Sammy Farha
Sammy Farha was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1959. He moved to the United States when the Lebanon Civil War broke out. He earned a degree in business administration from the University of Kansas and moved to Houston, Texas to work. Sammy Farha got interest in the game of poker, and after four years working on his game, he decided that he was good enough to make it as a pro, so he quit his job in 1990.
Sammy Farha has won two bracelets at the World Series of Poker. The first came in the 1996 World Series of Poker at the $2500 Pot Limit Omaha event. The second came in the 2006 World Series of Poker at the $5000 Limit Omaha Eights or Better. However, Sammy Farha is well-known for his second place finish to Chris Moneymaker in the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event. Interestingly, Sam had nearly quit the poker tournament on day 2 when he lost most of his stack doubling up Barry Greenstein. He didn’t think he had enough chips to do anything with, but Barry convinced Sammy Farha to stay in the game. Later, Sam Farha and Chris Moneymaker had a rematch on the online poker room PokerStars, which Sam won. Sam also made the money in the 2005 WSOP Main Event.
Sammy Farha is known for having a “lucky” cigarette in his mouth at the poker table. He’ll switch out cigarettes after bad beats, and after an impressive winning streak, Sammy Farha said “I’m so hot, my cigarette’s going to light!”
Sammy Farha currently resides in Houston, Texas.
