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Mike Sexton – the Person Who Won $1 Million, Playing Poker

Mike Sexton – the Person Who Won $1 Million, Playing Poker

Mike Sexton is a famous professional poker player, the WSOP winner, who has also built a career as a game commentator. Now Mike is a chairman for partypoker – one of the world’s leading portals about poker – with a huge experience in the game and many exciting wins behind him.

Sexton’s biography: from the US army to the poker world

Mike Sexton was born on September 22, 1947, in Shelbyville, Indiana. Mike got a degree at Ohio State University and then joined the USA army, although, the skills he got during these stages weren’t used in his life journey. Sexton decided to dedicate his life to poker, one of the most popular card games which steals the hearts of many players around the world.

Speaking about Mike Sexton’s life, a gamble has always been a significant part of it. Mike’s first meeting with poker occurred when he was a schoolboy. He had a small side job at which he earned his first money: the boy was delivering newspapers to Dayton’s citizens. However, hardly-earned money didn’t stay long in his pockets: Mike lost all of them while playing his favorite card game. Nevertheless, it didn’t prevent him from having a crack at the first tournament in his life where he succeeded. He began to play the game as a professional in 1977.

Mike Sexton: poker career and the biggest wins

It should be mentioned that Mike Sexton’s success includes 15! career cashes in legendary WPT tournaments. But the major win was waiting for Mike at the major WPT match where he got $318,000. Poker has always been the biggest passion for Mike and his lifelong love. That is why he got the title of “Ambassador of the poker”. He always popularized poker and promoted many events in the poker industry. However, the title often became the main obstacle for his participation in some tournaments: the pokerman wasn’t allowed to play because of his affiliates.

According to Mike’s latest interviews, the win in the WSOP Tournament of Champions was the most valuable for him. The player emphasizes that it isn’t only because of the $1 000 000 prize but of the event title as well. It was his biggest career cash ever and one of the most pleasant titles to get.

In addition to a clever mind, the voice was also crucial for Mike Sexton. WPT has made the player “the voice of poker” (at the same time, many star’s fans call him even “a face of poker”) as he was commenting tournaments for already 15 years. Gamblers around the world were waiting for poker matches to listen to Mike’s live voice, witty jokes and highly professional comment on tournaments.

In 2009 Sexton was announced as a nominee to the Poker Hall of Fame in Las Vegas. The names of legendary poker gamers have been placed on the table since 1979. And Mike Sexton became one of them. Almost 75% of people voted for him.

Sexton quitted his job as a WPT commentator almost 3 years ago and became a chairman for partypoker. On May 22, 2017, the poker star gave the announcement that he had decided to leave WPT and to continue his career path with partypoker.com – a website that was founded under his guidance. Such a decision was mostly based on Mike’s desire to play poker more because it was prohibited for him to play in some events. Now the player can easily enjoy his favorite game and continue developing partypoker which he considers to be both, “a challenge and an opportunity”, at the same time.

Mike Sexton’s book can be also considered as part of his poker career. The book is entitled “Life’s a Gamble” and it illustrates Mike’s poker way: his career start and the next steps towards the dream. It also tells about his special foresight in the game and how he uses it for promotion. Mike shares his experience in playing the game and tells interesting stories about the poker industry and its key players revealing its major problems. On the one hand, some fans admit that it’s more exciting to hear the star than to read his book because it doesn’t convey all the emotions of the storyteller. On the other hand, the book is worth reading. It is available on Amazon and other book shops. 

Mike Sexton’s net worth: how much the talented player has profited from poker

Of course, the question of net worth is always one of the most interesting. Poker celebrities are icons for beginners and usually become a big motivation for them to master poker skills. To understand where is Mike Sexton in the poker business, experts need to know his net asset value. And, luckily, it isn’t a secret.

The poker icon has the net worth estimating $10 million. It’s difficult to imagine the sum! Mike is the talented poker player and that is why this sum doesn’t sound surprising for his colleagues. It helps him to be deeply involved in his main interest – playing poker – and spend more time with family.

Moreover, as it was stated above, Sexton always promotes poker. Being a rich person allows him to donate a lot. For example, he has donated $1 million to the 2006 Tournament of Champions.

What happened to Mike Sexton’s family

Mike Sexton is 72 years old now and he lives his life to the full. The player has a very supportive family. One of the main people for Mike Sexton – the son. In many of his interviews, the well-known poker player was telling a lot about him. His name is Ty and Mike is the best dad in the world for him. It’s difficult to believe but the poker star became a father for the first time when he was already 60! Another important person for Mike Sexton – the wife who gave birth to their son. Her name is Karen and she is his third wife.

It goes without saying that Mike Sexton is the legend of the American and world poker. His obsession with the game has helped him to earn a lot of money and to promote the game globally. His principles in playing the game are:

  • no criticism on an opponent;
  • enjoy the game;
  • don’t be too self-confident.

Read more: Top Online Casino in Australia

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