Jeffrey "Gamblero" Vanchiro Jumps to his Death Following Brooklyn Nets Ejection

There's some sad news to report in the poker world since Jeffrey 'Gamblero' Vanchiro (38) has died after falling out of a second-story window at his father's house in Queens, New York. The ex-poker player and Brooklyn Nets superfan is believed to have jumped from the window in a "disoriented state," suffering severe brain damage and spinal fractures upon his fall. Vanchiro was on a ventilator at New York Hospital Queens before passing away.

Death comes less than two weeks after Brooklyn Nets ejection

On December 2nd, Gamblero was ejected from an NBA game between the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks. The story made national headlines when a clip went viral of Madison Square security carrying Vanchiro off without his prosthetic leg attached.

Reports vary on what exactly led to the ejection, with most contending that Vanchiro was simply annoying Knicks fans while supporting his Nets during their victory. He admittedly yelled "Too easy!" Too easy!" during the game, at which point he said, "All hell broke loose." Another report claimed that Vanchiro may have hit an angry Knicks fan with his prosthetic leg.

Gamblero denied this allegation, saying that he merely took his leg off in protest when security came. Whatever the case may be, he felt humiliated after being carried out of the MSG arena with thousands of fans watching.

Erratic behavior followed ejection

Vanchiro's fiance, Kristi Evans, says that his demeanor changed following the ejection. "After that, he was a completely different person," Evans told The New York Times. "He was paranoid. He was erratic. He was frightened. He was horrified. He was a bit delusional. He was having a lot of trouble sleeping. He couldn’t sleep at all. When he would sleep, or try to sleep, it would only take about 10 or 15 minutes before he would jump up screaming covered in sweat."

Evans added, "he just stopped sleeping, because he didn't want to have those nightmares anymore." Vanchiro sustained minor head and back injuries when he was being carried out of MSG.

Graffiti and Poker Career

Aside from being one of the most-colorful Brooklyn Nets fans, Vanchiro was also an accomplished poker player and graffiti artist. The latter is where he gained significant fame, developing a reputation for being one of New York City's most-talented graffiti artists.

But legal trouble forced him out of this avenue and into poker, where he made a living for several years. In all, Vanchiro earned over $370,000 in live tournaments, including a 2007 WSOP Circuit Atlantic City victory ($68,160) and fourth-place finish in the PaddyPower Irish Open 2009 (€40,000). More recently, he got back into art, putting his focus towards graffiti-style works on canvases.