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Israeli poker pro Gal Yifrach is in hot water. Yifrach, who won the main event of the 2025 PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT), was arrested by ICE in Los Angeles on July 20th. He was already facing illegal gambling charges prior to being detained.
Who Is Gal Yifrach?
Gal Yifrach is a professional poker player with nearly $3 million in tournament cashes. His most recent major win came at the 2025 PokerStars NAPT, where he won the main event for over $500,000. It was the biggest single cash in his career so far.
Yifrach’s other career highlights include finishing ninth in the 2023 $3,500 No Limit Hold’em WPT Showdown Championship, claiming over $110K. He also won over $490K by finishing third in the 2021 WSOP $50,000 No Limit Hold’em High Roller 8 Handed event.
He won his first WSOP bracelet in 2018, finishing first in the $3,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em event and winning more than $460K.
2022 Illegal Gambling Charges
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Yifrach’s legal troubles date back to a 2022 case for illegal gambling. According to investigators, from January 2018 to January 2022, Yifrach supplied, operated, and maintained illegal slot machines and devices.
He has also been accused of money laundering and using the “cleaned” money to invest in real estate. Yifrach is currently awaiting trial for the 2022 charges.
Yifrach was one of four co-conspirators charged in the scheme. The others charged include:
- Yosef Yitzchak Beshari
- Nick Shkolnik
- Shalom Ifrah
Like Yifrach, Shkolnik is a professional poker player. According to Hendon Mob, Shkolnik has nearly $1.4 million in live cashes, with his biggest win being a $250k+ cash at the 2021 Lone Star Poker Spring Series.
Why Was Yifrach Arrested By ICE?
Yifrach’s latest arrest will add to his ongoing legal issues, but details about why he was detained have not yet been released. He was detained by ICE at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and is currently held at the ICE Processing Center in Adelanto, California. However, ICE has not said why Yifrach was taken into custody or provided any details about where he was traveling from or to.
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