It's Miami John!
Three-time gold bracelet winner Cernuto adds a gold ring to his collection
In June 1982, John Cernuto was fired from his government job. Cernuto was an air
traffic controller based in Miami. His union went out on strike and rather than
negotiate a settlement, President Reagan fired the air traffic controllers. Out
of work, Cernuto wasn't sure what to do next.
Cernuto admits going through a tough readjustment period during the mid-1980s,
trying to find his place in life. He started playing in poker tournaments during
this period, and to his surprise discovered that he had a talent for the game.
That led to a series of tournament victories over the next several years and
a gradual decision that his career choice would turn to playing poker professionally.
Cernuto gravitated to Las Vegas, and true to his Florida roots, was tagged with
the nickname "Miami John."
"At the time, getting fired was not the best thing that ever happened
to me, because it was my chosen lifelong profession," Cernuto said. "But
in the end, things have really worked out and looking back now, it really was
a good thing."
Cernuto added yet another tournament victory to his impressive poker resume,
which includes three WSOP gold bracelets. Cernuto is widely acknowledged as
one of the best Omaha High-Low players in the world, although he admits he is
"still learning" no-limit hold'em. With big wins in no-limit at the
Commerce Casino (Los Angeles) last year, and another victory here at Lake Tahoe,
one must wonder how long his no-limit 'education' will continue.
The ironic thing about Cernuto's latest victory is that it, quite frankly,
shouldn't have happened. Although Cernuto came to the final table close to the
chip lead, his first two hours of play were not encouraging. Cernuto lost half
of his stack and was 'all in' at least a few times. At one point, Cernuto was
completely down to the felt and was drawing very slim. When play was six handed,
Cernuto was dealt 7-7 and moved 'all in' against Tony O'Hagan's A-A. Just when
it looked as if Cernuto would be eliminated, he miraculously caught a third
seven on the river, completely reversing the outcome of the final table. That
was the jet stream that put the former air traffic controller into the winners'
circle.
Lake Tahoe's $500 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament, attracted 134 entries
competing for $194,970 in prize money. Day One resulted in the elimination of
125 players. The nine finalists returned on Day Two, with Tony O'Hagan holding
a slight chip lead over the field. Finalists arrived with the following seat
positions and chip counts:
SEAT 1: Abraham Gray 43,700
SEAT 2: John Hoang 16,700
SEAT 3: Aidilily Eluro 22,600
SEAT 4: David Levi 11,900
SEAT 5: Tony O'Hagan 83,400
SEAT 6: Mike Ruter 29,100
SEAT 7: 'Miami John' Cernuto 81,000
SEAT 8: Patrick McMillan 28,200
SEAT 9: Howard 'Tahoe' Andrew 18,900
Players were eliminated as follows:
9th Place - It took 90 minutes for the first elimination to occur. John
Hoang arrived second-lowest in chips and could not survive the gradual increase
in blinds and antes. The Vietnamese-born poker player, currently ranked 6th
in Card Player's tournament rankings (eight final table appearances thus far
in 2005) took 9th-place prize money,
8th Place - This was Abraham Gray's second trip to the final table.
He went out in the third hour of play when his Q-J lost to A-Q. Gray collected
$7,800 for 8th place.
7h Place - David Levi moved 'all in' with pocket 4s but was dominated
by Mike Ruter's pocket jacks. On the turn, the board showed 3-4-7-J giving Ruter
trip jacks. But Levi had and inside-straight draw. A harmless ace fell on the
river, and Levi was out in 7th place with $9,750.
6th Place - One of the most exciting hands of the tournament took place
next when 'Miami John' Cernuto was 'all in' with 7-7 against Tony O'Hagan's
A-A. Just when it looked Miami John would be bounced off the final table, a
lucky 7 fell in the river and Miami John survived. That hand would doom Tony
O'Hagan to a 6th place finish. He went out a short time later when he was short-stacked
and lost a hand to Aidilily Eluro. This was O'Hagan's third final table appearance
at this year's Lake Tahoe event. He collected $11,700.
5th Place - Aidilily Eluro was the only woman at the final table. She
had a decent chip count, but was ultimately knocked out with 10-10 against Miami
John's A-J. The flop of K-Q-J gave Eluro several outs, but two blanks put her
on the rail in 5th place, good for $13,365.
4th Place - Miami John continued to spike good cards. With plenty of
chips where he could afford to gamble, he called Howard 'Tahoe' Andrew's 'all
in' raise with 10-9. Tahoe had A-10, leaving Miami John as a big underdog. Bang!
