No-Limit
is Easy for Justin!
Arkansas native Justin Westmoreland,
a tournament specialist with numerous
cash-outs, completely dominated the final
table to score a runaway victory in the
third event of Big Poker Oktober 2002,
$100 no-limit hold'em. Westmoreland came
to the final table with a big chip lead
after knocking out the10th and 11th players
and then bludgeoned his way through the
field. His final opponent was Peter Wu,
a technical analyst from Costa Mesa who
has had a few money finishes, though this
was his biggest payday to date.
There wasn't a whole lot in the way of
strategy or finesse or even any conversation
to speak of at the final table. It was
just "All in," "Call," and "Turn the hands
up," and it took but 32 deals and 48 minutes
to complete the whole business.
CHIP
POSITION FINAL TABLE
Tho
Ngo $24,000
Justin Westmoreland $59,200
Julian Levy $19,600
Wayne Chang $18,500
Juan Holub $7,300
Binh Nguyen $15,400
Peter Wu $43,400
Harvey Goldson $21,800
Jollibert David $32,200
Westmoreland took the chip lead with about
$50,000 when he won a big pot and broke
Antonio Abesamis, winner of the opening
event, to get the last 10 players to the
final table. Justin had A-9, Antonio had
K-Q, and the board came A-K-10-6-5. The
final table officially got underway nine-handed
after realtor George Rechnitzer moved
all in with A-10 and got called by Justin,
who was in the small blind with 8s, 2s.
The flop of As-Js-10x gave George two
pair, but a 3s on the river gave Justin
his flush, and he now had $59.200.
Blinds
started at $1,000-$2,000, with 6:38 remaining.
Two players departed immediately. On hand
number one, poker player Binh Nguyen moved
in for $15,100 with A-9. Wu covered him
holding J-J, and won with a set when the
board came 7-2-3-J-5. On the second hand,
plumbing contractor Juan Holub went down
the drain when he moved in under the gun
for $6,700 with K-Q of diamond. Tho Ngo
called with A-4 of spades and flopped
a wheel.
Blinds
soon went to $2,000-$4,000 with $500 antes.
There were a number of all-in raises without
calls, and it wasn't until hand 15 that
the next player departed. Harvey Goldson,
an executive vice president with a manufacturing
company, had A-K and raised all in for
the second consecutive time. Justin, with
pocket 9s in the small blind, had an easy
decision calling the $4,000 raise. A river
9 gave him a set, and Goldson was set
loose in seventh place.
Just two hands later, Tho Ngo, two off
the button, tried a steal by moving in
for about $20,000 with just A-5 offsuit.
But it was no go for Ngo. Justin, with
pocket jacks, had an even easier call
this time. The jacks held up when the
board came 10-8-7-7-6, the field was down
to six.
Hand
22 was the last one for CPA Julian Levy.
He made a $1,500 raise from the button
with K-J, going all in. Wu called from
the big blind with 10-8 and promptly flopped
trip 10s to trip Levy up.
The
four finalists were now playing with $1,000
antes and blinds of $3,000 and $6,000.
Two hands into the new levels, Wayne Chung,
a computer programmer, found himself all
in against Westmoreland, and it was no
contest. He had 6-4, Justin this time
had pocket aces and the board changed
nothing. Two deals later, on hand 27,
Jollibert David had about $14,000 left
and he called all in with K-5 when Wu
raised with A-3. The board came Q-9-2-3-10,
and now the tournament was heads-up.
Justin
had a 3-1 lead with about $180,000 to
Peter's $60,000. The match lasted just
five hands. The first was split when a
straight hit the board. There were a couple
of raises and no calls. Then, on the final
hand, Justin moved in with 9-4 of diamonds
and Peter called. He had the best of it
with A-10, but a flop of 6-4-3 gave Justin
the lead with two 4s. A queen turned.
Justin called for a deuce on the river,
and that's just what came to give him
a wire-to-wire win.
BIOGRAPHY
Justin Westmoreland is a native of
Texarkana, Arkansas, where his father
taught him to play poker when he was still
a child. After winning $42,000 in a 1999
no-limit hold'em tournament at the Silver
Star in Philadelphia, he decided to come
out here to make his mark in the poker
world. Among his numerous cash-outs are
hold'em wins at Legends of Poker, Hollywood
Park and the Peppermill in Reno, and in
Omaha at Ocean's 11. Last year he won
best all-around at Winnin' o' the Green.
Tonight he ran well and said he steadily
built his stacks up and never was in any
trouble. He also said he wanted to express
his thanks for his write-ups in Card Player
magazine, which gave him the encouragement
to keep going in the world of tournament
poker, and also to Lyle Berman for funding
the World Poker Tour. "Winning that is
my dream," he revealed.
ALL-AROUND
PAYOFF POINTS
Name
Total
1.
Jollibert David 73
2. Tony Abesamis 61
3. Clinton Moore 60
4. Justin Westmoreland 57
5. Anthony Tran 57
6. Richard Dagres 53
7. Hai Tran 49
8. Peter Wu 49
9. Edward Moncada 47
10.Van Zakarian 43
11.Randy Douthat 38
12. Wayne Chung 38
13. Fred Louie 38
14. Julian Levy 34
15. Mitch Krupa 34
16. Tony Sheets 34
17. Tho Ngo 30
18. Gus Cornejo 30
Max Shapiro
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