Mixed game poker tournament legend John Anthony Cernuto, aka “Miami John,” passed away on Monday from colon cancer.

The 81-year-old New Jersey-born poker player had been in hospice care at his Las Vegas home. He leaves behind two adult children and many friends and adoring fans within the poker community.

PokerNews reported last week that Cernuto, who once held the record for most live tournament cashes, had entered hospice care. He spent his final days with loved ones by his side.

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Cernuto had 597 live tournament cashes, tops among the nearly 700,000 players tracked on The Hendon Mob. Roland Israelashvili is in second place with 574 cashes. Ari Engel, who just won a LA Poker Classic event, is in third place at 565 cashes.

“Miami John,” born January 10, 1944 in Jersey City, New Jersey, racked up over $6.4 million in live tournament earnings. He won three World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and two World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) rings, and had over $2 million in WSOP cashes. The list of accomplishments also includes 85 known tournament wins.

Cernuto, a former air traffic controller who took up poker in the early 1980s after being fired by President Ronald Reagan, made an impact on the game in more ways than just his play. He inspired many others to take up the game and served as a mentor for players such as actor James Woods, a Los Angeles mixed game player and a WSOP regular.

Woods, who considered Cernuto one of his close friends, made a strong case last summer for “Miami John” to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, in an interview with PokerNews.

“When I went to M.I.T., the first thing they said when you go through orientation, the one of the professors here said, ‘you may not learn a lot of facts here, but you’re going to learn how to think.’ What (Cernuto) taught me to do is how to think about poker. John thinks about poker better than anyone I’ve ever met in my life. Maybe Ari Engel also, and I know Ari very well, he’s a good friend,” Woods said.

Woods, who nearly lost his home in the Los Angeles wildfires last month, praised his friend’s accomplishments on the felt and the impact he had on the game as reasons why he should be in the HOF. The co-star of the 1990s box office hit, Casino, paid tribute to his late friend on X.

Cernuto leaves behind an impeccable reputation within the poker community as a player and also a friend and mentor to so many, including Woods, who credits his growth as a poker player to his late friend. PokerNews would like to send our condolences to the friends and family of the great “Miami” John Cernuto.

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