Wild
No-Limit Ends BPO!
The final event of Big Poker Oktober
2002, $100 no-limit hold'em, was wild
and wooly. When the last table got short-handed,
players began pushing in all their chips
with almost any two cards at all -- 4-2,
4-3, 8-5 and, on two occasions, 7-2! "It's
like three wild pitchers out there," tournament
director Denny Williams commented. Despite
the frenzied action, the tournament went
to 5 a.m. with limits at a backbreaking
$10,000-$20,000, the highest ever since
the Bike went to a structure of graduated
limits.
The winner was "Yavapai County" Alvaro
Vasquez, an Arizona bartender who came
to the final table with a chip lead of
$88,000, just ahead of the $88,000 held
by Geardo Felix, a welder, who finished
second. When the two got heads-up, with
Vasquez holding more than $280,000 of
the roghly $370,000 in play, Felix made
a concession offer that Vasquez couldn't
refuse. Meanwhile, in the all-around points
race, Binh Do was a runaway winner, collecting
the $10,000 top prize.
CHIP
POSITION FINAL TABLE
Tony
Tolentino $17,000
Badia Khalil $33,500
Tony Ma $17,000
Alvaro Vasquez $91,000
Geardo Felix $88,000
Mike Ruter $54,000
Eddier Cunanan $5,000
Damon Robinson $28,000
Ngoc Huynh $36,500
After the last 10 players sat down, it
took only two hands to get to the official
final nine. Reginald Cardiel re-raised
all in for about $36,000 with A-K, but
Alvarez, the original raiser, had pocket
aces. Nine-handed, the blinds were $2,000-$4,000
with 14 minutes remaining. On the fourth
hand, Eddie Cunanan went all in for $5,000
with 10-8 of clubs and got blown away
by Damon Robinson's pocket kings. Three
hands later, Tony Ma raised all in for
about $11,000 with pocket 8s, ran into
pocket queens held by software salesman
Mike Ruter and couldn't catch up.
Blinds now went to $3,000-$6,000. As play
progressed, Ngoc Huynh was playing very
aggressively and piling up chips. Huynh,
owner of an aquarium store, has been playing
tournaments for only about six months,
but already has three no-limit wins at
the Hustler Casino alone. Tony "Mr. Mailman"
Tolentino got low-chipped when he called
Ruter's all-in bet of $24,500 with K-Q
of clubs. Mike had pocket 5s and bit the
mailman by flopping a set. On the next
hand, Tony lost his last chips with A-8
against Felix's pocket treys, which held
up.
Hand 22 was Badia Khalil's last. He raised
$12,000 with 10-7 of clubs and Vasquez
called with K-10 of hearts. A flop of
Q-J-8 gave Al an open-end straight draw
and Badia a gut-shot draw. Alvarez moved
in and Khalil called for his remaining
chips, about $12,000. A 2-10 came, Al
hauled in a pot of about $65,000 and five
were left.
With blinds of $4,000-$8,000 with $1,500
antes, the game soon become an anything
goes crap-shoot On hand 31, Vasquez, in
the big blind, called Damon Robison's
raise, going all in for about $25,000
with just 10-4 offsuit! No problem. He
caught a three-outer 4 on the river to
outrun Robinson's Q-10. Al did have the
decency to have the better starting hand
when he busted Damon six hands later.
He had A-K to Damon's K-10. Damon suddenly
became better than a 5-1 favorite when
the flop came 10-5-3, but runner-runner
J-Q gave Al a straight.
Rivera
lost about $40,000 when he raised $26,000
with K-7, then bet blind before the flop,
enough to put Ruter all in, and tried
to talk him off his hand. But Ruter finally
called, winning with ace-high. With blinds
of $6,000-$12,000, everyone was in the
$100,000 range except Felix, who had about
$35,000. The betting and chip fluctuation
got wilder, with Vasquez piling up a lead
of over $200,000. Finally, on hand 54,
Vasquez raised $80,000 with pocket 7s
and Ngoc called all in for about $55,000
with Q-J, losing when all rags came.
A hand later, Al called Ruter's small
all-in raise with 7-2 and lost. "A seven-deuce
lost?" a spectator cried out in wonder.
Finally, with $10,000-$20,000 blinds,
it ended on hand 69. Ruter was all in
again with 5-2. Vasquez had A-2 and the
ace played when two pair hit the board.
A deal was then made, and the tournament
and Big Poker Oktober 2002 were history.
BIOGRAPHY
Alvaro
Vasquez, who just turned 38, gave himself
a nice birthday present by winning this
event. A poker player for eight years,
he used to prefer cash games, but now
is becoming a tournament enthusiast. He's
won a number of small tournaments and
one large one, the pot-limit hold'em event
at the mini series of poker a couple of
years ago. Hold'em is his game of choice,
especially no-limit.
Tonight
he started out well, then survived a couple
of bad beats and was never called when
all in until he got to the final table.
He started to make his move with around
four tables to go. He noticed players
were tightening up, but that was no way
to win, he figured. "If I made it, I made
it, I didn't care," he said. "I gambled,
and I got lucky." He also had high praised
for the Bicycle Casino's events. "I love
this joint. They put on a good show."
ALL-AROUND
PAYOFF POINTS
Name
Total
1.
Binh Do 129
2. Minh Ly 109
3. Tom Roach 106
4. Tony Abesamis 105
5. Ulises Molina 105
6. Clinton Moore 98
7. Justin Westmoreland 95
8. Andom Ghebre 87
9. Jollibert David 73
10. Rocky Enciso 68
11. Can Hua 61
12. Albert Luna 60
13. Tho Ngo 58
14. Anthony Tran 57
14. Joe Grew 57
15. Fran Pinchot 57
16. Farhang Ebadipour 57
17. Men Nguyen 57
Max Shapiro
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