Mike Sexton

Mike Sexton was an American poker player and commentator. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2009.

Over the course of his career he won a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet and World Poker Tour title, and was a long-time commentator for the World Poker Tour alongside Vince van Patten.

Sexton passed away in September 2020 from prostate cancer aged 72. Shortly before his death, the WPT Champions Cup was renamed to the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup.

Biography

Sexton was born in Indiana in 1947. He attended Ohio State University on a gymnastics scholarship. He served with the US Army’s 82nd Airborne Division from 1970 to 1972 before working as a sales rep. In 1977 he turned professional and in 1985 he moved permanently to Las Vegas.

In 1989, Sexton took down the $1,500 Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo event at the WSOP for over $100,000 to claim his first gold bracelet.

Here are some of his other poker tournament titles and achievements:

• 1992 Foxwood's World Poker Finals
• 1996 Four Queens Poker Classic
• 1997 Four Queens Poker Classic
• 2000 Grand Prix de Paris
• 2006 WSOP Tournament of Champions

Before the Game: Mike Sexton

partypoker Chairman

Sexton left the World Poker Tour commentary booth in 2017 to become chairman of partypoker. He would later say these were "the two best jobs in poker".

Sexton had a long history with partypoker, as he'd been a part of the team when it grew into a giant of the industry in the years prior to anti-poker legislation passing in the U.S. In fact, he's been credited with coming up with the name.

"I was at partypoker from the start, before there was even a name or a single virtual card was dealt," he said. "I experienced the crazy times of the poker boom when we became the No. 1 site in the world. I remember people sleeping on the office floor when we were all working 24/7 to get the software launched, and I remember the first partypoker Million on a cruise ship which overlaid $500K."