'Armenian
Express' Continues His
Hustler Success with Hold'em Win
Chris
Grigorian seems to have found a home at
the Hustler Casino. Earlier this year
he finished first and third in two 7-stud
hi-lo events and second in limit hold'em
at the casino's Challenge Cup tournament,
and now the "Armenian Express," chugging
right along, won the opening event of
Larry Flynt's Grand Slam of Poker, $200
limit hold'em. Chris, holder of numerous
titles, finished 22nd at the 2003 WSOP
championship event.
There was actually a three-way chop when
Grigorian, Randy Holland and Vinny Landrum
were reasonably even in chips. But Grigorian,
with the lead, was the official winner
and is also the front-runner in the $25,000
all-around points race. He took the chip
lead in early going at the final table
when he knocked out John Hoang and retained
the lead, or was close to it, until the
three finalists decided to call it a night.
Limits at the final table started at $1,500-$3,000,
with 25 minutes remaining. Ron Melrose,
winner of the Bay Area tournament championship,
arrived with just $4,200 and lasted but
four hands. Looking at Kd-Qd, he decided
to go with it from middle position, but
couldn't overcome Richard "Tiny" Nauffal's
A-K.
Next out was Hoang, who has been having
a fantastic year. He's had 18 final table
finishes thus far in 2003 and is ranked
13th overall in the current Card Player
standings and number one in seven-stud
hi-lo. He arrived in strong chip position,
but nothing went right for him once he
sat down. After losing big pots to Landrum
and Grigorian, he was down to $7,200 when
he found himself in the big blind right
after limits went to $2,000-$4,000. He
called with Js-10s after Grigorian raised,
then called for his last $1,200 when Grigorian
bet with a board of K-9-5-4. His only
hope was a queen for an inside straight,
but Chris, with pocket queens, already
owned two of them, and Hoang unhappily
settled for ninth place.
Not long after that, David Lambard, a
high-limit side game player, found himself
all in with only K-4 to defend himself
against Hossein "Mike" Razmi's K-K. No
contest. When the board came J-8-5-4-5,
seven were left.
A few hands later, Nauffal raised with
pocket fives. Massoud Setayesh didn't
notice, and made what he thought was a
call with Q-8. When told of his oversight,
he tried to take his money back, but the
ruling was that he had to either abandon
his $2,000 or put in the full 4k . He
called the raise...and flopped two more
eights. "Sorry about the ruling," tournament
coordinator Warren Karp said to him jokingly.
But the windfall didn't do him much good.
Holding 10-5 in the big blind, he paired
his five on a flop of K-J-5 and bet all
in. Unfortunately for him, Londoner Norm
Wheatcroft held Qh-Jh and had paired his
jack. Six were left just as limits inched
up again to 3-6k. At this point, Grigorian,
Landrum and Nauffal were all closely bunched
with a bit over 60k each.
But
then Holland moved into contention at
Grigorian's expense. The pot was three-bet
before the flop. Holland check-raised
with a board of A-A-6-3 and then bet the
river. Grigorian called and sighed when
Holland showed him A-K. Holland now took
the lead, briefly, with close to 70k.
At 3 a.m., Razmi took his leave. He was
all in with J-9 against Holland's J-3.
When the flop came A-K-J, Holland called
for a pair or big card so he could at
least get his money back with a chop.
A 10 turned, and it looked like might
get his wish. Instead, a river trey gave
Holland a win, and a startled Razmi cashed
out in fifth place.
At this point, Grigorian, thanks to an
earlier straight, had regained the lead
with approximately $88,000 to $76,000
for Landrum, $60,000 for Holland and $58,000
for Nauffal. A deal was discussed at length,
but couldn't be reached. As play continued,
Grigorian continued to add to his stacks,
finally reaching the $100,000 mark. Holland's
luck, meanwhile, continued to hold. All
in with K-10 against Nauffal's K-Q, he
got the split he was looking for in the
earlier hand when the board came 7-7-9-A-A
and the king played for both.
One hand after the players returned from
a break, it was Grigorian's turn to get
lucky. He held K-6 of hearts, while Nauffal
had K-Q of clubs. With a board of A-Q-2-K
and two hearts, Grigorian bet and Nauffal
called all in. "No heart!" Tiny pleaded.
To no avail. A 10 of hearts rivered, and
the table was down to three players.
Chris
was the leader with about $112,000, and
now, with limits raised again, the finalists
this time agreed to divvy up the remaining
prize pool. The Armenian Express once
again was on the fast track at the Hustler.
Max Shapiro
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