button in SafariShawn Sheikhan Will Be a Free Man in Time for the 2026 WSOP
Longtime poker player Shahram "Shawn" Sheikhan, currently living in a halfway house following a federal prison sentence, will be released into society on June 4, early in the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP).
The veteran poker player who infamously feuded with Mike Matusow during the 2005 WSOP Main Event was sentenced in Nov. 2023 to 48 months in prison for running an illegal cannabis business. He self-surrendered on Jan. 1, 2024, and entered the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
"Sheiky," a nickname he's commonly known by in the poker world, was granted early release after serving just over half his sentence and was sent to a Residential Reentry Management (RRM) facility in Phoenix, Arizona. That is where his sentence will come to an end in about a week, although a secondary part of his sentence calls for three years of supervised release.
Poker Player Must Abide by the Rules
Sheikhan, who has over $1.5 million in live poker tournament cashes recorded by The Hendon Mob, has numerous rules he must adhere to upon release, so as to avoid returning to prison. One of those conditions is to refrain from illegally possessing a controlled substance.
The poker player who has six WSOP final table appearances and 14 cashes had initially faced up to 40 years in prison. He later pled guilty in 2022 to conspiracy to distribute marijuana, a felony.
From a date unknown until February 24, 2022, the Iranian-born poker player, per his own admission, along with an accomplice, knowingly and intentionally conspired to distribute 100 kilograms and more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of marijuana, a Schedule 1 controlled substance, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(c) and 846.
From "at least" 2019 until early 2022, Sheikhan and others operated a lucrative, unlicensed illegal marijuana business they dubbed "Cannaland." The main purpose of the business was to wholesale marijuana and marijuana products to illegal cannabis dispensaries mostly within San Diego County.
Authorities on April 7, 2021 executed a search warrant at a 3,400 square foot business Sheikhan helped operate in Spring Valley, California, a town near San Diego. During that search, more than 3,000 pounds of marijuana were seized, a street value of around $6 million. Five firearms were also confiscated.
On top of the four-year prison sentence, Sheikhan willingly forfeited nearly $300,000 in cash, mostly in the form of casino chips from various poker rooms.
If Sheikhan decides to attend the 2026 World Series of Poker, he will be in search of his first WSOP cash at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. His most recent cash, a $32,162 score for ninth place in $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Draw Championship, occurred at the Rio in 2021, the final year before the WSOP moved to the Strip.
