born april los_angeles california american professional poker player residing henderson nevada nickname mouth reflects reputation trash talking poker table known hours days good play single known mike blow mike began playing poker seriously early 1990s working poker dealer professional player successes include time world series poker winner winner world series poker tournament champions early years experience poker playing video poker age played regularly extent suffered repetitive strain injury shoulders arms occasionally stole money mother purse point attended meetings taught texas hold named world series poker world series poker paid entrance fee satellite event limit texas hold main event went win gave return partial stake won winning limit hold event defeating heads win title finished 6th place limit hold main event says decisive hand eventual champion trust instincts won second winning low split better event defeated friend fellow professional poker player win tournament finished 9th players main event winning months later won tournament champions heads battle earning process making player win million dollar prizes year placed tournament champions following year winning won limit draw event defeating heads prize later year finished 30th players making deep run won fourth seven card stud split better tournament defeating heads earning world series poker poker events october world poker tour final table classic earning 3rd place finished runner bad boys poker heads play appeared poker superstars iii elite winner championship match beat seven players win appeared second fourth sixth season high stakes poker september mike debut barcelona eliminated day early appeared episodes poker dark finished 3rd 2nd respectively plays online poker following tilt poker member team tilt july won coming second place online pro defeated heads play november world poker finals final table eliminated didn improve hand finished 6th place earning august total live tournament exceed come won nbc defeating final personal life personal problems battled drug issues including month stint jail caught providing undercover police officer pretended gained trust months official sting operation arrested charged category drug related plea deal later reached incarcerated months resides henderson wears gold chain hebrew symbol neck additionally hosted poker radio circuit replaced host defunct online video segment particular episode mike discussed controversial cheating scandal seeking legal action victim scandal main world series poker champion wrote autobiography entitled check raising devil released
Mike Matusow