A nine fell on the turn, sinking Tahoe in 4th place. Tahoe, a two-time WSOP
gold bracelet winner, received $15,600.
3rd Place - Mike Ruter was short-stacked and made his final stand of
the night with a hand that was not shown. Cernuto and McMillan checked the hand
down and McMIllan ended up dragging the small pot with an ace-high. Ruter was
routed in 3rd place with $21,445.
The heads-up duel between 'Miami John' Cernuto and Patrick McMillan began with
Cernuto holding a formidable 200,000 to 135,000 chip advantage. McMillan made
things interesting, drawing close to even in chips at one point. But this was
Cernuto's night.
McMillan increased his stack with several aggressive moves, causing Cernuto
to surrender the pot on many occasions. McMillan took advantage of Cernuto's
caution, which evolved into a counter-strategy whereby Cernuto would look for
the right opportunity to set a 'trap.'
The trap hand came when Cernuto allowed McMillan to keep betting at the pot,
when the turn showed J-J-2-A. With 60,000 already in the pot, Cernuto bet 15,000,
McMillan raised 30,000 more, and Cernuto moved 'all in." That prompted
McMillan to fold and following the hand, he was outchipped by more than 6 to
1.
A few hands later, the six-hour finale ended when Cernuto was dealt pocket
aces against McMillan's A-10. McMillan was 'all in' before the flop and the
final board - 7-3-2-2-K gave Cernuto the victory.
Patrick McMillan played a strong game and earned a well-deserved $38,995 as
the runner up. The St. Charles, MO-based poker player, who prefers playing pot-limit
Omaha, started the final table low on chips, outgunned by more than 3 to 1 against
two opponents, including Miami John. He took his cards and stack as far as he
could given the situation, coming close to the chip lead when the tournament
was down to one-on-one. But Cernuto was too strong a force, especially with
a flurry of well-timed cards.
'Miami John' Cernuto is one of the elite players in World Series of Poker history.
He is a member of the "Millionaires Club," an exclusive group of poker
players with over $1 million in lifetime earnings at the WSOP. He added $70,190
to his poker bankroll for this victory. Looking back now, he can thank a lucky
seven, pocket aces, and Ronald Reagan - not necessarily in that order.
Report by Nolan Dalla - World Series of Poker Media Director
Seat 1 Abraham Gray Lawrenceville, GA 43,700
Seat 2 John Hoang Alhambra, CA 16,700
Seat 3 Aidilily Elviro Hollywood, FL 22,600
Seat 4 David Levi Las Vegas, NV 11,900
Seat 5 Tony O'Hagan Paris, France 83,400
Seat 6 Mike Ruter Huntington Beach, CA 29,100
Seat 7 "Miami John" Cernuto Las Vegas, NV 81,000
Seat 8 Patrick McMillan St. Charles, MO 29,100
Seat 9 Howard "Tahoe" Andrew Walnut Creek, CA 18,900
Many familiar faces are in Event #9 today. In seat 1 Abraham Gray already won
a 2nd place this week, Tony O'Hagan is on his 3rd attempt to pick up a
ring, and "Tahoe" Andrew is taking another crack at it as well. .
Sitting in Seat 7 is Miami John Cernuto, a Las Vegas icon. John Hoang is a professional
poker player, currently ranking 6th as Player Of The Year. He has made 8 final
tables this year in major events and took down a WPO Bracelet in the $2500 event
this year.
We have our first woman player since the events began, and she is Aidlily Elviro
from Hollywood, FL. She is merely 22 years old and usually plays 30/60 limit
live games and no limit. She has been playing the game for only four years,
much more than that and she would have to have a curfew. Living in Hollywood,
Florida, she but has learned a great deal about this game as she is a poker
dealer. She has one feather in her cap by coming in 27th in one of the Reno
Hiltons Main Events. I am a tad bit biased, so I am pulling for her to do well
today. The love of her life is Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi. Seems
she has been taught by the best. The love of their lives is their beautiful
7-month-old son.
We are starting the game with 500/1000 blinds with 100 antes. Abraham succeeds
in obtaining the button, the cards are in the air, and the players are chomping
at the bit to go. Fifteen minutes into the event, we have already seen 4 all
in moves, and each doubled up. They took from the rich and gave to......themselves.
