Mike Sexton was born in Shelby, Indiana. He was a college gymnast. He graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in Public Recreation then joined the U.S. Army, where he served as a paratrooper. He had always played poker for fun, but he began playing it professionally in 1977. He played regionally, but as he was also a Little League baseball coach, his coaching schedule interfered with his ability to travel for major poker tournaments. In 1985, he shifted all of his focus to poker, and relocated to Nevada to play full-time. He went on to win multiple major tournaments including one World Series of Poker bracelet. He won over $5.8 million from his poker matches over the years. He was also the host of the World Poker Tour, and the spokesman for PartyPoker.com. PartyPoker Stock Sale: Mike was somewhat infamous for selling his shares in PartyPoker a year and a half before the company went public. Mike sold his shares for $15 million. After the company went public at a $9 billion valuation, those same shares would have been worth over $500 million.