Poker Profiles: John Cernuto
"Miami" John Cernuto is a magnificent Omaha Hi-Lo player. As opposed to his misleading nickname, John is actually from New Jersey. He was born on January 10, 1944 in Jersey City, schooled in Florida, and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada when things with Poker are starting to pose a promising future.
John was a Finance major at the Florida State University. After earning his degree, he worked as an air traffic controller. When former president Ronald Reagan fired air traffic controllers in 1981, John was forced to turn his mind to Poker. John's first try at the prestigious World Series of Poker final table was during the 1989 event. Prior to that, he had made several unsuccessful appearances not just in WSOP but in many other tournaments as well. 1989 WSOP eventually became a memorable one because it was where John was able to brush elbows with Humberto Brenes, David Sklansky, and Gabe Kaplan.
After that career milestone, John proceeded to gain several money finishes. In 1996, he won his first WSOP bracelet at a $1,500 seven card stud split tournament. The euphoric feeling of finally getting a bracelet for himself was sure worth the long wait, especially since he is able to earn enough cash to support his family while waiting. John duplicated that bracelet-clad win in 1997, this time he got it from the $2,000 No Limit Hold'em event. His third WSOP bracelet, meanwhile, was won on a $1,500 Limit Omaha event during the 2002 series.
To top off his bracelet wins, John has appeared in no less than three final tables at the 2006 series, two of which was in Seven Card Stud while the other was in Razz.
Aside from his achievements at the WSOP, John also made distinguishable marks at the World Poker Tour and the World Heads-Up Poker Championship respectively. His total winnings of late amounted to over $4 million. John is also a certified mover at Blackjack tournaments. In fact, he made a final table at an Elimination blackjack event.
On a different note, John earned his nickname "Miami" during a Seven Card Stud event in Las Vegas. He was supposedly to enter under his initials, J.C., but upon realizing that there are too many players entering under that name, he decided to add Miami to John. He went on to win that event and since then, he became accustomed to using the name Miami John.
