Tournament Ironman ‘Miami’ John Cernuto Passes Away At 81

In February, the poker world mourned the loss of “Miami” John Cernuto, poker’s all-time tournament cashes leader, who passed away after a battle with colon cancer.

The longtime grinder with nearly 600 in-the-money finishes, 76 tournament wins, and more than $6.3 million in earnings, was 81 years old.

Cernuto first learned to play poker with his family around the kitchen table.

“We played seven card stud,” he told Card Player back in 2020. “Deuces were wild if mom was dealing, and tens were wild if grandma was dealing. Aunts, uncles, cousins, and parents were all players, and it was fun.”

He continued to play while in college and during his time in the army.

“I was a private on a $100 a month paycheck, but I collected $400 a month playing poker for quarters.”

The Jersey City, New Jersey native then moved to South Florida where for a decade he worked as an air traffic controller, which has been named as one of the most mentally stressful careers one could have.

“They called us stress junkies,” he recalled. “We thrived on stress. It was like, ‘bring it on.’ It was part of our DNA. The more planes we had, the busier we were, the more we spit out the clearances, the more we liked it.”

When President Reagan fired the air traffic controllers during their 1981 strike, he turned to poker to pay the bills.

“I learned from friends and the school of hard knocks,” Cernuto said. “I did not have any idea of what I was getting into. There were hustlers and sharks waiting for me.”

He found plenty of action in Las Vegas, where he quickly became known as ‘Miami’ John.

“The origin of the name actually came from a young lady I had met from USC while partying at Sam’s Town Casino,” he recalled. “I was playing at the Stardust and back then we didn’t have cell phones, we were always paged. She didn’t know my last name. I’ll never forget this page that came over the loudspeaker: ‘Line 1 phone call for Miami John Baby Doll.’ I dropped the baby doll, of course, but kept the ‘Miami John.’”

“I decided to use it the day I won my first big event. It was a seven card stud event at the Amarillo Slim’s Super Bowl of Poker at Caesars Palace. I entered as ‘Miami John’ and won, going wire-to-wire and only losing two pots. It was like magic, so I kept the name. I didn’t want to tempt fate. I am not a superstitious person, but why rock the boat?”

It was a late start to his poker career. In fact before working as an air traffic controller, Cernuto had taken all sorts of jobs. He played the accordion professionally for a time, and at one point he was hired to repossess NFL legend Larry Csonka’s car.

He was actually training to become a police dispatcher when he got an offer to deal cards at the Hilton.

Although he was already 43 years old when he picked up his first recorded cash, Cernuto caught the tournament bug before most of his fellow competitors.

“I liked the tournaments of old. It’s true we only got dollar for dollar [for starting stacks] but we used $1 chips and we started out 5-10 limits.”

He would often take advantage of bonuses awarded to the best player of the series. Since he had no problem playing every event, he was usually in contention.

“I enjoyed a streak of winning one event at almost every venue I attended for nearly two decades.”

“Another thing I am also proud of is that there was a period of time where tournaments were trending downward, but myself and a group of about 50 continued to support them while most others were understandably supporting cash games. In a sense, we became the new pioneers of the tournament industry and held it together until it got very fashionable to play tournament poker again. Now, it’s big business.”

Cernuto entered his first World Series of Poker event in 1984, where he would go on to cash 89 times over the years.

“I had a small bankroll at the time and my rule was to play two satellites for each event that I had an interest in. If I won the seat, I played the event, and if I failed, I played cash games.”

“My first event I played in at Binion’s Horseshoe was a ‘non-pro’ no-limit hold’em, which was full of pros. (laugh) I was devastated as I hit the dead bubble.”

He won the first of his three WSOP bracelets in 1996, taking down the $1,500 stud eight-or-better tournament.

“Winning my first bracelet was surreal,” he recalled. “I was a prop player for the LV Hilton poker room and I quit the job because they wanted me to prop a $15-$30 stud eight-or-better game. I didn’t like the game at the time and I kept losing at it. I had a new appreciation for it after [winning the bracelet].”

Cernuto added another bracelet the next year in the $2,000 no-limit hold’em event and his third in 2002 in the $1,500 limit Omaha event. He also won two WSOP Circuit rings.

“The first 20 years were all about the money, and all the traveling I got to do,” he said. “I played from LA to London to Kiev. I was so fortunate to meet so many wonderful people as I grew in the game.”

Although he was proud of his bracelets and his record for the most live tournament cashes, there were a few other accomplishments that stood out during his career.

“At the Bike, I had won four events during the Legends of Poker series. At the time only a few had won three tournaments in a single series, but to do four was pretty incredible.”

“Another one was while playing day 2 of a no-limit event at the Trump Taj Mahal I decided to support the stud event and only played it on 15-minute breaks and the dinner break. After dinner, I had the chip lead in both tournaments. The staff moved the two final tables together and I played them simultaneously and won both.”

The player dubbed ‘The Ironman of Poker’ was determined to keep playing until the end despite his health issues.

“Maintaining longevity in this business is not an easy task,” he said. “If you want to play a long time in this industry, you need to learn from mistakes and not repeat them.”

“Loving the competition is huge when it comes to firing oneself up for each and every tournament. But the biggest factor to maintain longevity is writing and teaching poker to others. Helping others has been inspiring to me, but the constant search for knowledge and learning new strategies has really kept me fresh and curious.”

Even with octogenarian status at last summer’s WSOP, Cernuto racked up six cashes, including a third-place finish in the $1,500 eight-game mix.

Cernuto officially finished his career with 586 cashes, according to the Card Player tournament database. That puts him just a couple dozen cashes ahead of Roland Israelashvili and Ari Engel, who is on pace to pass him later this year. (Engel is already averaging one cash every three days in 2025.)

When Cernuto appeared on Card Player’s Poker Stories Podcast back in 2022, he predicted that Engel would be the player who would eventually pass him.

“Ari plays a super, super amount of tournaments, and he’s so skilled and so smart that he’s my pick to pass me. I hope he does, just not while I’m alive.”

“Rest in peace to our dear friend,” Engel wrote on Twitter. “It’s been a personal pleasure of mine to compete with ‘Miami’ John so many times over the past few years. He will be missed.”

Cernuto’s passing may be the spark needed for the Poker Hall of Fame to increase the induction rate from a single entry each year. He was a finalist nominated for the honor for the last two years, but ultimately lost out to high-stakes pros Brian Rast and Patrik Antonius.

“The Hall of Fame needs an overhaul along common-sense lines where a slate of old school guys like Thor Hansen and ‘Miami’ John get in and to accommodate the upcoming influx of young worthy inductees,” Shane Schleger wrote on Twitter.

WSOP commentator Norman Chad also called for a new trophy to be named in his honor for the series’ best mixed-games player.

“The poker world lost a great guy and great poker player,” said Phil Hellmuth. “He and I played together since 1991. He just had a knack for all of the mixed games, and also came strong in the no-limit hold’em tournaments. Everybody that knew John loved him and would laugh with him. He was a funny, witty guy. Rest in peace, my friend.”

“‘Miami’ John Cernuto made every decision like the scientist he was at heart,” said his good friend and poker student, actor James Woods. “He approached the end of his life with the same ruthless analytical rigor. After surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy, he said enough was enough. He faced his fate with the strength of a true champion. His power derived from the love of his children, his friends, and, yes, the game he enjoyed so dearly. I embrace him with all my heart, with the full measure of gratitude for his counsel, for his undying friendship, and for the many smiles with which he gifted me for years.” ♠