{"id":298647,"date":"2023-11-14T16:27:06","date_gmt":"2023-11-14T22:27:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=298647"},"modified":"2023-11-15T12:19:22","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T18:19:22","slug":"poker-player-shawn-sheikhan-gets-four-years-for-illegal-cannabis-business","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/poker-player-shawn-sheikhan-gets-four-years-for-illegal-cannabis-business\/","title":{"rendered":"Poker Player Shawn Sheikhan Gets Four Years for Illegal Cannabis Business"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Poker \u201cbad boy\u201d Shawn Sheikhan has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for operating an illegal cannabis business.<\/p>\n<div class=\"arve\" data-mode=\"normal\" data-oembed=\"1\" data-provider=\"youtube\" id=\"arve-youtube-kz5velpvxlm66eccb862b092599344132\" style=\"max-width:900px;\">\n<span class=\"arve-inner\">\n<span class=\"arve-embed arve-embed--has-aspect-ratio\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 500 \/ 281\">\n<span class=\"arve-ar\" style=\"padding-top:56.200000%\"><\/span><iframe loading=\"lazy\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen class=\"arve-iframe fitvidsignore\" data-arve=\"arve-youtube-kz5velpvxlm66eccb862b092599344132\" data-src-no-ap=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/KZ5VeLPvXlM?feature=oembed&amp;iv_load_policy=3&amp;modestbranding=1&amp;rel=0&amp;autohide=1&amp;playsinline=0&amp;autoplay=0\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"505.8\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-presentation allow-popups allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/KZ5VeLPvXlM?feature=oembed&#038;iv_load_policy=3&#038;modestbranding=1&#038;rel=0&#038;autohide=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autoplay=0\" width=\"900\" title=\"Epic Battle: Sheikhan Vs. Matusow\"><\/iframe>\n\n<\/span>\n\n<\/span>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"http:\\\/\\\/schema.org\\\/\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.casino.org\\\/news\\\/poker-player-shawn-sheikhan-gets-four-years-for-illegal-cannabis-business\\\/#arve-youtube-kz5velpvxlm66eccb862b092599344132\",\"type\":\"VideoObject\",\"embedURL\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\\\/embed\\\/KZ5VeLPvXlM?feature=oembed&iv_load_policy=3&modestbranding=1&rel=0&autohide=1&playsinline=0&autoplay=0\",\"name\":\"Epic Battle: Sheikhan Vs. Matusow\",\"description\":\"Sheikhan versus Matusow at the 2005 WSOP Main Event\"}<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Sheikhan is best known for his deep run in the 2005 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wsop-main-event-champ-daniel-weinman-others-appear-in-new-poker-trading-cards\/\">World Series of Poker Main Event<\/a>, where he feuded with Mike \u201cThe Mouth\u201d Matusow, above.<\/p>\n<p><strong>His expletive-laden battle with Matusow ended in \u201cthe Sheik\u2019s\u201d elimination at the hands of his nemesis in 11th place. The conflict between the two was one of the most popular and replayed TV segments of the WSOP that year.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>But in June 2022, Sheikhan, 54, pleaded guilty to charges of operating illegal and unlicensed marijuana dispensaries throughout Southern California.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Wholesale Drugs<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Prosecutors said Sheikhan and his codefendant, Sabriana Williams, managed a business known as \u201cCannaland.\u201d In addition to selling cannabis via its own illegal outlets, the operation acted as a wholesaler, supplying the drug to other unlicensed dispensaries throughout the region.<\/p>\n<p>Police raided Cannaland\u2019s headquarters in Spring Valley, Calif. in April 2021, seizing 3,000 pounds of marijuana with an estimated street value of more than $6 million, along with five firearms.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Following the raid, Sheikhan and Williams personally acquired replacement firearms for Cannaland\u2019s armed security guards, and continued to distribute vast amounts of marijuana, according to federal prosecutors.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As part of their plea deal, the pair admitted the amount of marijuana products distributed by Cannaland between\u00a02019 and 202 exceeded 3,000 kilos.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Plea for Clemency <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Sheikhan faced a maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison and a $5 million fine prior to his plea deal. Last month, <em>PokerNews<\/em> reported that Sheikan&#8217;s defense lawyers had petitioned the judge for a probational sentence for their client.<\/p>\n<p>In a 33-page sentencing memorandum, Sheikhan\u2019s attorney, Richard Schonfeld, argued for clemency and submitted character references from legendary poker TV producer Mori Eskandani, among others.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Eskandani, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, mentioned Sheikan\u2019s \u201cserious remorse\u201d and noted the respect he showed for his family and others, despite his reputation for poor poker etiquette.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Matusow may beg to differ.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese guys are like oil and water,\u201d noted commentator Lon McEachern at the 2005 Series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Poker \u201cbad boy\u201d Shawn Sheikhan has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for operating an illegal cannabis business. Sheikhan is best known for his deep run in the 2005 World Series of Poker Main Event, where he feuded with Mike \u201cThe Mouth\u201d Matusow, above. His expletive-laden battle with Matusow ended in \u201cthe Sheik\u2019s\u201d [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":298651,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[82117,88760,88758,88759],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Poker player Shawn Sheikhan Gets Four Years for Illegal Cannabis Business<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Shawn Sheikhan, aka \u201cSheiky\u201d or \u201cthe Sheik\u201d gets fuor years in a federal prison for operating a unlicensed cannabis business.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/poker-player-shawn-sheikhan-gets-four-years-for-illegal-cannabis-business\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Poker player Shawn Sheikhan Gets Four Years for Illegal Cannabis Business\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Shawn Sheikhan, aka \u201cSheiky\u201d or \u201cthe Sheik\u201d gets fuor years in a federal prison for operating a unlicensed cannabis business.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/poker-player-shawn-sheikhan-gets-four-years-for-illegal-cannabis-business\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-11-14T22:27:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-15T18:19:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Shawn.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"853\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/poker-player-shawn-sheikhan-gets-four-years-for-illegal-cannabis-business\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/poker-player-shawn-sheikhan-gets-four-years-for-illegal-cannabis-business\/\",\"name\":\"Poker player Shawn Sheikhan Gets Four Years for Illegal Cannabis Business\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/poker-player-shawn-sheikhan-gets-four-years-for-illegal-cannabis-business\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/poker-player-shawn-sheikhan-gets-four-years-for-illegal-cannabis-business\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Shawn.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-11-14T22:27:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-15T18:19:22+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Shawn Sheikhan, aka \u201cSheiky\u201d or \u201cthe Sheik\u201d gets fuor years in a federal prison for operating a unlicensed cannabis business.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/poker-player-shawn-sheikhan-gets-four-years-for-illegal-cannabis-business\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/poker-player-shawn-sheikhan-gets-four-years-for-illegal-cannabis-business\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/poker-player-shawn-sheikhan-gets-four-years-for-illegal-cannabis-business\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Shawn.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Shawn.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":853,\"caption\":\"Shawn Sheikhan appearing on an episode of Poker After Dark in 2007. 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