Mizrachi Plays for Family Pride in Poker Finals

LAS VEGAS (Nov. 6) -- Plenty of poker players say they were born gamblers. In the case of World Series of Poker contender Michael Mizrachi and his three poker-pro brothers, it may even be true.

Mizrachi is one of the nine finalists who survived an initial field of 7,319 in July to vie this weekend for the $8.9 million top prize in the 41st WSOP Main Event. He is also part of a unique foursome of siblings from Miami whose parents were themselves intensive gamblers and card players. Their mother in particular offered a startling openness and tolerance for her young sons' fascination with betting games.

"While the kids were growing up, (Mizrachi's father) Ezra would hit a lot of jackpots" on the slot machines at Seminole Casino in Hollywood, Fla., mom Susan Laufer Mizrachi told AOL News.

"We'd go there every night, spend all night there. Every single night, " she continued. "And we'd plug in thousands, literally thousands. He used to always hit jackpots, $40,000, $30,000, $28,000. And Ezra would say, 'Don't tell the kids we won all this money because then they're going to want to be gamblers.' But I would go home and say, 'Guys, I'll buy you anything you want, we won this big jackpot.' "

Lots of folks might have wanted to send in Child Protective Services in for a look-see, but two decades later the Mizrachi men have raked in millions of dollars on the professional poker circuit. In fact, they made history this year when all four "cashed" or won money in the tournament that MIchael Mizrachi could win outright. (The top 747 players won at least $19,263, a profit over the $10,000 entry fee.) Michael Mizrachi, 29, also had won $1.6 million in another of the 57 events that make up the whole World Series of Poker.

Susan Mizrachi found it entertaining that her boys -- Robert, Michael, Eric and Donny -- played card games with one another with money they claimed they needed for school supplies. When she found out the truth, she was more amused than irate.

In the late 1990s, she bought the boys computers they said they needed for school work and soon discovered her teenage sons were betting-and winning-big bucks on poker websites. They got themselves cell phones, a rarity at the time for teens, and she'd overhear them asking one another to transfer $5,000 or $10,000. At one point, one of the boys called the bank on speakerphone and she heard the automated voice indicate he had a balance of $28,000.

"Did it worry me?" she said. "They were doing good in school -- I wouldn't say they were A students, but that was because they were interested in making money. Their father would always brag, 'Hey, look, I make more money than doctors.' So, the kids learned to value the mighty dollar. I can't say they worried me, though, because I made sure they got their reports out, I made sure they went to school on time, I picked them up every day, I took them to the library, I did my part."

Now, her unconventional approach is really paying off. At noon PDT today, she and the other three brothers will be rallying in the stands as Michael takes his seat in seventh place for the No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em tournament finale on the stage of the Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio Las Vegas resort.

The so-called "November Nine" will play until all but two are eliminated. Then play reconvenes at 8 p.m. PDT on Monday until there's a winner of the richest and most prestigious crown in the game. All nine received their minimum $980,000 payout before they left Las Vegas in July. An edited version of all that play is scheduled to air on ESPN on Tuesday night. (Follow Steve Friess' live Tweeting from the action.)

Michael' Mizrachi's storyline has been reality-show-style fodder for ESPN's serialized broadcasts this fall of the first weeks of the tournament leading up to its Final Table coverage next week.

"He does have a lot of different themes rolling through him," World Series of Poker spokesman Seth Palansky said. "He can become the all-time winningest poker player in tournament history. He can capture the co-player of the year. He's one of four brothers to cash. He was already the most recognizable pro of this group."

He's also been on a bit of a whirlwind, heavily sought after for appearances, interviews and sponsorships.

"I went to Israel, to Cyprus for a tournament, to Romania, then I flew to the U.K. to stop, then back to Miami and to New York, back to the United Kingdom, I filmed a few shows, then I was tired of the U.K. so I decided to fly to the Austria where my grandfather was born," he said. "From there, I took a tour of Slovakia, went to Hungary, to France for a poker tournament. And now, in a blink of an eye, I'm back in Vegas. I'm tired."

The Mizrachi tale may have fascinated the media and poker worlds, but there are other players left with better shots at the prize. There are six Americans, two Canadians and an Italian in the hunt, the chip leader being Jonathan Duhamel, 23, of Quebec. Three of the Americans, like Mizrachi, are from Florida, including Tampa resident John Racener, who is in fourth place. Players from 92 nations were among the original field.

Playing in Mizrachi's shadow is a mixed blessing, said Racener, also a professional player of some repute.

"If he didn't make the Final Table, I would be the one with the big name on the cover of all the magazines," he told AOL News. "I think it would be more exciting for me. But we're starting to think it might be a lot of pressure on him. He's only seventh in chips and the odds are heavily not in his favor."

That he's so far behind actually makes the situation easier, Mizrachi insisted. The four-month break has already helped him land new sponsorships, and he's trademarked his poker nickname, "The Grinder," so he can, among other things, put out an iPhone app.

"My career's already exploded by making it this far," said the married father of three. "It'll explode a lot more if I win it. I can't complain. Of course I want to win it but of course I'll just move on to the next tournament. This could be only once in a lifetime, so you have go out and enjoy it."

[LISTEN TO STEVE FRIESS' INTERVIEW WITH SUSAN LAUFER MIZRACHI.]