Sleep
Apnea Doctor Wakes Up in
Time to Win Third No-Limit Event
Dr.
Michael Eads, a former internist now vice
president of a sleep apnea testing clinic,
"dozed" through much of the final few
hours of tonight's $200 no-limit hold'em
tournament by hanging steady around the
20,000 chip mark. In the final stages
he came to life, hauled in a couple of
major pots and had close to 80 percent
of the chips when three players were left.
A deal was then made and the Scottsdale,
Arizona doctor was the winner of the third
event of Hustler Casino's Grand Slam of
Poker Tournament III.
Michael
Leanos had built up and held a big chip
lead in the early stages, and looked to
be the winner. He almost surely would
have been if he had not laid down pocket
9s in the middle stages. He would have
made a set and knocked out two players.
Even
with the three-way chop, this event still
lasted 106 hands, almost three times as
many as the first two events combined.
This
is about the 20th tournament for Eads,
who's been playing poker for only six
months. It's already his second win after
he took down another no-limit event�the
only game he plays�at Hollywood Park.
Action
at the final table commenced at level
10, with $100 antes, blinds of $400 and
$800 and 22:27 left in the round.
This
tournament got off to a much slower start
than the two prior no-limit contests.
Five hands actually went by before there
were two all-in confrontations. Of course,
it took aces versus kings both times to
accomplish this.
On
hand three, Jon Kim, a Hustler Casino
California games floorman, opened for
$2,000 with K-K, restaurant manager Colby
Spere raised $4,500 with A-A and Kim moved
in for the rest of his $14,000. The board
came 9-7-5-6-J and Kim was out in 10th
place.
Two hands later, Jim Stewart moved in
for $9,700 and Chi "Scott" Nguyen also
moved in, covering him. Stewart turned
up kings, Nguyen aces. Nicholas Dileo,
with J-J, congratulated himself for his
good laydown. Then he berated himself
when a jack flopped. But he felt better
when four spades came to give Nguyen a
nut flush and leave Stewart, a Las Vegas
stock trader, in ninth place.
Spere took a beat and finished eighth
16 hands later. He had A-J to Leanos'
A-9. A flop of A-9-5 gave Leanos top two.
There were two raises, Spere went all
in and busted out while Leanos took a
big lead with about $92,000.
For
the third time, pocket kings proved disastrous.
Dileo held them against Tony Thanh Phan's
9h-7h and was crippled when Phan flopped
a 9 and caught a 7 on the river. Four
hands later, Phan went out in seventh
place on another bad beat. He had Q-J
to 6-5 held by Leanos in the big blind
when two 6s flopped. Leanos now had about
$112,000.
With
$300 antes and $1,000-$2,000 blinds, Emiliano
Calitis, with Q-Q, called Nguyen's all-in
raise with his last $8,400. Nguyen, with
A-K, turned an ace and broke Calitis.
This was the hand where Leanos would have
rivered a set.
After
blinds went to $1,200-$2,400, Eads was
down to less than $3,100 after he had
A-Q and ran into Emad Rayyan's pocket
aces.
This gave Rayyan about $70,000 as he challenged
Leanos for the lead. Then Eads started
moving up again when his A-6 held up against
Nguyen's Q-4 on hand 76. Eight hands later,
Eads moved into the lead when he opened
for $10,000 and Leanos moved in with A-7.
"What the hell," said the good doctor,
calling and winning with pocket 10s. He
now had about $73,000 to about $60,000
for Rayyan; $48,000 for Leanos; and $20,000
for Nguyen.
Meanwhile, Phan made his last stand, moving
in for $8,000 from the small blind with
Q-7. Rayyan called instantly with A-K
and made a straight when the board came
J-10-5-Q-3. Now four were left.
Nguyen
himself was dangerously low on chips,
and he had been moving in time and again,
winning no matter what he had. He went
all in eight times in 28 hands. His closest
call came on his eighth move when he held
A-2 against Eads' A-9, but squeaked by
with a split pot when the board came K-7-4-7-J
and the ace played for both men.
Just
before blinds went to $1,500-$3,000 with
$500 antes, Eads took a decisive lead
with about 110k after Leanos had raised
to 30k pre-flop. Eads moved in and Leanos
folded.
The
last pot of the night was the biggest,
about $120,000. On a flop of A-Q-4, Eads
bet $10,000 with A-3 and Leanos called
with K-Q. A jack turned. Eads bet $20,000,
Leanos moved in for about $25,000 more.
A 5 on the river didn't help, and Leanos
finished fourth.
Eads now had about $166,000 of the $213,000
in play, while Rayyan, making his sixth
final table this year, had about $23,500
to $23,000 for businessman Nguyen. The
deal was made and Doc Eads had won Tournament
III's third event.
Max Shapiro
|
