker credentials: Asia Poker Tour winner in 2008 and a 2008 WSOP Main Event cash.
- Convicted of: importing 14.6 kilograms of cocaine into Australia.
- Sentence: 14 years with a 10 year minimum, in September 2011.
Jimmy Chagra: 30 Years for Drug Trafficking
Status: Paroled in 2003. Died in 2008.
Jimmy Chagra was an El Paso drug trafficker who arrived in Las Vegas in 1976 and sat in the biggest games in town. In Billy Baxter's account for the WPT, those games included Doyle Brunson, Bobby Baldwin and Baxter himself, with millions of dollars on the table, and Chagra lost heavily at deuce to seven.
In August 1979 he was found guilty of narcotics trafficking and sentenced to 30 years. Three months earlier, Judge John Wood, who was set to preside over his trial, had been shot dead outside his home in San Antonio.
Chagra was acquitted of most charges over the judge's killing but convicted of obstructing the investigation, which brought another 10 years. He also pleaded guilty over a failed 1978 attempt on the life of federal prosecutor James Kerr and was sentenced to life. He was paroled in December 2003 and died of cancer on July 25, 2008.
The gunman was Woody Harrelson's father: Charles Harrelson, the father of the Hollywood actor, was convicted of killing Judge Wood and given two life sentences. He died in prison in 2007.
Poker Players Jailed for Violent Crimes
These six cases involve murder, assault, kidnapping, threats and a fatal crash, and they include the longest sentences on this list that are still being served. Some of the details below are distressing.
Ernest Scherer III: Life Without Parole for Killing His Parents
Status: In prison for life.
Ernest Scherer III was a professional poker player with more than $313,000 in tournament winnings, including two titles at the 2004 Legends of Poker. In March 2008 his parents were found beaten and stabbed to death at their home in Pleasanton, California, and prosecutors said he killed them for money to cover gambling debts and a house purchase.
An Alameda County jury convicted him of two counts of first degree murder in March 2011, and Judge Jeffrey Horner gave him two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. His later appeal failed, according to PokerTube.
- Convicted of: two counts of first degree murder.
- Sentence: two consecutive life terms without parole, handed down in May 2011.
- Where he is now: High Desert State Prison in California.
Rudy Gavaldon: 12 to 20 Years for Attacking His Wife
Status: In prison. First parole date May 1, 2035.
Michigan player Rudy Gavaldon attacked his wife at their home in Traverse City on July 30, 2022. She was flown to hospital in Grand Rapids with life threatening injuries and permanently lost the sight in her right eye. Her own account of what happened is in Lara Gavaldon's story.
While awaiting trial, he won a Michigan WSOP Online bracelet in July 2023, taking the $500 No Limit Hold'em Turbo 6 Max for $20,193, and he later violated his bond. He pleaded guilty in March 2025, was sentenced to 12 to 20 years that June and is held at Muskegon Correctional Facility, according to PokerNews.
- Convicted of: assault with intent to commit murder.
- Sentence: 12 to 20 years, handed down by Judge Kevin Elsenheimer on June 6, 2025.
- First parole date: May 1, 2035.
Arnaud Mimran: 13 Years for Kidnapping
Status: In prison since 2016.
French businessman Arnaud Mimran played in high stakes cash games, and his best tournament result was 13th at EPT Monte Carlo in 2006. In 2016 a French court sentenced him to eight years for his part in a carbon credit VAT fraud that cost France hundreds of millions of euros.
In June 2021 he was sentenced to 13 years for masterminding the kidnapping of Swiss financier Yomi Rodrig. Rodrig was held for six days and forced to buy $2.6 million of shares in a shell company Mimran controlled.
- Carbon tax fraud: eight years, handed down in 2016.
- Kidnapping and extortion: 13 years in June 2021, upheld on appeal in December 2022.
- Still facing: a trial ordered in April 2025 over the deaths of three people close to him between 2010 and 2014. He has not been convicted of those charges and is presumed innocent.
The April 2025 trial order was reported by La Gazette France.
Jordan Cristos: Threats Against a Judge and the WPT's CEO
Status: Sentenced to 14 to 48 months. Parole eligible from September 2026.
Jordan Cristos won the 2013 WPT Legends of Poker for $613,355 and has close to $3.8 million in live tournament earnings. In 2025 he was jailed in Las Vegas after threatening messages to the family court judge in his custody case, including a death threat, and to WPT chief executive Adam Pliska and other WPT staff over his closed online poker account. District Judge Monica Trujillo sentenced him on November 5, 2025.
- Convicted of: attempted stalking using electronic communication.
- Plea: an Alford plea, which accepts that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict without admitting guilt.
- Sentence: 14 to 48 months, with credit for 126 days already served.
