RANDY
HOLLAND'S MATE
LAURENE WINS 1ST EVENT
Laurene
Holland, a registered nurse and wife of
noted tournament player Randy Holland,
moved in repeatedly and fearlessly throughout
tonight's $200 no-limit tournament, the
third event in the 2003 Four Queens Poker
Classic. Her strategy paid off as she
ended up with her first tournament win
ever. The closest she had come previously
was when she finished third in this same
event here two years ago.
She's
been playing poker five years, and she
gave full credit to her husband and mentor.
Her only complaint was that he had a 50
percent piece of her. Before tonight,
she had almost given up on the game, tiring
of having her hands repeatedly cracked.
"This is a very stressful profession,"
she sighed.
When
the tournament got four-handed, the players
agreed to take 10k each with the winner
getting the remaining 8k. When three were
left, she had a small chip lead over pro
player Martin "Dick" Corpuz.
They took 3k each and Burt Boutin the
remaining 2k.
The
final table got underway with $300 antes
and blinds of 1-2k. "In a world of
trouble" is how tournament director
David Lamb described Paul Kroh's situation
as he made the introductions. An understatement,
because Kroh had a single $100 chip. "You'll
eat crow," Kroh vowed as he won a
pot and picked up a few hundred. No crow
for Lamb. On hand four, Kroh, in the big
blind and all in, was shot down by Boutin's
two pocket bullets.
Holland
immediately went into her "all-in"
mode. You don't have to go in all the
time," Corpuz suggested. "You
can just bet $10,000." It was a suggestion
which the lady would completely ignore
as the game proceeded.
Sarah
Casey is a partner in The Online Poker
Guide, an Internet site that reviews online
poker sites. She went offline on hand
nine. She raised all in for $3,900 with
Qs-Js. Ely Smith moved in behind her with
A-7 and finished her when an ace turned.
Three hands later, John Horrocks, owner
of a pet shop named "Puppy Planet,"
raised to 6k with A-K. Boutin, a stockbroker
with a bracelet in pot-limit hold'em,
made a minimum 6k re-raise with pocket
kings. On a flop of J-8-7, he put the
pet shop owner in for his last 7k and
left him in eighth place.
With
1.5-3k blinds with $400 antes, Smith,
about to retire as a corporate pilot,
moved in for about 16k with pocket nines.
"Ain't no shame in folding,"
he said as Boutin reached for his chips.
Small chance. Boutin had queens, and the
pilot made a crash landing in seventh
place when the board didn't help. "You
guys are in trouble," Boutin warned
as he stacked up 80k in chips.
By
the time blinds went to 2-4k with $500
antes, Boutin and researcher/journalist
Todd Hammer shared the lead with a bit
over 70k each. Meanwhile, the third woman
at the table, Rebekah Emmons, a formidable
player with wins at the Bicycle Casino,
Orleans and Foxwoods and a best all-around
at the Bike, had dipped down from her
starting 42.8k to 14.5k. When she moved
in and everyone folded, she complained,
"How am I supposed to double through
if nobody will call?" She finally
got called when she moved in with A-J.
"Let's gamble," said Billy Wynes,
calling all in for 15k with Qd-7d. Emmons
flopped two pair and Wynes cashed in sixth.
Emmons
continued to build her her stacks, but
then took a bad hit when Corpuz doubled
through her when his pocket eights held
up. A few hands later Holland won a$50,000
pot against Boutin when she outran his
A-Q when she caught a four on the river
while all in with K-4. By hand 65, Emmons
was in the big blind with only 3.5k left
when Holland moved in. Holding a mere
8-3, Emmons finally decided to call and
busted out when she couldn't catch Holland's
A-9.
Hammer,
who had earlier taken a big pot from Boutin,
now led with about 110k to about 60k for
Corpuz, 55k for Holland and 50k for Boutin.
Corpuz now suggested the deal of 10k apiece.
The game immediately got loose and wild.
On the next hand, Hammer moved in with
Q-J and lost 58k to Corpuz, who caught
two eights to his 10-8. It seemed like
Corpuz had made a bad deal, but on the
other hand, Hammer wasn't likely to have
moved in with just Q-J if the money at
stake hadn't been decreased so much.
After
a few more hands, Hammer went broke when
he moved in with J-10, flopped a jack,
but lost to Holland's A-7 when an ace
hit the river. A few hands later, the
three agreed to the 3k-3k-2k chop, and
chip-leader Holland had her first win.
Max Shapiro
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