Mike Matusow Documentary Debuts and it is as Raw as He is

That alone is enough for the 56-year-old former poker dealer from Los Angeles to have a documentary made about him.

Throw in that he has earned over $10 million in live poker tournament winnings in his career, including one tourney win that netted him a cool million dollars, and that he has made the final table of the WSOP Main Event, and you’ve got quite a successful career to chronicle.

And of course, there’s that nickname, “The Mouth,” earned for his outspoken and controversial views on everything poker and non-poker.

Add all up and it’s the basis for a new two-hour documentary called “Matusow” that is just out and available for viewing on Amazon Prime Video.

Gambling 911 screened the doc and then spoke to Matusow, who was a producer on the project, about how it has been received.

First off, no matter how big a fan of Matusow you may be, if you are faint of heart, this documentary may not be for you.

That’s because some scenes in the doc are so brutally raw and honest—such as scenes where family members talk about Mike—
that they make typical reality television or cinema verite seem tame in comparison.

Matusow had a film crew follow him around for the past three years, documenting all aspects of his exciting but sometimes cringe-worthy life.

We see Mike competing at the World Series of Poker, and we also see him cleaning the litter box for his pet cat.

A key part of the documentary is where “The Mouth” explains the origin of the back problems he has suffered which led him to an addiction to pain pills.

He says he took a wild car ride with fellow poker pro Dan Bilzerian driving that injured his back, leading to a life of constant doctors’ visits (some of which we see), MRIs, pain pills, physical therapy, massages and riding in a mobility scooter when pain made him unable to walk.

He doesn’t talk about his arrest for drug dealing or his time spent in jail—the documentary isn’t a biopic, and he has addressed those aspects of his life in his autobiography, written several years ago.

What we do see that is fresh—and sometimes raw—are interviews with Mike’s long-estranged mother and brother.

We learn that Mike has not visited his mother in years, even though they both live in the Las Vegas area.

We also learn that he hasn’t spoken to his brother in many years.

So what is the source of the friction?

Many things, we learn.

Mom and Bro may be jealous of Mike's $ucce$$.

And Mike may have stolen money from his mom and not repaid a loan, in addition to never helping his brother financially.

But the biggest bone of contention for Mike’s mother and brother was the fact that Mike refused to visit his dying father at the end of his life when he was in hospice.

The anger and resentment exhibited by these family members in discussing the situation was raw and real, disturbing and cringe-worthy, which is exactly what the creators of the film were striving for.

In his defense, Mike said he initially visited his father, but stopped doing so when the visits became abusive.

He also said intense back pain often had prevented him from visiting.

Other scenes in the movie are more lighthearted, such as when the never-married Mike removes all his clothing except his underwear and dances with strippers at a local strip club in Las Vegas.

We also hear him as he laments not yet being elected to the Poker Hall of Fame.

If you are a cardhead, there is plenty of poker pro glitterati in the doc.

Fellow professional poker players Dan “Kid Poker” Negreanu, Phil “Poker Brat” Helmuth, Jr. and Greg “Fossil Man” Raymer, friends of Matusow, are interviewed, and there are cameo appearances by poker pros Shaun Deeb, Scotty Nguyen, Johnny “The Orient Express” Chan, Todd Brunson and Brian Rast.

Movie star James Woods, an avid poker player, also appears.

The documentary was written and directed by Frank Zarrillo.

Eric Landrum, Zarrillo and Matusow are the executive producers.

In an exclusive interview with Gambling 911 earlier this week, Matusow said the documentary, which has only been out for a few weeks, has so far been well received.

“I have received a lot of feedback from others in the poker world, as well as members of the general public, and it has all been positive,” Matusow told Gambling 911.

“Everyone has said they liked it, no one has said they didn’t like it.

“One of the things people have told me over and over again is that they liked how raw and how real the documentary was, especially the scenes with my family.

“Some of it was pretty brutal, but it was real life, and that’s what the people who watched the documentary really appreciated.”

Matusow added that the documentary has been getting good reviews in the media.

A Hollywood-style movie premiere was held last year in Las Vegas for the doc and was attended by many notables from the poker world, as well as other Vegas celebrities.

“Matusow” is currently available for viewing on Amazon Prime Video for just $1.99.