Rutger Hennen: Six Months for a Fatal Crash
Status: Reported to prison in May 2024.
Dutch businessman Rutger Hennen won the WPT Prime Amsterdam Main Event in March 2024 for €209,775. In June 2019 he drove his Porsche Cayenne through an intersection at high speed and hit a 15 year old girl on a bicycle, who died at the scene.
A district court gave him five months, an appeal court raised it to six months with a two year driving ban, and the Dutch Supreme Court upheld that sentence. He reported to prison in May 2024, two months after his WPT win.
Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott: Safecracker Turned Champion
Status: Died in 2015.
Long before he became one of Britain's best known players, Dave Ulliott cracked safes in corner shops and bookmakers. He was sentenced to nine months and spent his 21st birthday inside, then served a second term at the age of 28 in Leeds and Durham, according to The Daily Beast.
- First sentence: nine months for safecracking.
- Second sentence: 18 months after a fight outside a nightclub, according to his biography Swimming with the Devilfish.
- Poker credentials: a 1997 WSOP bracelet in Pot Limit Hold'em for $180,310 and a 2003 WPT title, beating Phil Ivey heads up for $589,175.
- Died: April 6, 2015, of colon cancer, aged 61.
Poker Players Awaiting Trial or Sentencing
These cases are still moving through the courts, so none of them is counted in the 24. Anyone who has not been convicted is presumed innocent, and a conviction that can still be appealed may change.
Salman Behbehani: Six Years in Spain
Status: Sentence upheld on appeal in July 2025. A Supreme Court appeal is still possible.
California pro Salman Behbehani has $3.3 million in live cashes, including $818,799 for second place in the 2011 Partouche Poker Tour Main Event. He was arrested at Ibiza airport on July 16, 2021 after flying in from Las Vegas on a private jet, and investigators found cocaine, tusi, hashish and MDMA in his suitcase. His first appeal was rejected in July 2025.
- Sentence: six years and a €30,000 fine from the Balearic Provincial Court in March 2025.
- Appeal: the High Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands confirmed six years and one day in July 2025. A final appeal to Spain's Supreme Court is still possible, and we have not seen a ruling.
Anthony Hutchison: Convicted, Not Yet Sentenced
Status: Convicted in April 2025. Awaiting sentence.
Former NFL player Anthony Hutchison was a regular in high stakes private games in Houston, where he reportedly lost as much as $300,000 in a session. In April 2025 a federal jury convicted him on all 21 counts he faced, including conspiracy, bribery and wire fraud, over a scheme to bribe Houston school district officials and overbill the district for landscaping work.
His sentencing has been postponed several times while the court considers motions for acquittal or a new trial, and in April 2026 it was pushed back again to the autumn.
Why these cases are kept separate: a case joins the main list only once there is a final prison sentence. We update these entries when a court rules, so the status lines here reflect the latest public record for 2026.
Gal Yifrach: Indicted, Then Detained by ICE
Status: Awaiting trial. Presumed innocent.
Israeli pro Gal Yifrach won a WSOP bracelet in 2018 and the 2025 NAPT Main Event for $543,025. He was indicted in 2022 for allegedly running an illegal slot machine business and laundering the proceeds.
On July 20, 2026, Immigration and Customs Enforcement took him into custody at Los Angeles International Airport and held him at the Adelanto ICE Processing Center. His criminal case has not yet gone to trial.
The NBA Mafia Poker Case
Status: More than a dozen guilty pleas. Trial now set for March 2027.
In October 2025, federal prosecutors charged members and associates of New York Mafia families over rigged high stakes poker games in New York, Las Vegas and Miami. According to The Mob Museum, the indictment describes rigged shuffling machines, X-ray tables and special lenses and glasses that could read marked cards.
- Damon Jones: the former NBA player and coach has pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud conspiracy, covering the poker case and a separate betting scheme. His sentencing is set for January 2027.
- Chauncey Billups: the Portland Trail Blazers coach has pleaded not guilty to wire fraud and money laundering charges. His trial in Brooklyn was moved from November 2026 to March 2027 at the prosecution's request.
- Everyone else charged: presumed innocent unless they plead guilty or are convicted.
Sources: Sportico for the Jones plea and KGW for the new trial date. The plea deals so far are covered in our report on the NBA Mafia poker scandal.
