#794 – 2009 WSOP #52 – Seen & Heard #16 – Miami John is ALIVE

Less than two hours ago, at 5:25 PM, I just pulled in a big razz pot at table 161. As I was starting to stack and count the chips, someone yelled, “Man down on the floor!” Someone else, “There’s a player down!” “Oh my god. He’s out!”

I looked to my right, Table 162, and saw Miami John Cernuto, slumped in his chair, eyes closed, arms hanging limply at his sides, the color drained from his face.

Eli Elezra, seated on my left, yelled, “Call 911! Call an ambulance!” He then got up and started yelling around the room to find out if there was a doctor playing somewhere.

Harrah’s floor people quickly started yelling. “Call the paramedic! Stop the clock! All players exit the room!”

That fast, Harrah’s security was around Cernuto’s chair and making sure everyone vacated the area. Fast enough that I never got to finish counting and stacking the chips.

I saw no signs of life in Miami John, and when I returned to the room a few minutes later, he was on the floor, surrounded by paramedics. I didn’t see any movement then either.

But it was just by bad vantage point. (I didn’t get too close.) I saw one of his arms rise, and then fall. I almost felt like crying at that moment. He was still alive.

By 5:45, the paramedics had him loaded on a stretcher and were wheeling him from the room, to the applause of the players. John didn’t look good, but he was talking on his cell phone as they took him out.

I’m hearing people say he has diabetes, it was low blood sugar, he was given a shot by a paramedic and that revived him – but I’m just passing out what I’ve heard.

But thank goodness Miami John is alive.

We restarted at 5:55 PM with 56 minutes left in the level. I had, after counting, 61,300. When we went on dinner break, I was up to 68,700. The average is, I think, a little under 50k.

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