Well folks, I am absolutely floored by this hand. Tony O raises the 1500 blind
to 4,000. Patrick McMillan raises 8,000 more. Tony calls. The flop comes Qh
4d Jd. Both players check. The turn is the 2c and Patrick checks so Tony bets
10,000. Patrick calls. The 3s hits the board as the final card. Patrick checks,
and Tony goes all in. Patrick, a very experienced card player gave it a very
long thought and then called. He had to have picked up something on Tony because
Tony shows A 9 of diamonds and Patrick 7 7 to win the pot. Wow. That is all
I can say.
The very next hand, Tony raises 3,000 again. Miami John calls. The flop comes
333. Tony bets 5500, with John calling. The turn is a 7 and Tony makes it all
the marbles again. John calls the 38,000-chip bet and shows 66 while Tony had
no pair revealing the J T off. The tension is pretty tight and the river came
another 7 making it treys full of sevens, chopping the pot and saving Tony O'Hagan's
sure demise.
In a rather uneventful hand, we lost John Hoang. John picks up a 9th place
adding $5850 to his bankroll. This $1500 final table has been going on for 1.5
hours now. Seems it is going to take longer to lose players today.
John Ruter is from Huntington Beach, California and says, "those who can
play...play. Those who can't Coach." He has been playing poker
for 23 out of his 40 years on this earth and says he is a darn good poker coach.
Seems yesterday and today he is a darn good poker player. He enjoys a good game
of 20/40-limit hold 'em and will continue to participate in tournaments.
The blinds have increased to 1000/2000 with 300 antes. The final 8 are back
from break and are ready for combat. Who will be next?? These guys are trying
to run all over Aidlily Elviro. Every time she has raised the pot, someone has
come over the top and tried to put her all in. So far she has acquiesced, but
I have a sneaking suspicion that woman has more punch in her power than they
think.
Bobby "Turbo" Martin just walked by and today it looks like he has
both hands full of "coffeekazes." Perhaps it was the come back to
the massive amounts of kamikazes from yesterday.
The blinds have increased to the point it is costing each player 8500 chips
to make one time around. We have been watching for another 1.5 hours and we
just lost player number 2, Abraham Gray for 8th and $7800 for his effort. Abraham
made his all in move UTG. Patrick McMillan called with an A Q and Abraham held
the "Hawaii" hand, J Q. I have heard that for all the J Q's someone
plays, they could pay for a trip to Hawaii with the amount of money lost. Looking
back over the years, I think perhaps that is a true statement. A J 9 3 9 puts
Abraham out for his second 2nd place win this week.
Things are picking up now that the blinds are getting larger. Another heads
up clash takes down David Levy. He too tried to make a move with a pair of fours
and got bounced by a pair of jacks held by Mike Ruter. The very next hand absolutely
crippled Tony O'Hagan. He came to blows with Miami John. At first it looked
like such a beautiful thing for Tony, holding those gorgeous pocket rockets.
The flop was perfect, the turn was most excellent and the river was a crushing
7. Miami John held 7 7.
Things are heating up now. Miami John raises preflop, and Tahoe Andrew moves
his chips to the middle after the flop of J 7 8. Miami John calls. He has an
A 8 while Tahoe holds a pair of nines. The turn is an 8 with the river a 6 and
Tahoe is back in the game.
OK, my girl Aidlily (pronounced Ada Lee) just made a move all in against Tony
O and almost doubles up taking out Tony O'Hagan in sixth for a fine prize
of $11,700. It is 7:30 now and the chip count looks like this. Aidlily has 40K,
Mike 95K, Miami John 70K, Patrick 52K and Tahoe 75K
After about 15 minutes of stealing blinds, Miami Jack raises the pot to 11,000.
Aidlily decides to do the deed and she makes it another 24,500 and was all in.
Mike Ruter considers and decides to lay it down. Not Miami John. He gives her
a chance to double up by calling. Aidlily made her move on T T and Miami John
had A J. The flop took most of the hope away from Aidlily as it hit Q J K, the
turn no help and the river just as stinky for Aidlily. She makes a first-rate
finish of 5th place and enjoys cash out of $13,650.
8 PM and the blinds are up again, to 2000/4000, 500 antes. We have four of
the best waging war and going for the gold. The first hand, Tahoe is the small
blind. Miami John takes it to 10K and Tahoe pushes in for another 32K. Miami
John doesn't hesitate and calls. Tahoe turns his cards over to disclose
big cards, the As Js while Miami John hold middle suited connectors, 9c Tc.
