Poker Pro Michael Mizrachi Owes $339K in Back Taxes

Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi finds himself in a real serious bind these days.  The Sun Sentinel out of Fort Lauderdale reports that Mizrachi owes $339,000 in back taxes and lost his Hollywood, Florida home to foreclosure via an online auction last week.   Another home in Miramur was foreclosed on in March, and is up for sale next week, according to court records. Both properties were assessed this year at less than half of their purchase price.

Mizrachi is part of Team UB.com, one of the biggest online poker rooms.  The poker pro enjoyed great success during the 2005 World Series of Poker, contributing to his nearly $7 million in career winnings. 

The debts come from mismanagement of poker winnings, said Mizrachi, who said he fired his accountant and "hired a better one."

"They were doing a bad job," he said. "I'm working on [settling the liens]."

Poker pro Marc Levy of Boynton Beach defended Mizrachi:  "If you're in a $10,000 event every other week, that's $240,000 just for buy-in, not to mention all your expenses. There are plenty of guys I know who do well playing poker but still go through their money."

Ace King, Gambling911.com