Armenian
Express Speeds on
The
11th event of Big Poker Oktober, limit
hold’em, was no contest. Not even
close. Chris Grigorian, the Armenian Express,
arrived at the final table with a big
chip lead of $63,500, immediately shoved
the throttle up all the way and roared
down the tracks so fast he soon became
just a blur to the rest of the table.
His chip count kept going higher and higher
as he shoveled on the coal and knocked
off players left and right.
With
blinds of $1,500-$3,000, limits of $3,000-$6,000
and 13:22 remaining, the final table got
underway. And with a bang! On the first
hand, retired Air Force colonel Jerry
Simon raised $2,500, going all in for
maybe the10th time in the tournament.
Brian Anderson called with A-10 and Grigorian
with As-4s. By the turn Grigorian had
a nut flush and the side pot locked up.
The river brought a second queen, and
spectators yelled as Simon turned up two
more to take the main pot and survive
with quads.
Two
hands later, Grigorian derailed his first
player. Allen Shirvanian raised pre-flop
with A-9, bet the Q-5-2 flop, then raised
and went all in when a king turned, still
with just ace-high. Grigorian busted him
with K-10 as Shirvanian collected $670
for 10th place.
As
play continued, Grigorian was by far the
most aggressive player at the table, raising
almost automatically, pulling in pot after
pot and running over the table. At the
race-off, he had run his count to $112,000.
The limits now went to $4,000-$8,000.
Three hands later, the Armenian Express
was speeding away with $128,000.
Then,
on the next hand, he knocked out two players.
Robert Bowers raised with Ad-9d. Grigorian
called from the button with K-10, and
Jimi Lee went all in from the big blind
with 10c-3c. Grigorian bet the J-5-5 flop
to put Bowers all in for $4,000. A queen
turned, and then a river nine gave Grigorian
a back-door nut straight. Bowers, a professional
bull rider, was thrown and cashed out
in eighth place for $1,075, while Lee
settled for $805 for ninth.
Only
13 hands had gone by, and Grigorian already
had about $150,000 of the $268,000 in
play. Six hands later, the Express bumped
another player. Jun Lu raised all in with
pocket 10s. Grigorian called from the
big blind with only A-5. No problem. He
flopped an ace and caught another on the
river for good measure. Lu left with $1,345
for seventh spot, and Grigorian’s
chip count moved up to about $170,000.
Grigorian
then took a breather and let Annie Liu
knock out the next player, James Rael.
He raised with A-Q, she re-raised and
put him in with Q-Q, and when the board
came K-J-9-5-3, he finished sixth and
picked up $1,880.
A
few hands later Chris went back to work
and took the chips that Liu had taken
from Rael. He had only 8-5, but paired
the eight. “I’ve got lots of
bullets to fire,” he said, explaining
why he could go to war with such cards.
Then,
just two hands later, he knocked out still
another player. Grigorian, not letting
up, raised pre-flop and again when the
flop came Q-9-7. When a king turned, the
pot was capped and Brian Anderson, holding
K-Q, went all in with top two. Not nearly
good enough. Grigorian, with J-10, had
another nut straight, and Brian Anderson
had $2,415 for fifth place. “I’d
raise my brother,” said Grigorian,
who by now had almost all the chips on
the table. His three opponents, Simon,
Liu and Jon Dean, surrendered, giving
Grigorian first and chopping the remaining
prize pool evenly.
BIOGRAPHY
Chris Grigorian is having his best year
ever as a professional player. In July
he won three limit hold’em tournaments
at the Hustler Casino’s Grand Slam
of Poker. This feat, believed to be a
first at a major tournament, was so extraordinary
that Jeff Shulman raved about it in his
Card Player column. In all he made six
final tables at the Hustler and a total
of 22 overall this year. He also finished
22nd at this year’s World Series
championship. He’s gotten close in
major events and his remaining goal this
year is to win one, such as at Foxwoods.
Tonight,
his calculator showed he was always above
average in chips. His final table opponents,
he said, were all nice people but obviously
not experienced tournament players, so
he was able to play more aggressively
than usual. That, and a lot of luck, he
conceded, made the difference.
Max Shapiro
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