Name: Mike Matusow
Nickname: The Mouth
Full Tilt Id: Mike Matusow
Birth Date: April 30th 1968
Birth Place: Los Angeles, California
Current Residence: Las Vegas, Nevada
Total WSOP Bracelets: 3
Total WPT Wins: 0
Best Game: Omaha
First Big Win: May 9th 1999 WSOP $3,500 No Limit Hold’em 30th World Series of Poker for $265,475
First WSOP Bracelet: May 9th 1999 WSOP $3,500 No Limit Hold’em
Biggest WSOP Cash: July 7th 2005 36th WSOP $10,000 No Limit Texas Hold’em World Championship Event for $1,000,000
Biggest Cash: Tied at $1,000,000 for winning the WSOP $10,000 No Limit Texas Hold’em World Championship event in 2005 and also winning $1,000,000 in the Tournament of Champions No Limit Hold’em in November 2005
All Time Money List: 20th
Hobbies: Online Video Host for Card Player
Mike Matusow is known for his attitude and loud voice at the poker table and has been appropriately named ‘The Mouth’ for his antics. Trash talking is a staple in Mike’s poker game but his skill outweighs his loudest outburst on any opponent.
Mike had a rough childhood before he was introduced to poker. Bullied as a child in school, Mike did not pursue college. Mike tried to work as an auto mechanic but did not complete his studies and moved on to work at his family’s furniture store.
At the age of eighteen Mike played video poker for the first time at Maxim Casino and became a regular. So much so that he suffered a repetitive strain injury in his shoulders and arms. To fund his habit, Mike would steal money from his mother’s purse on a regular basis and eventually ended up at Gamblers Anonymous meetings.
It wasn’t until 1989 that Mike would learn the game of Texas hold’em. Steve Samaroff, a rounder taught Mike the game and taught his well, as Mike went on to win 51 out of 53 poker sessions taking home $250,000.
Mike then began pursuing poker as a legitimate career. In the early 1990s Mike began working as a poker dealer at Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall in Las Vegas, Nevada where he would study players and techniques to learn more of the game.
In 1998 Mike paid Scotty Nguyen’s buy-in to the World Series of Poker Main Event and Scotty went on to win the title. Scotty paid Mike $333,333 for his partial stake in the game. The next year, Mike would win his first WSOP bracelet in the $3,500 No limit Hold’em event taking home a $265,475 pay day.
Mike’s second WSOP bracelet would come in 2002 when he won the $5,000 Omaha Hi/Lo Split event. Mike would take home almost $150,000 for that win. Mike would do well again in the 2005 WSOP when he finished in ninth place and won $1 million for his efforts.
Mike also won the WSOP Tournament of Champions that same year and earned his second million dollar payout for 2005. In 2006 Mike saw success during the Full Tilt Poker Pro Showdown from Red Rock Casino finishing second, taking third in the Tournament of Champions and finishing seventh in the 2006 WSOP $2,500 No Limit Hold’em event.
In between his wins, Mike did have a few problems. In 2004 and 2005 Mike spent six months in jail after being caught with cocaine. Mike was caught after an undercover officer became his friend and asked for cocaine. When mike delivered, he was arrested.
Mike has also had weight issues. In 2007, Mike made a bet with Ted Forrest that he could get down to 181 pounds by June 3rd of 2008. When weigh in time came, Mike made it down to 179 and won the bet.
Mike has been unable to use his skill to win a WPT event but did finish well in 2007 at the Bellagio Cup III No Limit Hold’em Championship event. Mike finished second and won $671,320. Mike has also done well in 2008 placing well in the National Heads Up Championship, the Wynn Classic and the WSOP.
|
