Tom Somach: The Poker Hall of Shame

The Poker Hall of Fame announced last week that Mike Sexton will be its lone inductee for 2009. Sexton, the so-called "Ambassador of Poker," has done much to promote the game--by playing it at a championship level, by winning a World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold bracelet and by serving as a poker announcer on television and video games.

But what about those who have shamed the game? The players whose poker accomplishments have been overshadowed by their misdeeds? The Poker Hall of Shame, if you will.

Unlike the Poker Hall of Fame, which is located inside a Las Vegas casino, there is no actual Poker Hall of Shame. But if there were, the following professional poker players would definitely be members:

MIKE "THE MOUTH" MATUSOW--This portly pro, an American, has won three WSOP bracelets and more than $5 million in his career playing tournament poker. He also spent time in a Las Vegas jail for drug trafficking. In 2003, he was arrested in Las Vegas for selling drugs to an undercover law enforcement officer. Specificially, he sold the undercover agent cocaine, Percocet pills (a painkiller) and Ecstasy pills (a hallucinogen). In 2004, facing 10 years in prison on the charges, he copped a plea, admitted to drug trafficking and was sentenced to six months imprisonment in the Clark County Detention Center. He was released in 2005. In 2009, he attempted to cash in on his slimy past, penning an autobiography.

SHAHRAM "POKER PERVERT" SHEIKHAN--A native of Iran who moved to the U.S., he was runnerup in two WSOP events and has earned almost $1.5 million in his career playing tournament poker. He also spent time in a California prison for committing sex crimes against children. In 1995, he was convicted of one count of sexual battery against a 17-year-old girl and three counts of child molestation against the same girl and another girl who was 16. He was sentenced to a total of nine months in prison and five years probation. He was released in 1996. In 1999, he killed a 91-year-old woman in a car crash in Las Vegas because he was speeding in a rainstorm. In 2008, he was jailed in Las Vegas as the U.S. government tried to deport him back to Iran, as part of a new program that targets foreigners living in the U.S. who have committed sex crimes against children. He eventually was released by an immigration judge and allowed to stay in the U.S. on a technicality after the Feds couldn't come up with the official paperwork proving he had served time--the records in California were destroyed after ten years.

DAVE "DEVILFISH" ULLIOT--This British resident has won a WSOP bracelet, finished runnerup in four other WSOP events and earned almost $6 million in his career playing tournament poker. He also has spent a lot of time behind bars, for various offenses. About 35 years ago, he was arrested for safe-cracking, convicted and sentenced to nine months in prison.  Shortly after being released, he was arrested for bank robbery, but avoided prison. Seven years later, he was arrested for a nightclub brawl, convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison.

DAVID "CHINO" RHEEM--This shady American pro made the final table at last year's WSOP Main Event and has earned more than $4 million in his career playing tournament poker. He's also an ex-con. He was convicted in 2000 in Broward County, Florida, on charges of burglary, dealing in stolen property, larceny and marijuana possession. He was sentenced to a total of four months in prison, followed by 30 months of probation. In 2003 he was criminally charged again in Florida, this time for trespassing.

SCOTT "BAD BEAT DEADBEAT" OBST--This American slimeball has earned $30,000 playing tournament poker and hundreds of thousands of dollars more distributing porn flicks. He's also a deadbeat dad and a jailbird.  In 2008, he was jailed in Wisconsin for failure to pay $160,000 in back child support payments for an illegitimate son he fathered in 1991.

THOMAS "AMARILLO SLIM" PRESTON JR.--This tawdry Texan has won four WSOP bracelets, including one for the Main Event in 1972. He's also won more than a half-million dollars playing tournament poker. He's also a child molester. In 2003, he was indicted by a grand jury on three felony charges of indecency with a minor. The minor was his own 12-year-old granddaughter, who he sexually assaulted three times. In a plea bargain agreement, the indecency charges were reduced to misdemeanor assault, to which he pleaded guilty. He avoided prison but was fined $4,000 and given two years of probation.

DANIEL "KID POKER" NEGREANU--The crazy Canadian has won four WSOP bracelets and more than $12 million playing tournament poker. He makes a lot of money. He also makes a lot of nutty racist and sexist remarks. Among other things, he questioned why there's a Black Entertainment Network but no White Entertainment Network, appeared in blackface in an Internet video, bragged his dog is racist, used a mock Asian accent on television, said Asians aren't respected, used the slur "gook," referred to women as "bitches" and mocked the mentally ill.

ERNEST SCHERER III--This American poker pro has won about $340,000 playing tournament poker. Police say he murdered his father, also a poker pro, and his mother last year in suburban San Francisco, beating them to death in their home so he could receive his inheritance early. He will soon stand trial for the murders.

PHIL "POKER BRAT" HELLMUTH JR.--His nickname is well-earned, as he's the epitome of the Ugly American. He's won 11 WSOP bracelets, more than anyone in history, and nearly $11 million playing tournament poker. He's also regarded as the biggest jerk in poker, and it's no act. He constantly whines and berates his opponents. He's also an obnoxious braggart, once declaring that if it wasn't for luck, he'd win every hand of poker he plays. And he's a poor sport. When he does get beaten, he complains he would have won if his opponent had played the hand correctly. In addition, he's not above making the snide slur. He once called a Finnish opponent "an idiot from Northern Europe."

Thomas Somach, Gambling911.com