WSOP Player Smokes, Drinks, Snags Chips — And Gets The Boot

There’s an old saying in the gambling world that the only thing more interesting than a poker player is the person sitting next to them. This definitely applies to whoever was sitting next to Joao Siqueira on Day 1 of the World Series of Poker’s $3,000 six-handed no-limit hold’em event on Friday.

The Brazilian man — who, as best we can tell, is not a professional poker player and does not have a documented tournament track record — broke a series of written and unwritten rules and got himself ejected from the tournament, forfeiting his $3K buy-in in the process.

The WSOP posted a video snippet on its social media account Friday, showing a tournament official and multiple security workers at the table to remove Siqueira, who was smoking a cigarette in direct violation of poker room rules:

The dealer and Siqueira’s tablemates can be seen laughing, suggesting nobody was overly upset or felt threatened by his behavior.

As eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Nick Schulman posted on X, “A gentleman in this 3k 6 max went for the very rarely seen basically unprecedented move of simply lighting up a cigarette, and casually enjoying it, until of course being removed from the tournament lol.” In his next tweet, Schulman described Siqueira as a “Legend,” furthering the sense that the behavior was perceived as more amusing than offensive.

One brazen Brazilian

PokerGO Podcast host Donnie Peters related on a weekend episode that his friend Ronnie Bardah, a one-time bracelet winner who holds the record for most consecutive years cashing in the WSOP Main Event, texted him the details as the incident was unfolding.

Peters said Bardah’s message read: “The drunk Brazilian animal just lit a cigarette right in the middle of the $3K. Floor and security came over. He just kept on smoking it at the table while [they were] trying to talk to him. They made him get up out of his seat. He took all of his chips and just stuffed them in his pocket.”

Smoking is not permitted at either of the WSOP venues on the Las Vegas Strip, the Horseshoe Las Vegas and Paris Las Vegas, and is grounds for an immediate disqualification. And if by chance there was any wiggle room there — a possibility of getting off with just a warning if the cigarette was quickly and cooperatively extinguished — Siqueira squandered that by keeping his cigarette lit and arguing with the floor person.

Siqueira was also reportedly drinking excessively, and could be seen in the video stuffing tournament chips in his pocket — another violation of the rules. PokerNews reported that WSOP officials informed Siqueira he was disqualified from the event for his smoking, his drinking, and his removal of chips. Witnesses noted that, as he was being kicked out, Siqueira pulled the chips out of his pocket, one handful at a time, to return them.

“That’s one of the most expensive cigarettes ever, because it probably cost that gentleman $3,000,” Peters commented on his podcast.

Although Siqueira was disqualified from the tournament, PokerNews reported that he was not banned from Caesars properties or from playing future WSOP events.

One important note: There has never been a rule against unlit cigarettes at the poker table. Siqueira could learn a thing or two from iconic three-time bracelet winner Sammy Farha: