A Miami native nicknamed "The Grinder" won the biggest trophy in professional poker early this morning, outlasting a Russian pro in a marathon 14-hour battle at the Poker Player's Championship at the World Series of Poker.
Michael Mizrachi, a 29-year-old from North Miami Beach, finished off Vladimir Schmelev just before 4 a.m. with a Queen-5 and a 5 on the turn.Mizrachi, a former dealer at the Seminole Hard Rock, won a $1.56 million pot and a World Series bracelet by outlasting 116 other players in the $50,000-buy-in tournament.
It was Mizrachi's first tournament win, but he's hardly an unknown on the tour -- according to the AP, he's already earned $7.2 million in winnings and picked up two World Poker Tour titles.
Mizrachi's older brother, Robert, finished fifth after Michael eliminated him, earning more than $340,000.
Hours before the late-night finish, Schmelev was just one card away from finishing off Mizrachi, according to the Las Vegas Sun.
Mizrachi was down three chips to one, but rallied to force Schmelev into gambling the last of his stack on the final hand.
"The Grinder" was born in North Miami Beach in 1981 and dropped out of college to turn pro. He and his family now live in Hollywood.
