Sexton's Cards Weren't Live, and His Opponent Was the Monster

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Level 15 : 1,200/2,400, 400 ante

Mike Sexton on Day 1b of the 2014 WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open Main Event

Laz Hernandez is an amateur player with little to no experience under the World Poker Tour spotlight, while Mike Sexton is... Mike Sexton.

In addition to his presence as the Ambassador of Poker - showcasing the game's good side to a global audience for over a decade as host of the WPT's groundbreaking broadcasts - Sexton is no slouch on the felt. He nearly took down his second WSOP bracelet last summer, finishing as the runner-up in a $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low-8 or Better event.

Despite the disparity in skill and experience between Sexton and Hernandez, the beauty of poker is that anybody can beat anybody else on one particular hand - although Sexton might not think so after his last hand of the night.

Sexton raised to 15,000 before the flop, Hernandez flatted the bet along with another player, and the flop rolled out . Holding , Sexton shoved for his last 40,000 and Hernandez actually laughed a little bit while beating him into the pot and tabling for quad nines. Sexton's famous wish that "all your cards be live and your pots be monsters" had abandoned him for at least this hand, as he was drawing about as close to dead as one can be.

The flop and turn failed to deliver the 1000:1 long shot and Sexton was off to prep for his announcing duties later this week. Hernandez, meanwhile, continued to gobble up chips at a startling rate, as the Day 1 chip leader threatens to make it a wire-to-wire performance here today.