Poker Players Who Avoided Prison or Were Cleared
Some of the biggest names linked to poker and the courts never served a prison sentence. Their cases ended in probation, a fine, a plea to a lesser charge or a dismissal. Ray Bitar and Isai Scheinberg, who were both sentenced to time served, are covered in the Black Friday section above.
| Name | Charged With | Outcome | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amarillo Slim | Indecency with a child; felony charges dropped | No contest to misdemeanour assault, probation and a $4,000 fine | 2004 |
| Archie Karas | Marking cards at blackjack | Guilty plea to burglary, three years of probation | 2014 |
| Paul Phua | Illegal World Cup betting | Case dismissed after the evidence was thrown out | 2015 |
| Dan Bilzerian | Felony explosives charges | No contest to a misdemeanour, restitution and no jail | 2015 |
| Ken Strauss | Threats against Las Vegas casinos | Guilty plea to two gross misdemeanours, two years of probation | 2020 |
| Ray Bitar | Illegal internet gambling and bank fraud conspiracy | Time served and $40 million forfeited | 2013 |
| Isai Scheinberg | Operating an unlawful gambling business | Time served and a $30,000 fine | 2020 |
Year is when the case was resolved.
Amarillo Slim: Felony Charges Dropped
Status: Probation. Died in 2012.
Amarillo Slim Preston won the 1972 WSOP Main Event and four WSOP bracelets in all. In August 2003 he was indicted in Randall County, Texas on charges of indecency with a child involving a grandchild.
The felony charges were dropped, and in February 2004 he pleaded no contest to misdemeanour assault, saying he did it to protect his family.
- Penalty: a $4,000 fine, two years of probation and an order to undergo counselling.
- His position: he denied the allegations until his death in April 2012.
Archie Karas: Probation, Then the Nevada Black Book
Status: Probation. Banned from Nevada casinos since 2015.
Between 1992 and 1994, Archie Karas turned $50 into more than $40 million, beating Chip Reese and Stu Ungar heads up along the way, then lost it all. In 2013 he was caught marking cards at blackjack at Barona Casino near San Diego, and he spent 73 days in jail before making bail.
- Plea: guilty to one count of burglary, for entering the casino intending to mark cards.
- Sentence: three years of probation and $6,800 in restitution, in November 2014.
- Nevada Black Book: the Nevada Gaming Commission voted unanimously in September 2015 to ban him from every casino in the state.
Sources: PokerNews on his sentence and the Black Book vote.
Paul Phua: World Cup Betting Case Thrown Out
Status: Cleared. Case dismissed in 2015.
High stakes regular Paul Phua was arrested at Caesars Palace on July 9, 2014, with his son and six others, over an alleged illegal betting operation on the World Cup. His career since then, including his Triton results, is covered in our Paul Phua net worth and profile page.
- The evidence: FBI agents had cut the internet to his villa and gone in posing as repairmen.
- The ruling: Judge Andrew Gordon found the search went too far and threw out the evidence.
- The outcome: the case against him was dismissed on June 1, 2015.
Dan Bilzerian: A Desert Explosion and a Misdemeanour Plea
Status: No jail. Misdemeanour plea.
On November 4, 2014, more than 90 pounds of explosive mix packed into a cooler was detonated under a truck cab at an unofficial shooting range outside Las Vegas, starting a small wildfire. Dan Bilzerian was arrested at Los Angeles airport that December on a Nevada felony explosives warrant.
- Explosives case: he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanour of failing to extinguish a fire, paid $20,000 in restitution together with a second defendant and recorded a public service announcement for the Bureau of Land Management.
- Miami nightclub case: police closed their investigation into a 2014 claim that he kicked a model in the face without filing charges.
Sources: the Las Vegas Sun and Time. His poker results and business ventures are in our Dan Bilzerian net worth and profile page.
Ken Strauss: Probation and Mental Health Treatment
Status: Probation. No prison sentence.
On Day 1c of the 2019 WSOP Main Event, Ken Strauss moved all in blind, then began shouting and removing his clothes at the table and was disqualified. He was later charged over social media posts threatening The Venetian and other casinos, and in October 2019 a judge found him not competent to stand trial.
Once he was found competent, he pleaded guilty in 2020 to two gross misdemeanours: conspiracy to make a threat concerning an act of terrorism, and malicious destruction of property. He has since spoken openly about his mental health.
- Sentence: two years of probation.
- Conditions: mental health treatment, and no visits to Clark County or contact with Las Vegas casinos for two years.
- What he told the court: that he was very sorry and would keep focusing on improving his mental health.
