John Anthony Cernuto (born January 10, 1944, in Jersey City, New Jersey)[1] also known as Miami, is an American professional poker player based in Las Vegas, Nevada, specialising in Omaha hi-lo events. Cernuto has 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.[2]
| John Cernuto | |
|---|---|
 John "Miami" Cernuto playing in the WPT Main Event at the Mirage | |
| Nickname(s) | Miami John |
| Residence | Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Born | January 10, 1944 |
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | 3 |
| Money finish(es) | 65 |
| Highest ITM Main Event finish | 345th, 2011 |
| World Poker Tour | |
| Title(s) | None |
| Final table(s) | 3 |
| Money finish(es) | 9 |
| European Poker Tour | |
| Title(s) | None |
| Final table(s) | 1 |
| Money finish(es) | 3 |
Early years
editBefore 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]
Poker career
editWorld Series of Poker
editCernuto 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.[4]
Five WSOP cashes followed before Cernuto won his first bracelet in the 1996 WSOP $1,500 seven card stud split tournament.[2][5] 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.[6][7]
Cernuto made an impressive three final tables in the 2006 World Series of Poker, two in Seven Card Stud and one in Razz.[8][9][10]
During the $2,500 Razz tournament of the 2009 WSOP, Cernuto collapsed and was taken to a hospital, where he spent the night after being diagnosed with internal bleeding.[11]
At the 2011 World Series of Poker Main Event, Cernuto finished in 345th place for his best career placement in the World Championship.[12]
As of the 2023 World Series of Poker, Cernuto has finished in the money in at least one World Series of Poker tournament per year starting in 1992.[13][14]
World Series of Poker bracelets
edit| Year | Tournament | Prize (US$) |
|---|---|---|
| 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
editIn 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.[15] The victory at the SBOP was Cernuto's first career victory in a major poker tournament.[2]
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.[16]
Cernuto has also made one World Poker Tour (WPT) final table at the 2005 PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure event won by John Gale.[17]
Poker Winnings / Accolades
editAs of 2023, his total live tournament winnings exceed $6,200,000.[2]
In 2019, actor James Woods, a close friend of John's coined him the “Ironman of Poker”, as John is the all-time leader in poker tournament cashes.[18]
At the 2020 Global Poker Awards, Cernuto was given the distinguished “Hendon Mob” award for his lifetime tournament cashes record.[19]
Blackjack
editCernuto has made appearances on the Ultimate Blackjack Tour,[20] making a final table in the Elimination Blackjack event where he played in a tournament format of the game of blackjack.
References
edit- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "33rd World Series of Poker - WSOP 2002, Limit Omaha". The Hendon Mob. Archived from the original on February 20, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "John Cernuto". WSOP.com. Archived from the original on May 7, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- ^ "All Time WSOP Cashes". The Hendon Mob. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Austrian Masters 2003, World Heads Up Poker Championships 2003". The Hendon Mob. Archived from the original on February 20, 2023. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "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.