Mike Matusow
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Mike Matusow in a World Series of Poker event |
|
| Nickname(s) | Mike The Mouth |
|---|---|
| Hometown | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | 2(+1) |
| Money finishes | 18(+2) |
| Highest ITM main event finish |
6th, 2001 |
| World Poker Tour | |
| Titles | None |
| Final tables | 1(+1) |
| Money Finishes | 4 |
Michael (Mike) "The Mouth" 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 in the poker world for his habit of ruining hours or days of good play with a single spectacular misjudgment, known as a "Mike Matusow Blow-ups" or "Mike Matusow Meltdown").[1]
Matusow's successes include being a 2-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner,[2][3] and the winner of the 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions.[4]
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[edit] 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. [5]
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. On occasion, he stole money from his mother's purse and at one stage 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 won $250,000. He also worked as a poker dealer. [5] [6]
[edit] World Series of Poker
At the 1998 World Series of Poker, 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. [5]
Later, in 2001, he was eliminated in 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. [5] [7]
At the 2004 WSOP main event, Matusow was a focal point of ESPN's coverage of the main event, as he verbally attacked eventual champion Greg Raymer before being eliminated. [8] [9] [10] In the 2005 WSOP, Matusow finished 9th out of 5,619 players in the main event for $1,000,000. [11] Just 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 made the final table of the Tournament of Champions the following year also, this time finishing third. [4] [12]
[edit] World Series of Poker bracelets
| Year | Event | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | $3,500 No Limit Hold 'em | $265,475 [2] |
| 2002 | $5,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Split | $148,520 [3] |
[edit] Other poker events
In October 2004, Matusow made his first World Poker Tour (WPT) final table at the UltimateBet Aruba Classic, earned $250,000 for 3rd place. [13] In 2006, he finished runner-up to Tony G in the WPT Bad Boys of Poker II in heads-up play. [14]
Matusow appeared in Poker Superstars III, where he made it to the Elite Eight. In the winner-take-all championship match, Matusow beat 7 other top players to win $500,000. He also appeared in the second and third season of High Stakes Poker. [15] [16]
In September 2006, Mike made his debut on the European Poker Tour (EPT) in Barcelona. However, he did not go very far as he busted during the first day.
In early 2007, Matusow appeared on two episodes of Poker After Dark where he finished 3rd and 2nd respectively.
As of 2006, his total live tournament winnings exceed $4,190,000. [17]
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] [6]
[edit] Personal life
[edit] Mental health issues
Matusow acknowledged in a 2005 Card Player Magazine interview that he has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and takes Ritalin to control it. In recent episodes of High Stakes Poker, Matusow has mentioned having a "chemical imbalance" and also credited his therapists with helping him avoid his signature "blow ups."
[edit] Illegal drugs
Matusow began taking ecstasy in 2000, which stopped him from playing poker due to heavy partying. He later started using cocaine as well, but returned to playing poker three days a week. On the advice of a girlfriend, he experimented with speed, which he claims advanced his poker game to the level that he reached the final table of the 2001 WSOP. Matusow's first attempt to quit drugs lasted from May until September 2003, when he engaged on a marathon alcohol and speed session with a Las Vegas stripper. He has apparently been free of illicit drugs since April 2005. [5]
[edit] Arrest and release
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 later 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. [5]
Matusow served six months from September 2004 to April 2005. During his time in prison, 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. [5] [18]
Upon his release, Phil Hellmuth Jr loaned him $5,000 to start up a new bankroll. At the 2005 WSOP, Matusow was running well in the first open preliminary event, when he began to feel depressed and suicidal on the second day. His psychiatrist indicated to him this was due to his Depakote medication not being administered whilst he was in jail. (He is also prescribed Zoloft and Ritalin.) He went on to lose the majority of the $750,000 bankroll he had built up from Hellmuth's original loan and even got friends to take away his keyboard and mouse so he could not play online poker. [5] On ESPN's telecast of the World Series of Poker, Matusow claimed that the arrest had profoundly changed his view on life and made him realize how lucky he was.
[edit] Trivia
- 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. [5]
- Matusow often wears a gold chain with the Hebrew symbol 'chai' around his neck. [5]
- Matusow has a lifetime membership at the Olympic Gardens strip club. [5]
- Matusow used to be a big fan of baseball, but now strongly dislikes it due to there being no salary cap. [5]
- Matusow describes himself as one of the most dedicated people in poker, second only to Daniel Negreanu. [5]
- Matusow hosted Card Player's poker radio show / podcast, the Circuit, before being replaced by Gavin Smith and Joe Sebok. [19]
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Anonymous. Mike Matusow - Poker Player Profile. www.PokerListings.com. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
- ^ a b Butt, Robert. 1999 World Series of Poker $3,500 No Limit Hold 'em event results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
- ^ a b Butt, Robert. 2002 World Series of Poker $5,000 Omaha hi/lo event results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
- ^ a b Butt, Robert. 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Kaplan, Michael (August 2006). Me and My Big Mouth. Poker Player Magazine.
- ^ a b Anonymous. Mike Matusow. Full Tilt Poker. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
- ^ Butt, Robert. 2001 World Series of Poker $10,000 No Limit Hold 'em main event results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
- ^ Butt, Robert. 2004 World Series of Poker $10,000 No Limit Hold 'em main event results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
- ^ Raymer, Greg. FAQs. www.FossilmanPoker.com. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
- ^ Rosario, Shirley. Mike Matusow. www.PokerBabes.com. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
- ^ Butt, Robert. 2005 World Series of Poker $10,000 No Limit Hold 'em main event results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
- ^ Butt, Robert. 2006 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
- ^ Butt, Robert. WPT Aruba Poker Classic results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
- ^ Butt, Robert. WPT Bad Boys of Poker II results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
- ^ Anonymous. FSN: Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament 3. Fox Sports Network. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
- ^ Burton, Earl. 'High Stakes Poker' Back For A Second Season In June. www.PokerNews.com. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
- ^ Butt, Robert. Mike Matusow - Stats. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
- ^ "flipchipro". Mike Matusow Sentenced. www.LasVegasVegas.com. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
- ^ Anonymous. The Circuit. www.cardplayer.com.
[edit] External links
| World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions Winners |
| Annie Duke - Mike Matusow - Mike Sexton |