The Longest Prison Sentences Given to Poker Players
The longest prison sentence on this list belongs to Ernest Scherer III, a professional player serving two consecutive life terms without parole for murdering his parents in 2008. Jimmy Chagra, the 1970s Las Vegas high roller, got 30 years for drug trafficking and later a life term, but was paroled in 2003. Among other players still behind bars, Arnaud Mimran has two sentences totalling 21 years and Rudy Gavaldon faces up to 20.
| Rank | Player | Sentence | Offence | Time Served |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ernest Scherer III | Two consecutive life terms without parole | Murder of his parents | Serving |
| 2 | Jimmy Chagra | 30 years, then 10 more and a life term | Drug trafficking, obstruction, plot against a prosecutor | About 23 and a half years |
| 3 | Arnaud Mimran | 8 years and 13 years, in separate cases | Carbon tax fraud; kidnapping and extortion | In prison since 2016 |
| 4 | Rudy Gavaldon | 12 to 20 years | Assault with intent to commit murder | Serving; first parole date 2035 |
| 5 | David Saab | 14 years, 10 year minimum | Importing cocaine | Not public |
| 6 | Travell Thomas | 8 years, 4 months | $31 million debt collection fraud | Released April 2023 |
| 7 | Andrew John Bennett | 7 and a half years | Importing cocaine | Not public |
| 8 | Tom Goldstein | 6 years | Tax evasion and mortgage fraud | Serving since July 2026 |
| 9= | Benny Binion | 5 years | Tax evasion | Released in 1957 |
| 9= | Christian Lusardi | 5 years | Counterfeit tournament chips | Released in 2018, after a separate federal term |
Ranked by the total prison time handed down. Shawn Sheikhan and Jordan Cristos, at up to 4 years each, are just outside the top 10.
The sentence a court hands down and the time a player actually serves are often very different. Chagra served about 23 and a half years before his release in 2003, while Shawn Sheikhan was released about two and a half years into a four year term.
Of the eight cases on this list that involved the game itself, the longest sentence was Lusardi's five years for smuggling fake chips into the Borgata. Ali Tekintamgac got three years and five months, and nobody on the list has been jailed for longer over online poker than Peter Jepsen and Ira Rubin, at three years each.
Following a case on this list? New court cases and sentencings are covered as they happen in our poker news section.
FAQs
Which famous poker players have gone to prison?
Well known names include Benny Binion, the founder of the World Series of Poker, who served time in Leavenworth for tax evasion in the 1950s, and Mike Matusow, who spent six months in a Las Vegas jail after a 2004 police sting. Dave “Devilfish” Ulliott served two prison terms before his poker career took off. More recently, Shawn Sheikhan served about two and a half years for marijuana distribution and Tom Goldstein was sentenced to 72 months in 2026.
Which poker players are in prison right now?
Tom Goldstein is serving 72 months after being taken into custody in July 2026, and Cory Zeidman and George Janssen are also in federal prison, with releases projected for 2029 and 2028. Ernest Scherer III is serving life without parole in California, Arnaud Mimran has been in prison in France since 2016 and Rudy Gavaldon is serving 12 to 20 years in Michigan. Jordan Cristos was sentenced to up to four years in Nevada in November 2025 and became eligible for parole in September 2026.
What is the longest prison sentence for a poker player?
The longest belongs to Ernest Scherer III, a professional poker player serving two consecutive life terms without parole for murdering his parents in 2008. Jimmy Chagra, the 1970s Las Vegas high roller, got 30 years for drug trafficking and later a life term, but was paroled in 2003 after about 23 and a half years. Among other players still in prison, Arnaud Mimran has sentences of 8 and 13 years in France and Rudy Gavaldon is serving 12 to 20 years in Michigan.
Has anyone gone to prison for cheating at poker?
Yes, but rarely. Christian Lusardi got five years for bringing counterfeit chips into a 2014 Borgata tournament, German pro Ali Tekintamgac got three years and five months for using fake journalists to read opponents' cards, Danish pro Peter Jepsen got three years for using spyware to see rivals' hole cards and British pro Darren Woods got 15 months for online fraud with hidden accounts. Most cheating cases end in bans and confiscated balances rather than criminal charges.
Did anyone go to prison over Black Friday?
Yes, but not the best known bosses. Payment processor Ira Rubin got three years, Absolute Poker's Brent Beckley got 14 months, processor Chad Elie got five months and Utah banker John Campos got three months, all in 2012, and Scott Tom, one of the founders of Absolute Poker, spent seven days in jail in 2017. Full Tilt Poker's Ray Bitar and PokerStars founder Isai Scheinberg were both sentenced to time served.
Is Shawn Sheikhan still in prison?
No. Shawn Sheikhan was released on June 4, 2026, about two and a half years into a 48 month federal sentence for conspiracy to distribute marijuana through Cannaland, his San Diego County business. He is now serving three years of supervised release.
Can you go to jail for playing poker?
None of the people on this list went to prison just for playing poker. Their sentences came from cheating, fraud, tax evasion, drugs, violence and a fatal crash, and in the Black Friday cases from moving money for sites operating illegally in the United States. Laws on private and online games vary by country and state, so check the rules where you live.