Not an ounce of good luck comes Tahoe's way as the board gave him a gut
shot draw for Broadway and then insulted his draw by giving Miami John his 9
on the turn and a useless 8 on the river. Tahoe leaves the event today with
a 4th place finish and a nice reward of $15,600.
At 8:10 and three players left to hack it out, Mike Ruter is ready for battle
with 80,000 chips followed by Patrick McMillan with 40,000. Miami John has 145,000
accounting for as much as the other two have together. John Grooms said, "Miami
John is like a gar hole. Drop any chips near him and you'll never get them
back."
A big pot is brewing between Miami John and Patrick. Patrick is on the button
and raises 11K. Miami John calls and Mike Ruter opts to fold. The flop comes
Ac Jd 7s, Miami John checks and Patrick bets 10K and Miami John calls. The turn
comes an 8c and both players check. The river is the Jh and Miami John checks
so Patrick makes it 12K to go. Miami calls. Patrick's 2 pair on the flop,
A 7, dies a painful death as Miami John holds a J T.
The next critical hand involves Patrick and Mike. Miami John has the button.
Patrick limps in on the little blind and Mike checks. The flop is a 7 6 K leading
Patrick to bet 8K. Mike answers by raising 20K more. The next thing that happens
is that Patrick decides to move all in. Mike was pot committed and called. He
covered Patrick by about 9500 chips. They flip over their cards, Mike with a
6 9 and Patrick holding the mighty Aces. The turn and river are a run of the
mill 4 and K and it all but takes Mike to the felt. The next hand gives Mike
the all in attack and of course both players call. The news wasn't good
for Mike and he exited in 3rd for $21,445.
Another chip count gives Miami John 210K and Patrick 125K. Many hands pass
and Patrick is slowly building his quantity of chips higher and higher by being
extremely aggressive. I have a sneaky suspicion Miami John is just waiting in
the weeds for Mr. McMillan. Sure enough, its time to rumble. We have the blinds
at 3000/6000 with a 1000 ante. Miami John commands the button and limps in for
3K more. We see the flop, J J 2. Patrick checks and Miami pushes 8K out in front
of him. Patrick in turn raises 12K more and Miami John merely calls. The turn
is an A. Patrick checks, Miami bets 15K with Patrick raising an additional 30K,
which prompts Miami John to move all in. After some deliberation Patrick concedes
and severely impairs his bankroll and power. He stands with about 75K chips
now and Miami John commands the ship with about 260K. A few hands later and
the tournament is complete. Miami John has the button again. Patrick tried a
12K raise inducing an all in from Miami John. Patrick decides its now or never
and responds with a call. Patrick has an A T and Miami John shows the potent
Aces. The entire board had a bad smell to it, 7 3 2 2 K making Miami John the
champion of the $1500 event today. Patrick didn't walk away sad as he succeeded
in padding his poker bankroll by $38,995. Miami John adds another $70,200, the
WSOP Circuit ring and one more win to his collection. Not to mention that he
has finished so many times in the money at the WSOP he belongs to the prestigious
Millionaires Club
Miami John is one of the most precious men. His smile is killer and his cheerfulness
contagious. By profession John was an Air Traffic Controller until President
Reagan caused the major strike situation about 23 years ago. John felt he stood
up for what he believed in and for doing so was fired. He couldn't afford
to maintain his home and had to give it back to the bank. He borrowed a vehicle
from a good friend, loaded up his belongings, collected his retirement and headed
to Las Vegas. It has been no looking back for Miami John Cernuto. He has three
WSOP bracelets in his assembly of trophies and also has two second place finishes
in other WSOP events. He has so many achievements in the poker world; it would
take too long to list them. When asked about all the new players coming into
the profession, he said it is not as easy to read them like it was back when
he knew everyone at the table. But he watches the other players on the final
tables and learns a great deal from these observations. The 7 on the river when
he was all in with Tony O'Hagan was the turning point in the game for John.
Had he not caught the 7, we wouldn't be talking to him at this time. I
asked him which he thought more stressful, being an Air Traffic Controller or
a poker professional. He said that playing poker for a living is the most stressful.
He supposes that if he had 20 million in the bank, it would be different. But,
he considers himself to be a grinder over the past 21 years. It was a pleasure
to have met you Mr. Cernuto. I'm sure Ill see you many times again.
Sharla Lehrmann
sharla@pokerpages.com
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