Michael David Mizrachi (born January 5, 1981) is an American professional
poker
Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...
player who won the
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
,
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
and
2018 World Series of Poker
The 2018 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the 49th annual tournament, and took place from May 30 to July 17 at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. There was a record 78 bracelet events. The $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event ...
$50,000 Players Championship.
Mizrachi also has two World Poker Tour titles, and he finished 5th in the Main Event of the
2010 World Series of Poker
The 2010 World Series of Poker was the 41st annual World Series of Poker (WSOP), held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Paradise, Nevada, and ran from May 28 to July 17. There were 57 bracelet events, culminating in the $10,000 No Limit Hol ...
. In January 2013, Mizrachi signed on as a team pro member with Lock Poker.
Personal life
Mizrachi was born in Miami, Florida. He is the younger brother of
Robert Mizrachi who has numerous World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour finishes to his own name. He has a twin brother Eric Mizrachi (also a poker player) and a younger brother, Daniel Jay Mizrachi, who is a professional
DJ also known as DJ Mizrachi. Mizrachi is fluent in Hebrew, as his father is of
Iraqi Jewish
The history of the Jews in Iraq ( he, יְהוּדִים בָּבְלִים, ', ; ar, اليهود العراقيون, ) is documented from the time of the Babylonian captivity c. 586 BC. Iraqi Jews constitute one of the world's oldest and mos ...
origin Ezra Mizrachi. Growing up, Mizrachi wanted to become a doctor but dropped out of college to play poker full-time.
Mizrachi has three children: Paul William (named after his grandfather), Julie and Joseph Mizrachi. He lives in
Hollywood, Florida
Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is now ...
. He purchased a motor home out of his poker winnings which he used to keep his family near him when he was on the road, but eventually sold it as it was
depreciating in value.
In early 2010, a federal tax lien in the amount of $339,711 was filed against Mizrachi for unpaid taxes related to his earnings from 2005 to 2007.
Mizrachi also had two residential properties in Florida foreclosed on including a condominium he owned with his brother, Robert.
In 2016, Aidiliy Mizrachi, his wife, divorced Michael for irreconcilable differences.
Poker
In 2006, Mizrachi won
CardPlayer Magazine's Player of the Year Award.
Live poker
Tournaments
As of January 2020, Mizrachi's live tournament winnings exceed $17,000,000. His 64 cashes at the WSOP account for $9,169,857 of those winnings.
=World Series of Poker
=
In the
2005 World Series of Poker
The 2005 World Series of Poker opened play on June 2nd, continuing through the Main Event No Limit World Championship starting on July 7th. The conclusion of the Main Event on July 15th marked the close of play, and the largest prize in sports an ...
(WSOP), Mizrachi tied the record of seven money finishes in a single year. In the
2008 World Series of Poker
The 2008 World Series of Poker was the 39th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP). Held in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino, the series began on May 30th, 2008, and featured 55 poker championships in several variants. All ...
, he finished third in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha World Championship. In 2010, Mizrachi won his first
bracelet
A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a wikt:supportive, supportive function to hold other items of ...
in
The Poker Player's Championship
The Poker Players Championship is a $50,000 buy-in event at the World Series of Poker (WSOP). Added in the 2010, it replaced the former $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship as the highest-stakes mixed-games event. It is considered among the mo ...
, defeating
Vladimir Shchemelev
Vladimir Shchemelev (born 1972 or 1973) is a Russian banker and professional poker player from St. Petersburg, Russia. He is an online cash game player earning over $1,600,000 playing under the alias GVOZDIKA55 on PokerStars and NEKOTYAN on Full ...
heads-up and winning $1,559,046. His brother
Robert Mizrachi finished 5th in the same event. Later that year, Mizrachi also made the
November Nine
The November Nine was the name used to refer to the final nine contestants, or final table, at the Main Event of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) from 2008 to 2016. The winner of the WSOP Main Event is considered to be the World Champion of Poker. ...
in the Main Event. He would go on to finish 5th, earning $2,332,992, and was eliminated by eventual winner
Jonathan Duhamel
Jonathan Duhamel (born August 24, 1987) is a Canadian poker professional from Boucherville, Quebec, best known as the winner of the Main Event at the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP). He has won 3 WSOP bracelets in his career.
