Mike Matusow Says He Has Finally Recovered After Full Tilt Poker 'Destroyed My Life'Matusow Had A Shot At Second Bracelet Of Summer On Saturday |
|
Mike Matusow is having one of the best years of his career, but he doesn’t want to call it a “comeback.” He admitted, however, that his life is finally back in order after the Full Tilt Poker horror, which ended up leaving thousands and thousands of online poker players robbed and Matusow without his dependable source of income. His name was also dragged through mud when it was alleged that he owed the shady site money — a claim he denied. The collapse of the online poker site had also strained his relationships with some in poker.
The veteran poker pro, made famous during poker’s boom years thanks to his trash talk in televised events, won a World Series of Poker bracelet just last week in a seven-card stud eight-or-better event. On Saturday, Matusow was at the final three tables in event no. 25, the $5,000 Omaha eight-or-better, closing in on a chance at his fifth career bracelet and second of the summer. Winning two in a single Series is a rare feat for any poker professional.
Matusow said he’s feeling great personally, as the hangover from the Full Tilt scandal has subsided — at least for himself. Players living in the United States are still without a sum of about $159 million. He took some time before the start of play Saturday to chat.
Brian Pempus: So when I talked to you before your bracelet the other day you said you knew you were going to win. Do you feel the same way deep in this tournament?
Mike Matusow: I was telling a friend that I felt invincible before I won the stud eight-or-better and knew I was going to win. I don’t have that feeling as I did in that tournament. It also happens to be that I’m not sleeping well, possibly. And also because I finished at such a high at the end of day two in the stud-eight, where here I went the last four hours [of last night] without winning a chip. It’s an opposite effect. What I have to do is get into the mindset that you’re going to win and you’re going to hit cards right away, and go on a rush just like you did in the stud eight-or-better and take the chip lead within the first half hour. I know I am the best Omaha player in the world, and all I have to do is catch some cards early and I’ll be fine.
BP: Why haven’t you been sleeping well? One would think that after winning a bracelet you would be sleeping like a baby.
MM: I had a couple days where I really needed a little bit of focus — I take Adderall — and I took a little bit extra, and late at night normally I don’t take it…but last night I was really tired and took [some] about an hour and a half before the night ended. So, I’m up another three hours and the next thing you know…I took Klonopin to go to sleep, and I’d sleep for an hour and then wake back up. I am not worried about the sleep. My adrenaline will get me through.
BP: Would you consider this your comeback year in some sense?
MM: You know, the truth of the matter is, I hear “comeback year” and…2010 I won the Florida State Poker Championship, which nobody talks about. I only played like three tournaments that year. 2011, I finished third in the Bay 101 Shooting Star, and last year I played only 13 events and final tabled two and cashed in five. People don’t realize how much I do with the little amount of tournaments I play. The thing is that I haven’t really…even last year I final tabled this tournament. I’ve been consistent. I just haven’t played that many tournaments. Still, this is my fourth tournament here. I played the NBC Heads-Up and one other, and I just happen to be on a little roll where I’m winner, winner…so I’m playing well.
BP: You had the big prop bet a couple years ago with Ted Forrest, which you lost. Has it sort of been a recovery since that mishap?
MM: No, the recovery for me was the whole Full Tilt fiasco and realizing I had to work for a living again. After putting so much into your life to where you’re set for life, and now you have to go and grind again. It took me a year to really realize that you have to get back to work and play poker, and realize that you could still do it. You know, I am starting to enjoy it again.
BP: Was it also tiring to have to talk about it a lot?
MM: Yeah, I had nothing to do with [the scandal]. All they did was destroy my life. But it’s not destroyed anymore. My life is as good as it gets.
BP: Would you say you’re the happiest now that you’ve ever been?
MM: Absolutely.
Copyright © 2001-2024
CardPlayer.com. All rights reserved.
