John Cernuto
January 29, 2008
“Miami” John Cernuto (born January 10, 1944 in Jersey City, New Jersey) is an American professional poker player based in Las Vegas, Nevada, specialising in Omaha hi-lo events.
Early years
Before embarking on his poker career, Cernuto graduated Florida State University as a finance major. After graduating, he worked as an air traffic controller. When Ronald Reagan fired the air traffic controllers during a 1981 strike, he turned to poker for his profession.
World Series of Poker
He made his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) final table in the 1989 World Series of Poker in the $5,000 seven-card stud, finishing fourth in an event also featuring David Sklansky, Humberto Brenes and Gabe Kaplan.
Another five WSOP money finishes followed before he won his first bracelet in the 1996 WSOP $1,500 seven card stud split tournament. He also won the $2,000 nolimit hold’em event in the 1997 World Series of Poker and the $1,500 limit omaha event in the 2002 World Series of Poker.
Cernuto made an impressive three final tables in the 2006 World Series of Poker, two in 7 Card Stud and one in Razz.
Bracelets
| Year | Tournament | Prize (US$) |
|---|---|---|
| 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
In 2003, he won the third World Heads-Up Poker Championship in Vienna, outlasting a field including Ivo Donev, Ram Vaswani, Dave Colclough, Scotty Nguyen and Padraig Parkinson on the way to the €60,000 grand prize.
Cernuto has also made one World Poker Tour (WPT) final table at the 2005 PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure event won by John Gale.
As of 2007, his total live tournament winnings exceed $4,200,000.
Blackjack
Cernuto has made appearances on the Ultimate Blackjack Tour, making a final table in the Elimination Blackjack event.
Personal life
Cernuto is married. He has a son, Tony, who is also a poker player and a daughter, Deborah.
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