Steve
Ford Moved into 1st Place
Early and never Looked Back
The
end is near. Who will be crowned the 2003
Four Queens Champion and take home $188,180?
The
action started at 1:10 with $1,000-$2,000
blinds and a $300 ante. If you are lucky
enough to steal the blinds and antes that
adds $5,400 to your stack.
The
button was on the short stack Peter Costa
with $17,700. On the second hand of play
Peter moved all-in and picked up the antes
and blinds.
Two
hands later Peter pushed all-in again
and Dan Harrington called. Peter showed
A-10 of hearts and Dan turned over A-K
of diamonds. The board came 2h-4s-Qc-3s-7c
and Peter was forced to take a ninth place
finish. Peter received $9,410.
At
1:35 p.m. Thor Hansen pushed his remaining
$20,000 into the pot and Randall Skaggs
came over the top with $40,000. Thor showed
A-Q and Randall turned over K-K. The board
came 9-3-9-4-9 and Randall took the pot
with nines full. Thor had to settle for
an eighth place finish and $11,760 in
cash.
At
the end of level 10 Kirk Conrad had the
chip lead with $184,500, Daniel Negreanu
was in second with $175,500, Randall Skaggs
was in third with $152,000, Kathy Liebert
was is fourth with $149,500, Steve Ford
was in fifth with $145,000, Dan Harrington
was in sixth with $115,500 and Paul Kroh
was the short stack with $49,000.
Level
11 began at 2:55: with a $500 ante and
$1,500-$3,000 blinds.
At
3:25 Paul was the next casualty. Daniel
raised to $8,000 and Paul Kroh called.
The flop came 9-4-3, Paul bet $12,000
and Daniel called. The turn card came
an eight, Paul checked, Daniel bet $16,000
and Paul called. The river card came another
three, Paul moved all-in and Daniel called.
Paul showed A-5 for ace-high and Daniel
turned over K-3 for a set of threes.
Daniel
took the chip lead with that win but it
only lasted a few minutes. Four hands
later he was eliminated. First his pocket
aces lost to Steve’s pocket queens.
On the next hand his pocket fours turned
into a set on the turn but that four made
Steve a straight with his 2-3. Steve took
out Daniel and took the chip lead with
$400,000. Daniel finished in seventh place
and pocketed $16,465.
At
3:45 p.m. Dan Harrington moved all-in
on Randall’s big blind for $22,000,
Randall made the call with A-4 of hearts,
Dan showed K-Q. The board came 9-8-6-A-6
and Dan was forced to take fifth place
and $25,875.
Level
12 began with Steve in the lead with $428,000,
Randall was in second with $213,000, Kathy
was in third with $178,000 and Kirk was
in fourth with $152,000.
The
blinds were $2,000-$4,000 with a $500
ante.
There
were no casualties at that level. At the
end of level 12 the chip leader was still
Steve with $392,500, Randall closed the
gap between first and second with $375,500,
Kirk lost some of his chips but moved
up to third place with $136,500 and Kathy
was trailing with $66,500.
Level 13 began at 6:20 p.m. with a $1,000
ante and $3,000-$6,000 blinds.
At
6:45 p.m. Kathy was on the small blind
and Randall had the big blind. First to
act was Steve who raised to $18,000, everyone
folded to Kathy, she moved all in for
about $60,000 and Steve called. Kathy
showed Kh-Jc and Steve turned over Kc-Ks.
The board came 4c-3c-9s-Ac-5c and Steve’s
king of clubs made a bigger flush for
the win. Kathy was forced to take a fourth
place finish and added $32,930 to her
bankroll.
After
an hour and fifteen minutes of play the
remaining three players made a money deal.
Kirk
Conrad who started the final table in
fourth place was declared the third place
finisher.
Randall
Skaggs who started the day one of the
shorts stacks moved from eighth place
to a second place finish.
Steve
Ford who started the day in third place
moved in to first place early on and never
looked back.
Best
All-Around Player Comes Down to the Wire
Minh
Nguyen started the day with 268 points,
David Kutcher had 244, Tom Brownscombe
had 234 and John Robertson had 212.
All
four players took their last chance for
points when they entered the $120 No-Limit
Hold’em event.
Only
one of the contenders made the final table
and had a chance to win the title. John
Robertson went to the final table with
the chip lead, that alone guaranteed him
no less than third. He needed to win to
become the Best All-Around Player, he
needed to take second to tie Minh, a ninth
place finish or better guaranteed him
second.
John
took a bad beat with pocket aces that
cost him most of his chips. He went all-in
a few hands later and finished in sixth
place.
Minh
Nguyen was the Best All-Around Player,
winning a beautiful crystal decanter set,
$2,000 in cash and a weeks stay for next
year. John Robertson won $1,000 and a
weeks stay and David Kutcher won $1,000.
Debbie Burkhead
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