Mike Sexton’s Life: Net Worth, Losses and Private Life

Mike Sexton was an American professional poker player, commentator, and one of the greatest ambassadors the game has ever produced. Born on September 22, 1947 in Shelby, Indiana, he passed away on September 6, 2020 at the age of 72 after a long battle with prostate cancer. He had $6.7 million in live tournament earnings, one WSOP gold bracelet, one World Poker Tour title, and a Poker Hall of Fame induction in 2009. His estimated net worth at the time of his passing was between $5 million and $15 million - a figure complicated significantly by an estimated $500 million in partypoker shares he sold too early.

You can view his poker profile on Somuchpoker here .

He was the voice of the WPT for its entire original television run, a founding consultant at partypoker who later became its Chairman, and the man who created the WSOP Tournament of Champions. Daniel Negreanu described him as someone who “always put a good face on poker.” Phil Hellmuth called him “one of the biggest ambassadors for poker we’ve ever had.” Nolan Dalla went further: “Mike Sexton is simply one of the most important people in the history of the game.”

Mike Sexton | Key Facts

Who Was Mike Sexton?

Sexton grew up in Shelby, Indiana, with his mother - a dance teacher - after his parents divorced when he was four. He and his brother attended her classes and became capable dancers. He also excelled in gymnastics. A neighbour’s kid taught him to play poker at 13, and he lost a week’s pocket money in one session - an early education in the cost of playing.

At Ohio State University, where he studied public recreation, he spent most of his time playing cards. In 1970 he joined the US Army as a paratrooper, deployed without seeing combat, and taught ballroom dancing on the side to earn extra money. After his discharge he married, moved to North Carolina, and worked as a salesman - but found himself making more from home games than from his job. The marriage broke down. He moved toward poker.

In 1977 he headed to Las Vegas with $2,500 to his name. After final-tabling two of three events at his first WSOP in 1984, he made a promise to himself never to miss another and moved to Las Vegas permanently. He never did miss one.

He was known as one of the closest friends of Stu Ungar - one of the most gifted and tragic figures in the history of the game - and served as both a pallbearer and speaker at Ungar’s funeral.

What Did Mike Sexton Do for a Living?

Sexton’s income came from poker, television, media, and an early involvement with partypoker that shaped - and at one point could have transformed - his financial picture.

• Live Tournaments: A steady performer across four decades, with $6.7 million in live earnings. He won his bracelet in 1989, his WSOP Tournament of Champions for $1 million in 2006, cashed for $1.109 million in the first Big One for One Drop in 2012, and finally won his WPT title in November 2016 at the partypoker WPT Montreal.
• WPT Commentary: The voice of the World Poker Tour from Season 1 in 2002 until his health deteriorated. His commentary style - alongside Vince Van Patten - defined how televised tournament poker sounded and felt during the game’s most explosive growth era.
• partypoker: A founding consultant at the site from 2001, involved in the creation of its software from the outset. He later became Chairman. He sold his partypoker shares earlier than optimal and by his own estimation left approximately $500 million on the table. He did not regret it, comparing it to a poker hand and deliberately avoiding results-oriented thinking about past decisions.
• Writing and Media: A regular contributor to CardPlayer Magazine. The visibility that platform gave him helped him promote his vision of poker as a televised spectator sport - a vision that predated the hole-card camera era and that he was instrumental in making reality.
• PokerGives.org: Co-founded the non-profit organisation to make it easier for poker players to give to charitable causes.

Mike Sexton Net Worth - What the Numbers Actually Show

The $5 million to $15 million estimate is a range that almost certainly understates what Sexton could have been worth. The partypoker story is central to understanding his financial picture. As a founding consultant who was present from the creation of the software in 2001, Sexton had equity in a site that became one of the largest online poker operations in the world during the mid-2000s boom. He sold his shares too early and estimates he left roughly $500 million in value on the table.

He did not dwell on it. By his own account, he compared it to folding a hand that would have won - a decision made with the information available at the time, evaluated correctly given what he knew. Whether or not that framing is entirely accurate, it is true that the decision did not leave him in financial difficulty. He remained active, continued to earn from poker and from his partypoker chairmanship, and returned to the WPT as a commentator.

His $6.7 million in live earnings, combined with decades of sponsorship, media income, partypoker consulting and chairmanship fees, and writing work, produced a comfortable but not spectacular financial position relative to what his partypoker equity could have produced.

Mike Sexton’s Tournament Record – Top Career Scores

The WPT Title He Waited 14 Years For: Sexton commentated on the World Poker Tour from its very first televised event in 2002. In November 2016 - fourteen years later - he won his first WPT title, taking down the partypoker WPT Montreal Main Event for $317,817. The entire WPT staff celebrated with him.

The partypoker Story

Sexton was involved with partypoker from 2001 - before the site launched publicly - as a founding consultant who contributed to the development of the software itself. He became the public face of the site and eventually its Chairman.

His decision to sell his shares before the site reached its peak valuation is one of the most discussed “what ifs” in poker business history. The estimate of $500 million in value left unrealised reflects partypoker’s trajectory during the early 2000s online poker boom, when it briefly became the largest online poker room in the world.

In May 2017 he returned to the chairmanship of partypoker, remaining involved with the organisation that he had helped found until his health declined.

The Tournament of Champions

In 1999, Sexton conceived the idea for the WSOP Tournament of Champions - an invitational event restricted to WSOP bracelet holders, designed as a prestigious freeroll that would celebrate the game’s elite. The event ran annually from 2004 to 2010. In 2006, Sexton himself won it for $1 million - a result that had particular meaning given that he had created the concept.

The Unanswered Questions

The public record only goes so far. Here is what we genuinely do not know:

• The precise terms and timing of the partypoker share sale: The $500 million estimate of foregone value is Sexton’s own. The actual sale price and timing have never been publicly disclosed in full.
• What his partypoker chairmanship compensation looked like: He served as Chairman across two periods. The commercial terms were never publicly disclosed.
• The full scope of his WPT commentary earnings: Fourteen years of television work for one of the most-watched poker productions in the world represents significant income that no tournament database captures.
• What the sports betting difficulties of his peak career years cost him financially: He acknowledged having struggled with sports betting at the height of his career. The scale is not publicly known.

Mike Sexton Career Timeline

The Legacy

Mike Sexton’s contributions to poker extend well beyond his $6.7 million in live earnings. He was the first player at the WSOP with a sponsorship deal. He co-founded PokerGives.org to channel poker’s charitable potential. He created the Tournament of Champions. He helped build partypoker from its founding. And for fourteen years, his voice - welcoming viewers to “the World Poker Tour” - was the sound of the game at its most watchable.

The hole-card camera changed televised poker. Sexton championed it. The WPT brought the game to mainstream television. Sexton was its face. The Moneymaker boom drew millions of new players. Sexton was already there, waiting for them, having believed it would happen long before it did.

Playing a charity event tonight @FourSeasons in Las Vegas for The Nat’l Center for Missing & Exploited Children. First class event for a good cause. Just ♥️ poker tourn’s can help benefit those in need. pic.twitter.com/qidp9FzFrl

- Mike Sexton (@Mike_partypoker) January 11, 2019

Social Media & Online Presence

• The Hendon Mob Profile
• X (Twitter) Profile

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