The two-time WSOP champion Michael ’The Grinder’ Mizrachi has gotten himself in serious financial trouble. Despite his $7,000,000 career winnings, even his house is getting sold by auction.
Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi
Michael first appeared at live tournaments in 2004, and in the next two years he became a determinative player in poker: he won the LA Poker Classic in 2005 and got into the money seven times at the WSOP. In 2006, he won the Borgata Winter Open and collected two other WSOP money finishes. His full live career winnings make up $7,118,043.
In spite of piling up these huge amounts of money, Mizrachi has also collected $339,711 in tax debts and it seems that he has barely any money left. Last week, he and his brother auctioned their mutual flat, but that is not all: he will soon be selling his Miramar real-estate as well.
The debts stem from Mizrachi’s bad way of handling winnings. According to Sun Sentinel, Michael has said farewell to his accountant and signed a contract with another firm to handle his assets. Besides this, he acquired most of his success as a backed player, which means that his true winnings are probably around three million dollars.
The travels having a serious effect on his purse, Mizrachi now spends his time playing online and looking after his three children.
The poker professional Marc Levy, who is considered as a close friend to Michael, was not surprised by the recent news:
"If you’re in a $10,000 event every other week, that’s $240,000 just for buy-in, not to mention all your expenses. There are plenty of guys I know who do well playing poker but still go through their money. Michael is one of these. He is still an outstanding player, so there is no need to worry, all he needs is one big prize and all will be settled…"
