By Paul Seaton
Mike Sexton is a huge part of World Poker Tour history and has been for some time. For 15 seasons, he was alongside Vince Van Patten in the commentary booth, bringing the action to life. During his time as a commentator, Sexton would enter WPT Main Events and did so in Montreal in Season XV. He went on to win it for $ 317,817, the third-biggest result of his career.
“It was so exciting I can’t even tell you,” says Sexton now, looking back on his win three years ago. “It was a great run and I loved the World Poker Tour. Tony [Dunst] took over my place and he’s been with the WPT doing his segment for a long time. He was a WPT champion himself so it was nice that I could join him in that. Tony and Vince are great; you can just feel their excitement with every hand that I was involved with.”
Sexton’s success in Montreal captured the imagination of both Tony Dunst and Vince Van Patten, as their former colleague came back from multiple situations where he needed to catch cards.
“I was very lucky in that tournament. Four times I was all-in and at risk with the worst hand and somehow sucked out to stay alive,” says Sexton with his trademark smile. “With 49 players left, I was a little below average. A guy raised and I picked up two black nines and moved in. Jake Schwartz, who’s a phenomenal player, moved all-in over the top of me for more chips than I did, then the original raiser called.”
Already behind, it was about to get even worse for Sexton.
“The original raiser had ace-king of diamonds and Jake Schwartz had two aces. The flop comes 10-7-3 with two diamonds. Out comes a five of clubs. On the river, I can only win with one out and boom, the nine of hearts comes out.”
Sexton tripled up, and at the break – and at every subsequent break in the event – he was told that he’d win the tournament by a WPT producer so many times that ‘he finally convinced me that I might have a chance to win it.’
The event had looked beyond him, but with a dozen players left, Sexton enjoyed another slice of luck.
“Ema Zajmovic from Canada, who dominated that tournament like nobody I’ve ever seen, was a big chip leader. Ema raised it up, like she did most pots and I looked down at king-queen and moved all-in. She called me with ace-queen and I spiked a king to stay alive.”
As the players reduced further, Sexton found himself at the final. Down to six, Zajmovic was sitting to his direct left with a mountain of chips.
“Luckily for me, she didn’t have a very good final table. She bluffed at the wrong time, she lost a lot of chips and ended up going out in fifth. Jake Schwartz went out in sixth and I was so happy to both of those players went out, honestly.”
Sexton got heads-up with Benny Chen and saw his opponent win the first six hands of their heads-up battle.
“I thought ‘This is going to be the shortest heads-up ever!’ I moved all-in with ace-four and he had ace-queen. I spiked a four to survive. We played a very long match, 157 hands I think, and I think I took the lead in the 156th hand, and then in the 157th hand, I busted him.”
Chen moved all-in with king-jack and Sexton looked down at a pair of queens.
“I said ‘Yes! I call.’ I won the championship and the belt. During the tournament, I got a picture of the Championship belt and texted it to my son. He said ‘I want you to win that!’. I did and I gave it to him.”
Sexton was surrounded by well-wishers from the World Poker Tour. His excitement at winning was almost matched by the sense of relief.
“The WPT crew were rooting for me so hard. I felt pressure ‘cause I wanted to win so bad for all of them. It was just so cool to get the support from the crew. It was the memory of the lifetime. When you win the title, you’re eligible for the [WPT] Tournament of Champions, which I created back in the 90’s, so to be eligible for it the rest of my life I thought was so cool.”
Many people asked Sexton what he did differently in that tournament.
“The truth is I didn’t do anything differently; I just got lucky in key spots when I needed to get lucky. I’ve become a firm believer that when it’s your time to win, you’ll win and that was my time to win it.”
Sexton loves the Playground Poker Club and can’t wait to go back to what he calls his favorite cardroom as a former champion.
“I’m excited to be going back to try and win the same event again. You’re always excited to go back to a place where you’ve won. You have good vibes, it feels like going home.”
Just a couple of weeks ago, Sexton had the opportunity to catch up with his old presenting partner and long-time friend, Vince Van Patten at the Las Vegas screening of his recent movie, 7 Days to Vegas.
“I went to the original viewing in L.A. and they just had one in Vegas. It seemed even more fun and better to me the second time around, which is weird. He worked so hard on it, and it’s incredible how much work it takes to get a movie out there.”
While Sexton enjoyed the movie, he thinks it will appeal to poker players and fans of related movies of all ages.
“It’s an independent film and it’s on Amazon and iTunes. It’s worth a view for anybody who likes gambling, poker or hustling stories. It’s been called a combination of The Sting and The Hangover. It’s a fine movie and I think poker players will enjoy it.”
Mike Sexton can’t wait to play on the WPT again when he returns to his favorite card room.
“I love everybody on the World Poker Tour, it was one of the most fun times of my life there. If I win, I might be the oldest players to ever win one, Doyle has the record, but I might surpass him if I win now. Playing every WPT event is exciting!”
There’s still time to join Mike Sexton and other Champions Club members at the WPT Montreal Main Event between October 29-November 3 and try to get your name on the famous trophy.