John Anthony Cernuto (January 11, 1944 – February 10, 2025) also known as Miami, was an American professional poker player based in Las Vegas, Nevada, specialising in Omaha hi-lo events. Cernuto won over $6,200,000 in live tournament winnings. His largest score was for $259,150 from his $2,000 No Limit Hold'em bracelet victory in the 1997 World Series of Poker.[1]

Background

Cernuto was born on January 11, 1944.[2] Before embarking on his poker career, Cernuto worked as an air traffic controller. When President Ronald Reagan fired the air traffic controllers during a 1981 strike, he turned to poker for his profession.[3]

Cernuto died from colon cancer on February 10, 2025, at the age of 81.[4]

Poker career

World Series of Poker

Cernuto first cashed in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) after making the final table in the 1989 World Series of Poker in the $5,000 Seven-card stud event. He finished fourth in the final table, which featured David Sklansky, Humberto Brenes, Gabe Kaplan, and the tournament winner Don Holt.[5]

Five WSOP cashes followed before Cernuto won his first bracelet in the 1996 WSOP $1,500 seven card stud split tournament.[1][6] He won the $2,000 no limit hold'em event in the 1997 World Series of Poker and the $1,500 limit Omaha event in the 2002 World Series of Poker.[7][8]

Cernuto made an impressive three final tables in the 2006 World Series of Poker, two in Seven Card Stud and one in Razz.[9][10][11]

During the $2,500 Razz tournament of the 2009 WSOP, Cernuto collapsed and was taken to a hospital, where he spent the night after being diagnosed with internal bleeding.[12]

At the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event, Cernuto finished in 345th place for his best career placement in the World Championship.[13]

As of the 2023 World Series of Poker, Cernuto finished in the money in at least one World Series of Poker tournament per year starting in 1992.[14][15]

World Series of Poker bracelets

Year Tournament Prize (US$)
1996 $1,500 Seven Card Stud Split $147,000
1997 $2,000 No Limit Hold'em $259,150
2002 $1,500 Limit Omaha $73,320

Other poker achievements

In 1988, Cernuto won the $1,000 Seven Card Stud event at Amarillo Slim's Super Bowl of Poker tournament series, earning a cash prize of $58,000 in addition to the title.[16] The victory at the SBOP was Cernuto's first career victory in a major poker tournament.[1]

In 2003, he won the third World Heads-Up Poker Championship in Vienna, outlasting a field including fellow professionals Ivo Donev, Ram Vaswani, Dave Colclough, Scotty Nguyen, and Padraig Parkinson on the way to the €60,000 grand prize.[17]

Cernuto also made one World Poker Tour (WPT) final table at the 2005 PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure event won by John Gale.[18]

Poker Winnings / Accolades

As of 2023, his total live tournament winnings exceed $6,200,000.[1]

In 2019, actor James Woods, a close friend of Cernuto's dubbed him the “Ironman of Poker”, as Cernuto is the all-time leader in poker tournament cashes.[19]

At the 2020 Global Poker Awards, Cernuto was given the distinguished "Hendon Mob" award for his lifetime tournament cashes record.[20]

Blackjack

Cernuto made appearances on the Ultimate Blackjack Tour,[21] making a final table in the Elimination Blackjack event where he played in a tournament format of the game of blackjack.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "John Anthony Cernuto's profile on The Hendon Mob". The Hendon Mob Poker Database. Archived from the original on October 1, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  2. ^ Zielbauer, Paul (November 20, 2000). "Where Poor Table Manners Can Quickly Cost a Fortune". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 11, 2018. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  3. ^ "It's Miami John! Three-time gold bracelet winner Cernuto adds a gold ring to his collection". The Hendon Mob. Archived from the original on July 15, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  4. ^ Sofen, Jon (February 11, 2025). "Legendary Poker Pro 'Miami' John Cernuto Passes Away at 81". PokerNews. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  5. ^ "20th World Series of Poker - WSOP 1989, Seven-Card Stud". The Hendon Mob. Archived from the original on May 29, 2016. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  6. ^ "27th World Series of Poker - WSOP 1996, Seven-Card Stud Split". The Hendon Mob. Archived from the original on October 25, 2017. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  7. ^ "28th World Series of Poker - WSOP 1997, No Limit Hold'em". The Hendon Mob. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  8. ^ "33rd World Series of Poker - WSOP 2002, Limit Omaha". The Hendon Mob. Archived from the original on February 20, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  9. ^ "37th World Series of Poker - WSOP 2006, 7 Card Stud". The Hendon Mob. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  10. ^ "37th World Series of Poker - WSOP 2006, 7 Card Stud". The Hendon Mob. Archived from the original on March 3, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  11. ^ "37th World Series of Poker - WSOP 2006, 7 Card Razz". The Hendon Mob. Archived from the original on June 25, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  12. ^ Burton, Earl (June 24, 2009). ""Miami" John Cernuto Collapses During WSOP Razz Tournament". Poker News Daily. Archived from the original on August 19, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  13. ^ Feldman, Andrew (July 17, 2011). "WSOP Main Event Day 5 Recap". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on July 15, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  14. ^ "John Cernuto". WSOP.com. Archived from the original on May 7, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  15. ^ "All Time WSOP Cashes". The Hendon Mob. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  16. ^ "Amarillo Slim's Superbowl Of Poker, Limit Seven Card Stud". The Hendon Mob. Archived from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  17. ^ "Austrian Masters 2003, World Heads Up Poker Championships 2003". The Hendon Mob. Archived from the original on February 20, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  18. ^ "PokerStars Caribbean Adventure - PCA 2005, WPT Main Event - No Limit Hold'em". The Hendon Mob. Archived from the original on November 20, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  19. ^ Turner, Robert (April 3, 2019). "'Miami' John viable candidate for Poker HOF". Gaming Today. Archived from the original on October 2, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  20. ^ "John Cernuto Becomes the Second Recipient of the Hendon Mob Award". Global Poker Awards. March 4, 2020. Archived from the original on November 30, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
  21. ^ "Episode 1 Recap of Ultimate Blackjack Tour - UBT September 16, 2006". www.blackjackhero.com. Archived from the original on July 31, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
Allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cernuto
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