Six-Year Jail Sentence for Jet-Setting Poker Player
High-staking poker player Salman Behbehani has joined the list of poker players jailed for drug offences.
Salman Behbehani flew from Las Vegas to Ibiza in his personal jet with a smorgasbord of drugs aboard. © Getty Images
Key Facts:
- Six-year Spanish jail sentence for high-staking Kuwaiti poker player.
- The US national had played the $111,111 ‘High Roller for One Drop’ at the World Series of Poker.
- Two British poker players have been jailed for drug offences in recent years.
Salman Behbehani, a 37-year-old Kuwaiti poker player who was a regular feature in high-roller tournaments in Europe and the United States throughout the 2010s, has begun a six-year custodial sentence in a Spanish jail.
A US national but, according to the English language daily online newspaper, The Majorca Daily Bulletin, from a family that ranks 18th on the Forbes list of the ‘Top 100 Arab Family Businesses in the Middle East’, Behbehani has recorded almost $3.4 million in poker winnings.
Behbehani’s luck ran out spectacularly on July 16, 2021, when he landed in Ibiza on a private jet he apparently owned from Las Vegas. Upon inspection by the Tax Agency and Tax and Borders of the Civil Guard, 83 grams of cocaine, 348 grams of ketamine, 52 grams of MDMA and 543 grams of cannabis were discovered in his luggage.
Six Years and Not a Drop Less
In addition to the smorgasbord of illegal substances – later valued at €26,514, Behbehani was also carrying €8,000 worth of cash in various currencies. This sum would appear to be pocket change as, at the poker tables, the bulk of his tournament entries were for €10,000-plus. Furthermore, in 2017, he paid $111,111 to play in the ‘High Roller for One Drop’ at the World Series of Poker.
The Majorca Daily Bulletin says The Public Prosecutor’s Office – claiming that the seized substances were intended for distribution on the island – was seeking a nine-year jail term and a fine of €53,000.
Prison sentence for #Salman Behbehani, who landed at #Ibiza Airport from Las Vegas, July 2021 on private plane with 30 people on board & a suitcase full of drugs.
Provincial Court of Balearic Islands sentenced 6 Yr. 1 day in prison, + €30,000 for crime against public health. https://t.co/yh2m8mcrPq pic.twitter.com/Zhb76xSHDT
— SkeparaXX (@SkeptaraXX) March 20, 2025
Ultimately, Behbehani was given two-thirds of that sentence and a €30,000 fine. However, the punishment is not final, as an appeal can be lodged with the Civil and Criminal Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands.
Two Brits Put Behind Bars
Poker players being jailed for crimes related to the illegal drug trade is nothing new. In May 2022, Paul Marrow, a regular poker player on the UK and Irish circuits, was jailed for 11 years for his part in an eight-person gang that shipped drugs to the North East of England from Liverpool.
Marrow, 62 at the time of his conviction, was best known for collecting €103,500 when finishing runner-up in Galway’s 2009 PokerStars sponsored UKIPT Main Event.
A year beforehand, another Brit, Ashley Locker, the 195th-placed finisher in the 2018 World Series of Poker Main Event, was charged with possessing cocaine with intent to supply.
Admitting the offence, The Scarborough News reported the 31-year-old would serve half of his 26-month sentence.
