Professional poker player Amir Vahedi, who won a championship gold bracelet at the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP), has died.

According to media reports, Vahedi, 57, who lived in Los Angeles, California, USA, died Saturday, January 8, 2010, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, of complications from diabetes.

A native of Tehran, Iran, Vahedi moved to the USA as an adult after serving in the Iranian army and the Iran-Iraq War.

He soon became a successful poker pro and a fixture on American poker TV shows.

According to tournament records, he earned more than $3 million in his career playing offline tournament poker.

The highlight of his career was the WSOP bracelet he won for $1,500 no-limit Texas hold ‘em.

But, also at that same ‘06 WSOP, he finished sixth in the WSOP Main Event, earning $250,000.

He also earned nearly a quarter of a million bucks by winning a major World Poker Tour (WPT) tournament in Vegas in 2008.

His biggest claim to fame, however, may be that he once gave poker lesson to Hollywood movie actor and wannabe poker pro Ben Affleck.

(E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)