KENNA
JAMES SINGS, JOKES AND
OUTSHOOTS FIELD IN SHOOTOUT
Kenna James put on another one of his
crowd-pleasing performances as he sang,
chatted, made jokes about himself and,
almost effortlessly, steered his way into
a win in a $300 no-limit hold'em shootout
event.
His
final opponent, Bijan Ashkan, started
with the chip lead and held it until James
finally passed him in the late stages.
Near the end, James had him all in holding
A-3 to Ashkan's Js-10s. But when Ashkan
snagged a jack on the river to get back
into contention, James, who still enjoyed
a chip lead of more than $10,000 to $6,000,
decided to lock up the win and the tournament
ended in a deal.
This
shootout event replaced the originally
scheduled $1,500 Omaha hi-lo tournament.
Once again, as with stud the prior day,
the casino heeded the request of several
Omaholics and set up a one-table Omaha/8
tournament, in addition to the shootout.
(Something for everyone.) It paid three
places: 70, 20 and 10 percent respectively.
Luis Santini won it, Param Gill was second
and "Super" Mario Esquerra came in third.
Santini,
once a regular local tournament player,
now plays infrequently because he's kept
busy developing a business in Florida.
He ended up winning after having a chop
request denied when he was in the big
blind with a mere $150.
The
shootout final table began play with blinds
of $50-$100, 22:16 left. David Levi, who
barely made it to the table with $575,
lasted two hands. He had Ah-Kh in the
small blind. Ashkan put him in with J-J
and flopped a set.
"I
love you but I'm glad to see you go,"
Kenna James said to Levi in tribute. "You're
too tough."
A
couple of hands later Mickey Kim was all
in for $1,225 with pocket 9s against Steve
Mandelbaum's pocket kings. "I can't believe
it, it happens every time," Mandelbaum
cried out, jumping up as Kim flopped a
set.
David
Chan went out when he re-raised all in
for $875 with A-J and couldn't catch Bijan
Ashkan's 10-10.
Blinds now went to $100-$200. Kenna James,
always good for a few laughs at the table,
was moaning how bad he was doing of late.
"I'm eating tuna out of a can, and I have
to give my meal tickets to my sponsor,"
he claimed. A slight exaggeration, perhaps,
from a man who had 18 final tables and
eight wins last year, and finished third
in a $10,000 event in Australia this year.
Demonstrating
how "bad" he was going, James then knocked
out Mandelbaum. He put him in for about
$600 with pocket 10s, which held up against
Mandelbaum's K-J. Nine hands had gone
buy and three players were already out.
Another
30 hands went by before we lost another
player. Anthony Tran had been pretty much
on the sidelines all through the final
table, either because he was card dead
or was trying to move up some notches.
Down to about $1,100, he finally went
all in with Ah-9h after Michael Leanos
raised with K-J. Leanos took the lead
when a king flopped, and Tran ended up
in seventh place.
A
few hands later Mickey Kim also tried
an all-in move with a marginal A-8. "You
got me," he said when James called and
turned over A-10. No 10 came to save him,
and Kim cashed out sixth.
James,
who had kept complaining about not being
able to keep his meal coupon, now allowed
that things were going a little a bit
better and he might feel entitled to demand
the coupon.
Alan
Mintz, a trader, went out after limits
had risen a couple of times to $200-$400
with $50 antes. On the button, he tried
a steal with 10h-6h, moving in for $750.
Ashkan, in the big blind, had an automatic
call with Q-8. The board came A-J-8-K-2,
and now four were left.
Doing
a little razzle-dazzle to either amuse
or confuse his opponents, James at one
time asked Ashkan to check the flop. When
Ashkan complied, James mucked his cards
without any betting. He obviously had
a hand that he didn't care to get involved
with no matter what came, but it was still
a startling play.
Michael
Leanos is a young player who already has
several cash-outs at local casinos and
seems to have a future in poker. Tonight
he played well and made it to fourth place.
He went out when he button-raised all
in for $675 with Q-8. Leanos had the best
hand going in when Ashkan called with
J-10, but a 10 on the river ended the
night for him.
Three-handed, Ashkan had about $10,000
to $3,800 for Tran and $2,700 for James.
After blinds went to $300-$600 with $75
antes, Kenna took a big pot from Tran
with pocket 10s and moved into the lead
with about $8,000 to $6,000 for Ashkan
and $3,000 for Tran. James then finished
Tran off after the Sacramento pro moved
in for $2,500 with Ad-9d. James called
with just K-J, but that stands for Kenna
James, as spectator Chris Grigorian reminded
everybody. A jack came on the river and
Tran was gone.
Soon
after heads-up play started, James moved
in with that A-3 and. Ashkan called with
his Js-10s. The game appeared over when
the board showed 8-7-2-4, but a river
jack gave Ashkan new life. A few hands
later the two decided to just make a deal.
James had another trophy and now is entitled
to ask his sponsor for his meal coupon.
-- by Max Shapiro
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