Poker career
Jo ...
. Despite his strong performance at the 2010 WSOP,
Frank Kassela
Frank R. Kassela (born February 26, 1968) is an American professional poker player from Germantown, Tennessee now residing in Las Vegas, who is a three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner. He won two bracelets at the 2010 World Series of ...
was awarded the Player of the Year award based on the pre-existing scoring system. This was controversial because some felt that Mizrachi's year was better, which resulted in a refinement of the scoring system. Mizrachi's success in 2010 led to
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
poker announcer
Norman Chad
Norman A. Chad (born 1958) is an American sportswriter, poker player and syndicated columnist who is seen on the sports channel ESPN. He also was an occasional guest host on the ESPN show ''Pardon the Interruption'' and has appeared as both ho ...
labelling it "The Year of The Grinder".
In 2011, Mizrachi just missed winning another WSOP title when he took 2nd in the $2,500 Omaha/Stud Eight or Better event for $158,148.
At the
2011 WSOPE, Mizrachi won his second
bracelet
A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a wikt:supportive, supportive function to hold other items of ...
in the €10,400 No Limit Hold'em (Split Format) by defeating
Shawn Buchanan in heads up play, earning €336,008.
Mizrachi made three final tables At the
2012 World Series of Poker
The 2012 World Series of Poker was the 43rd annual World Series of Poker (WSOP). It was held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Paradise, Nevada between May 27 – July 16, 2012, with the final table of the Main Event delayed until late Oct ...
and won his second $50,000 Poker Player's Championship title, earning $1,451,527, becoming the event's first 2 time champion in the process.
The
2013 WSOP Africa saw Mizrachi win $3,300 Main Event for $101,267.
In 2018, Mizrachi won the Poker Player's Championship for a record setting 3rd time, earning $1,239,126.
In 2019, Mizrachi won his fifth bracelet in Event #27: Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better, besting a field of 460 players for $142,801.
An "E" following a year denotes bracelet(s) won at the World Series of Poker Europe
=World Poker Tour
=
In January 2005, Mizrachi finished fifth in the
World Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the fi ...
(WPT) World Poker Open at a table also featuring
Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu (; born July 26, 1974) is a Canadian professional poker player who has won six World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and two World Poker Tour (WPT) championship titles. In 2014, independent poker ranking service Global Poker Ind ...
and
Scotty Nguyen
Thuận B. "Scotty" Nguyễn (born October 28, 1962) is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player who is a five-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, most notably as the winner of the 1998 World Series of Poker Main Event and ...
. The next month, he won a first prize of $1,859,909 at the L.A. Poker Classic, defeating a final table including
Ted Forrest
Ted Forrest (born September 24, 1964) is an American professional poker player, currently residing in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Tournament wins
Forrest won three bracelets at the 1993 World Series of Poker (WSOP). After the mid-1990s, Forrest turn ...
and
Erick Lindgren
Erick A. Lindgren (born August 11, 1976, in Burney, California) is an American professional poker player. He has won two World Poker Tour (WPT) titles, two World Series of Poker bracelets, and more than $10,500,000 in tournament earnings during ...
. He also finished 11th place (out of 452 entrants) in the $25,000 WPT Championship.
Cash games
Mizrachi played during the second season of ''
High Stakes Poker
''High Stakes Poker'' is an American cash game poker television program. The poker variant played on the show is no limit Texas hold 'em. The first four seasons ran from January 16, 2006 to December 17, 2007 on GSN. The next three seasons ran fr ...
''.
Awards
He was named 2010 Poker Player of the Year in ALL IN Magazine.
Notes
External links
Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mizrachi, Michael
1981 births
American poker players
World Series of Poker bracelet winners
Sportspeople from Miami
American people of Iraqi-Jewish descent
Living people
World Poker Tour winners
People from Miramar, Florida
Sportspeople from Broward County, Florida