Mike Matusow Branches Out Into Content Creation

Mike Matusow, one of poker’s most colorful characters, has made his long-awaited return to the poker tables at the 2019 World Series of Poker (WSOP) and it was here that Matusow revealed he is branching out into content creation.

Matusow has long being known as “The Mouth”, a nickname given to him thanks to his reputation for trash-talking at the poker table. Matusow’s straight-talking, take-no-prisoners approach to like has led to him being one of the most controversial and entertaining characters in poker and he is hoping this reputation will help push his new venture to a wider audience.

Speaking at the 2019 WSOP, while on dinner break of the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha event where he ultimately finished in 40th place for $6,020, Matusow revealed he is resurrecting “The Mouthpiece”, his popular video series that ran from 2007 to 2010 and featured 70 episodes; you can find them on YouTube.

The 51-year-old has teamed up with his old editor and has already been releasing vlogs from the 2019 WSOP, giving fans a glimpse of his daily routine along with some action from the tournaments he is competing in.

Away from the WSOP, Matusow plans to cover much more than poker, discussing sports, politics and current affairs in addition to creating satirical videos.

The Colorful Life of Mike Matusow

It is fair to say Matusow has lived a varied life so far. Matusow has previously battled with mental health issues and was suffering from bipolar and ADHD disorders that went undiagnosed for a long period of time.

Matusow started self-medicating with illegal drugs, such as crystal meth, ecstasy, and cocaine, which he then began abusing, ultimately leading to his arrest after Matusow attempted to sell ecstasy and prescription painkillers to an undercover police officer.

Six category A Felonies were the charges brought against Matusow and he faced a 10-year stint in jail. A plea deal was reached that saw Matusow spend six months behind bars at Clark County Detention Center. These troubles are well documented in Matusow’s autobiography, Check-Raising The Devil, released in 2009.

Mike Matusow The Poker Player

Take away Matusow’s personal issues and his brash, often expletive-laden trash talking and you have yourself one of the world’s most talented poker players, particularly in non-hold’em tournaments.

You have to go all the way back to 1997 to find the first WSOP cash on Matusow’s resume, a second-place finish in the $2,000 Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better event for $81,700. That sum remained Matusow’s largest cash for two years until he won the first of his four bracelets in the $3,500 No-Limit Hold’em event for $265,475.

Twenty-four months after his first WSOP bracelet victory, Matusow navigated his way to the final table of the 2001 WSOP Main Event, busting in sixth-place for $239,765. He reached the final table of the 2005 WSOP Main Event, too, crashing out in ninth-place for $1 million, which is still Matusow’s most substantial haul.

Matusow got his hands on three other bracelets, one in 2002 when he won the $5,000 Omaha Hi-Low 8 or Better for $148,520, another in 2008 courtesy of triumphing in the $5,000 No Limit 2-7 Draw, with bracelet number four being secured in 2013 following Matusow’s victory in the $5,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo event.

More recently, Matusow has been suffering from a chronic back problem that has prevented him from playing poker full time, which is partly why he is branching out into the poker media, diversifying his income. After cashing for almost $1.1 million in 2013, only cashed for $12,195 in 2014, nothing at all the following year and a mere $40,342 during 2016. Despite playing a limited schedule in 2017-18, Matusow managed to cash for just shy of $420,000 and has added $66,847 so far in 2019.

To date, Matusow has $9,541,234 in live poker tournament winnings and could easily increase that to $10 million before the end of the 2019 WSOP. Even if he doesn’t cash for another cent before the end of the summer, fans of Matusow will no doubt be treated to plenty of rants and highly opinionated views of his fellow poker pros from their favorite player.

Matthew Pitt

If it’s something you can play online for real money, chances are Matthew knows a bit about it. He’s been writing about slots, craps and poker for the better part of the last decade. He’s written for PokerNews, PartyPoker and many other respected online gambling websites during the last nine years.

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