Michael Matusow (born April 30 1968 in Los Angeles, California) is an American professional poker player, residing in Henderson, Nevada. Matusow's nickname of "The Mouth" reflects his reputation for trash-talking at the poker table. He is also known for his habit of ruining hours or days of good play with a single spectacular misjudgment, (known as a "Mike Matusow Blow-up" or "Mike Matusow Meltdown").[1]
| Mike Matusow | |
|---|---|
 Mike Matusow at the 2006 World Poker Tour 5 Diamond Bellagio tournament | |
| Nickname(s) | Mike The Mouth |
| Residence | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | 2(+1) |
| Money finish(es) | 20 |
| Highest WSOP Main Event finish | 6th, 2001 |
| World Poker Tour | |
| Title(s) | None |
| Final table(s) | 1(+1) |
| Money finish(es) | 4 |
Matusow began playing poker seriously in the early 1990s, first while working as a poker dealer, then as a professional player.[2] His successes include being a 2-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner,[3][4] and the winner of the 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions.[5] His success brought him increasingly into contact with illegal drugs and in September 2004, he was sentenced to six months imprisonment.[6][7] He has played in many tournaments around the world and his winnings (as of 2007) total about 5 million dollars.[8]
Early years
Matusow suffered from bullying when going through school and did not attend college. He attempted to get work as an auto mechanic, but did not complete the required studying for the job. He later worked at his family's furniture store.[6]
Matusow's first experience of poker was playing video poker in the Maxim Casino at the age of 18, which he played regularly, to the extent he suffered from repetitive strain injury in his shoulders and arms. He occasionally stole money from his mother's purse and at one point attended Gamblers Anonymous meetings. Matusow was taught Texas hold 'em in 1989 by a rounder named Steve Samaroff. Early in his career, he won 81 out of 82 sessions and $250,000. He also worked as a poker dealer.[6][2]
World Series of Poker
At the 1998 World Series of Poker (WSOP), Matusow paid one-third of Scotty Nguyen's entrance fee into a satellite event for the $10,000 no limit Texas hold 'em main event. Nguyen went on to win, and gave $333,333 to Matusow in return for his partial stake.[6] In 2001, he finished 6th place in the WSOP $10,000 no limit Hold 'em main event. Matusow claims that the decisive hand was when he was bluffed by eventual champion Juan Carlos Mortensen, but did not trust his instincts to call.[6][9] At the 2004 WSOP main event, Matusow was a focal point of ESPN's coverage, as he verbally attacked eventual champion Greg Raymer.[10][11][12] In the 2005 WSOP, Matusow finished 9th out of 5,619 players in the main event, winning $1,000,000.[13] Several months later, he won the WSOP Tournament of Champions in a heads-up battle against Hoyt Corkins, earning another $1,000,000 in the process. He also placed third in the Tournament of Champions the following year.[5][14]
World Series of Poker bracelets
| Year | Event | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | $3,500 No Limit Hold 'em | $265,475[3] |
| 2002 | $5,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Split | $148,520[4] |
Other poker events
In October 2004, Matusow made his first World Poker Tour (WPT) final table at the UltimateBet Aruba Classic, earning $250,000 for 3rd place.[15] In 2006, he finished runner-up to Tony G in the WPT Bad Boys of Poker II in heads-up play.[16] Matusow also appeared in Poker Superstars III, where he made it to the Elite Eight. In the winner-take-all championship match, Matusow beat seven other players to win $500,000. He also appeared in the second and third season of High Stakes Poker.[17][18]
In September 2006, Mike made his debut on the European Poker Tour (EPT) in Barcelona; however, he was eliminated on the first day. In early 2007, Matusow appeared on two episodes of Poker After Dark where he finished 3rd and 2nd respectively. He plays online poker under the following aliases: "dill pickle" (UltimateBet); "mrpokejoke" (PokerStars); and "Mike Matusow" (Full Tilt Poker, where he is also a member of "Team Full Tilt").[1][2] As of 2007, his total live tournament winnings exceed $4,800,000.[8]
Personal life
In September 2002, Matusow held a party in a VIP booth of The Palms, providing free ecstasy to friends. He was introduced to undercover narcotic agent Mike Fento, who claimed he was involved in an organized crime family in Chicago that planned to open a strip club. Matusow claims that Fento got him involved in money laundering and asked him to score drugs for him. Matusow discovered from one of his dealers that Fento was an agent, but was arrested at his house on September 25 2003 for "selling and trafficking controlled substances." The police offered to allow him to wear a wire to help them secure evidence on a nightclub owner, but Matusow refused as the person was connected to organized crime and could have had him killed.[6] Matusow was in prison from September 2004 to April 2005. During this time, Matusow lost his $250,000 winnings from his WPT final table on sports betting. John Juanda was one of the few poker players who visited him.[6][7]
Upon his release, Phil Hellmuth Jr loaned him $5,000 to start up a new bankroll. At the 2005 WSOP, however, he lost most of the $750,000 bankroll he had built up from Hellmuth's original loan and even convinced friends to take away his keyboard and mouse so he could not play online poker.[6]
Matusow resides in a 3,700 square foot home in Henderson (with a cathedral ceiling) and bought a $90,000 BMW 645 CI cabriolet from a $750,000 winning session at online poker.[6] He often wears a gold chain with the Hebrew symbol 'chai' around his neck.[6] Additionally, Matusow hosted Card Player's poker radio show / podcast, the Circuit, before being replaced by Gavin Smith and Joe Sebok.[19]
Notes
- ^ a b Anonymous. "Mike Matusow - Poker Player Profile". www.PokerListings.com. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
- ^ a b c Anonymous. "Mike Matusow". Full Tilt Poker. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
- ^ a b Butt, Robert. "1999 World Series of Poker $3,500 No Limit Hold 'em event results". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
- ^ a b Butt, Robert. "2002 World Series of Poker $5,000 Omaha hi/lo event results". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
- ^ a b Butt, Robert. "2005 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions results". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Kaplan, Michael (August 2006). [[[1]] "Me and My Big Mouth"]. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
{{cite news}}: Check|url=value (help); Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) Cite error: The named reference "ppm" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ a b "flipchipro". "Mike Matusow Sentenced". www.LasVegasVegas.com. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
- ^ a b Butt, Robert. "Mike Matusow - Stats". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
- ^ Butt, Robert. "2001 World Series of Poker $10,000 No Limit Hold 'em main event results". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
- ^ Butt, Robert. "2004 World Series of Poker $10,000 No Limit Hold 'em main event results". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
- ^ Raymer, Greg. "FAQs". www.FossilmanPoker.com. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
- ^ Rosario, Shirley. "Mike Matusow". www.PokerBabes.com. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
- ^ Butt, Robert. "2005 World Series of Poker $10,000 No Limit Hold 'em main event results". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
- ^ Butt, Robert. "2006 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions results". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
- ^ Butt, Robert. "WPT Aruba Poker Classic results". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
- ^ Butt, Robert. "WPT Bad Boys of Poker II results". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
- ^ Anonymous. "FSN: Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament 3". Fox Sports Network. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
- ^ Burton, Earl. "'High Stakes Poker' Back For A Second Season In June". www.PokerNews.com. Retrieved 2006-08-06.
- ^ Anonymous. "The Circuit". www.cardplayer.com.