Jack 'Action' Zwerner (born June 12, 1938) is a business entrepreneur. Zwerner is known for owning and operating casinos, both land based and gaming vessels in international waters, and shaping the casino world as it is today. He is also known for winning the

2006 World Series of Poker The 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP) began on June 25, 2006 with satellite events, with regular play commencing on June 26 with the annual Casino Employee event, and the Tournament of Champions held on June 28 and 29. 40 more events in various ...

(WSOP) Event 8:

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

Hi-Lo (8 or better). T. J. Cloutier regards him as the best heads-up Omaha player ever.

Early life

Zwerner was born in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

and raised in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

. He attended the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

and, later,

Miami Dade College Miami Dade College (Miami Dade, MDC or Dade) is a public college in Miami, Florida. Founded in 1959, it has a total of eight campuses and twenty-one outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County. It is the largest college in the Florida College ...

. He left college to move to

Shaker Heights, Ohio Shaker Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 Census, the city population was 29,439. Shaker Heights is an inner-ring streetcar suburb of Cleveland, abutting the eastern edge of the city's limits. In July 1911, ...

and entered in the world of business and insurance. As an executive of 10 years with the New England Mutual Life Company, Zwerner conducted business with some of the firm's largest clients and laid strong foundations for his future career. In this regard, Zwerner had clients invest in a variety of corporate policies worth tens of millions of dollars, generating consistent and impressive revenues for the New England Mutual Life Insurance Company.

Business life

At the end of his tenure in the insurance industry, Zwerner relocated to

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, to launch his career in casino management and marketing. Operating at the highest ladders of the business, he enjoyed strong and profitable relationships with some of the biggest and most influential casino owners in Las Vegas, including

Cliff Perlman In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on coa ...

Morris Shenker Morris A. Shenker (January 10, 1907 – August 9, 1989) was an American lawyer best known for his connections to labor leader Jimmy Hoffa and Teamster funding of Las Vegas in the 1960s. Shenker was a Russian Jewish immigrant who arrived in St. L ...

, Ed Torres,

Steve Wynn Stephen Alan Wynn (''né'' Weinberg; born January 27, 1942) is an American real estate developer and art collector. He is known for his involvement in the American luxury casino and hotel industry. Early in his career he oversaw the construction ...

, and

Barron Hilton William Barron Hilton (October 23, 1927 – September 19, 2019) was an American business magnate, philanthropist and sportsman. The second son and successor of hotelier Conrad Hilton, he was the chairman, president and chief executive officer of ...

. During this time, he held roles as Senior Vice President of Casino Operations and Marketing, and Executive positions for such seminal venues as the Dunes Hotel, Sands, Aladdin, the New Frontier Hotel and Casino, the Golden Nugget, and the Las Vegas Hilton. Players Jack brought to the casinos included some of the most successful people in the world: Roger King (King World–producers and owners of Oprah Winfrey show, Jeopardy, and Wheel of Fortune),

Jerry Buss Gerald Hatten Buss (January 27, 1933 – February 18, 2013) was an American businessman, investor, chemist, and philanthropist. He was the majority owner of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), winning 10 l ...

& Frank Mariani (owners of the LA Lakers), Kamel Nacife of Mexico, Kerry Packer of Australia, Sioma Neiman of Mexico City, and Akio Kashawagi of Japan. His players brought hundreds of millions to the casinos over the years. His brilliance was even played out on the big screen in the movie Casino. He was the founder and owner of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Hotel Casino in

San Bernardino, California San Bernardino (; Spanish for "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 cen ...

and co-founder of Treasure Bay Casino, located in

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...

. In 1987, he was licensed as Honorary Deputy Sheriff of Clark County by Sheriff John Moran. He currently owns a licensed brokerage real estate company in the states of Nevada, Florida, and California.

Casino Executive

In 1979, he was a key executive of the Casino and Marketing Department at the Aladdin Hotel & Casino until 1981 when he founded the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians Hotel & Casino which was, at the time, the second largest Indian gaming casino in America. He was the Senior Vice President of the Dunes Casino & Hotel from 1982 to 1983 and again in 1988 to 1989. In 1983 he left the Dunes and worked as the Senior Vice President of Marketing and Casino at the Las Vegas Hilton Casino with Barron Hilton and Dennis Gomes, where he worked until 1990. While working at the Las Vegas Hilton, he was licensed with the Nevada Gaming Commission as a key employee with a Liquor Gaming License. In 1990, he held Senior Vice President positions at the Sands Hotel Casino, the Frontier Hotel & Casino, and Executive VP at the Golden Nugget with Steve Wynn. In 1992, he co-founded the $200 million Treasure Bay Hotel & Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi and Tunica, Mississippi.

Poker

Until his win at the WSOP, Jack Zwerner was known as a big cash game player. It came as little surprise though that Zwerner would do well in the tournament. On what turned out to be the last hand of the tournament, Mandap had high hopes for his . Instead, the big pair and low-draw was crushed and counterfeited when the final board showed . Zwerner showed with two hearts to match the three hearts on board. Zwerner's heart flush and better low trounced Mandap's hand, thus ending the event. With the final hand won, he received his first

World Series of Poker bracelet The World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet is considered the most coveted non-monetary prize a poker player can win. Since 1976, a bracelet has been awarded to the winner of every event at the annual WSOP. Even if the victory occurred before 197 ...

and $341,426.

References

External links

Jack Zwerner Back After 6 Year Vacation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zwerner, Jack 1938 births American poker players World Series of Poker bracelet winners Living people