Mike Sexton, the most recognizable and influential personality in the modern world of poker, died Sunday due to prostate cancer at the age of 72.
He was an American professional poker player and commentator. Sexton was a member of the Poker Hall of Fame. He served as one-half of a commentary team for the World Poker Tour along with Vince Van Patten.
In 2017, Sexton retired to become the chairman of the online poker platform – PartyPoker. He had been an influential figure during PartyPoker’s launch in 2001 – an era that saw tournament prize pools balloon by millions of dollars.
In a video release, Van Patten said, “Mike Sexton, one of my great gambling friends and one of my best friends forever — just a stand-up, wonderful person — has gone. But he’s not, because the whole poker world knows and loves him.”
As a poker player, Sexton had over $6.7 million in live tournament results, including a 1989 World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet win in seven-card stud hi-lo and a 2016 World Poker Tour (WPT) title won in Montreal.
In addition, he made 23 WSOP final tables over the course of his playing career. He finished on ninth place in the inaugural $1 million buy-in “Big One for One Drop” event in 2012.
Born on September 22, 1947, Sexton was a gymnast and attended The Ohio State University where he earned a degree in public recreation after changing majors from the business.
Sexton, who was often known as the “ambassador of poker,” once joked that he majored in poker as he used to pay very frequently in college. He also used to play contract bridge and take classes on it in North Carolina. In 1970, Sexton joined the U.S. Army as a paratrooper assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division that had just returned from Vietnam, so he never saw any action.
