THE
POSTMAN RINGS TWICE AS
TONY TOLENTINO WINS AGAIN
In 1946 there was a famous Lana Turner
movie called "The Postman Always Rings
Twice." Well, at Cal State 2004, a postman
called Tony "The Mailman" Tolentino has
rung up two wins to date and isn't through
yet because his "next stop" is the $10,000
championship event.
Tolentino
won the 16th event, $1,500 no-limit hold'em,
aided by a great run of cards. At the
final table. He caught pocket queens four
times and A-K five, and he usually got
full value from them.
He
needed all the cards he could get because
he was up against attorney/CPA Rick Schwartz
who arrived with a huge chip lead of $143,000.
Schwartz, who only started playing tournaments
this year, was down to $1,000 at 10:30
the first day. He moved in with a total
bluff of 4-2, wasn't called and after
that went on what he called an amazing
rush.
But he went dry at the final table just
as Tolentino kept piling up chips. When
the tournament got three-handed, the Mailman
had 177,000 in chips to 143,000 for Schwartz
and 54,000 for Daniel Quach, and a deal
was struck.
This
was a hectic day that saw three events
going on at the same time. First, we had
this final table. Then there was a $500
no-limit hold'em event which had replaced
the scheduled $1,500 stud tournament and
which played through today. And then we
had the seemingly canceled stud contest
which was reinstated at the request of
some players who had come from out of
town for it.
The
stud event, however, had just seven entrants
and one table. It was to be winner take
all, though a deal was made three-handed.
The winner was "Lucky" Larry Kantor. He
picked up a lot of chips when he caught
a third 6 on the river to beat the aces-up
held by runner-up Patrick Poels, and then
Kantor took it all with a flush against
Poels' aces.
This
was the first major win for the Tarzana,
California CPA who's been playing tournament
poker for 15 years.
The no-limit final table assembled with
one minute left on the clock, after which
blinds went to $600-$1,200. The first
time Tolentino got pocket queens he ran
into Ali Eslami's pocket kings and doubled
him up, but queens came through for the
Mailman after that.
Eslami
had rushed in six hands late, but he needn't
have hurried because he was first out.
After Tolentino opened for $6,000, Eslami
moved in for $14,000 more. The classic
match-up: Q-Q (again) for the Mailman,
A-K for Eslami. Tolentino had him on fourth
street, and then caught a third queen
on the river.
Andy
Miller of Abilene, Texas, took a bad beat
on hand 28. Carl Frommer moved in for
$16,000 with 6-6 and Miller called with
pocket kings. The board came A-4-2-3-5,
giving Frommer a six-high straight.
But
6s treated Miller better a few hands later
when he knocked out Dan Wang. Down to
$5,700, Wang moved in from the button
for $5,700 with Ad-7d. Miller called from
the big blind with Q-6. Two 6s and a queen
gave Miller a full house and left Wang
in eighth place.
When
blinds went to $1,000-$2,000, the approximate
chip count was: Schwartz, $132,000; Tolentino,
$74,000; Miller, $63,500; Daniel Quach,
$32,500; Carl Frommer, $31,500; Scott
Fischman,, $26,000; and David Cai, $14,000.
Fischman,
winner of two WSOP bracelets this year,
immediately went out when he went all
in with A-Q and lost to Quach's Kh-Qh
after a king flopped.
David
Cai went out in sixth place. He raised
with pocket jacks, Tolentino put him all
in, again with pocket queens, and a board
of K-8-6-4-9 didn't change anything.
Tolentino
then took a couple of small pots with
uncalled raises, and by now had moved
into the lead with about $147,000. Then
he picked up another pot when he raised,
wasn't called and showed A-K. "Now you
should be scared, Rick," he warned Schwartz.
Later, when Schwartz raised to just $4,000,
Tolentino asked, "That's all you want
to bet?" "I'm going to get it back slowly,"
Schwartz replied.
Frommer,
CEO of a company that designs and builds
bank buildings, finished fifth. He moved
in from he big bind for $12,000 with Q-10.
Tolentino had A-6 and the ace played.
Frommer wasn't totally out of action,
though. He was also playing in the $500
no-limit event, got back in when he was
on the bubble and then made it into the
money for his second cash-out in one day.
At
this point, the rough count was: Tolentino,
$158,000; Schwartz, $130,500; Miller,
$54,000; and Quach, $31,000. Miller lost
some chips when he ran into Tolentino's
10-high straight. He then went out in
a hand where Schwartz opened for $10,000.
On a flop of Q-10-7, Miller bet $10,000
with Q-4 and Schwartz moved in with A-J
for an inside straight draw. Instead,
two running aces gave Schwartz trip aces
for a winner, and a frustrated Miller
ended up fourth.
The
three finalists now made their deal and
the mailman got a very special delivery.
-- by Max Shapiro
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