"Miami" John Cernuto is a true ironman of the live poker tournament circuit. The longtime grinder holds the record and a sizable lead for the most cashes ever with 540 and counting. To put that into perspective, 16-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth has just shy of 350.  

Cernuto, who has three WSOP bracelets of his own, is now 78 years old but is still out on the tournament trail recording cashes. Just last week he made two final tables in Las Vegas, before hitting the road to California and Texas to find some more action.  

With more than 60 posted wins under his belt and hundreds of final tables, perhaps no one else was more suited to writing a book about the subject of deal making in tournaments. Cernuto recently teamed up with Card Player columnist Dr. Alan Schoonmaker and Jan Siroky for Make Better Poker Tournament Deals, available now on Amazon.

Highlights from this interview include getting his nickname at the Stardust, the call of the racetrack, check-raising his mother, tracking planes in the '70s, being a stress junkie, getting fired by President Reagan, winning two live tournaments at the same time, money over bracelets, getting one of the first online poker sponsorships, playing $500-$1,000 with a Prince of Arabia, repossessing Larry Csonka's car, being a professional accordion player, poker endurance, the lucky lemon bowl, the scorpion house, and the guy he thinks will breaks his cash record.