Lots
of Finals, But First-Ever Win
For Gioi Luong, in $300 No-Limit
Gioi
Luong, a local semi-pro who's been playing
poker for a long time but tournaments
for only a year, has made 13 or 14 final
tables in that time, including several
seconds and thirds, but never a first.
Tonight he finally broke the ice by winning
the fourth event of Hustler Casino's Grand
Slam of Poker III, $300 no-limit hold'em.
He
did so by going on a tremendous late rush,
knocking out three players in the final
seven hands. With four players left, he
held close to two-thirds of all the chips
in play, and a four-way deal was made,
ending the slaughter.
He
said he was in good shape throughout the
tournament and never in trouble. His most
recent second-place finish came at the
Commerce Casino's Cal State Poker Championship
last month.
The
final table started with $200 antes and
blinds of $600-$1,200, with 21:17 remaining.
Jewelry designer Bob Patel, with $35,800,
started with the chip lead but David Moon
took over on the first hand, mooning Patel
when his pocket aces crushed his opponent's
pocket 6s. Moon now had about $45,000,
but a few hands later, Jenny Kang relieved
him of about $13,000 when his pocket 6s
beat Moon's A-K.
Emad
Rayyan next tripled up against poker player
Brett "Gank" Jungblut and Patel when he
flopped a king to his K-Q. He outran Patel's
A-J, while Jungblut, with Jh-10h, missed
his flush draw.
It took 25 hands to lose our first player.
Blinds by now were $1,000-$2,000 with
$300 antes. Anton Ulker, who started lowest-chipped
with $6,300, had already survived two
all ins, the first time when nobody called
his raise to $1,300, the second time when
he moved in for $1,700 with pocket 4s
which held up against Moon's A-7.
Now
he moved in again, this time for $8,000,
holding Ac-10c. Jungblut called with pocket
8s and Jimmy Stewart, a stock trader making
his second final table in a row, raised
all in for another $4,000 holding A-K.
Ulker survived again, taking the main
pot when the board came Q-10-5-3-Q, while
Jungblut took the side pot and Stewart
took the exit, finishing 10th and collecting
$725.
It
was just after midnight, and action now
speeded up considerably, with five players
getting knocked out in rapid-fire fashion.
Two
hands later, Kang pushed in all his chips,
about $12,000, with A-Q. Luong quickly
called with pocket kings which held up
when the board came J-9-2-4-10. Kang cashed
out ninth for $860, while Luong moved
into the chip lead for the first time.
Two hands later, Rayyan, also making his
second consecutive final table, and seventh
this year, raised all in for about $10,000
with A-Q. Moon decided to call with Ks-7s
and won when a 7 flopped. "Why you call
the bet, man?" Rayyan asked in annoyance
as he walked off to pick up his $1,210
for finishing in eighth place.
One
hand later, Moon raised $4,000 with pocket
7s and Luong put him all in for about
$30,000 holding pocket jacks. Luong made
a set when the board came 10-5-4-8-J,
and Moon was eclipsed, finishing seventh
and picking up $1,450. Luong now dominated
the table with about $82,000 of the roughly
$194,000 in play.
Two
hands later he had a confrontation with
Jungblut, who is one of the members of
"The Crew," several players who coach
and give moral support to each other.
Jungblut had five cash-outs in this year's
World Series of Poker, including a win
in the $5,000 Omaha hi-lo event. He also
won a Grand Slam limit hold'em event last
year.
This
time, though, the best that "Gank" could
do was sixth place. He called all in with
pocket jacks after Loung had moved in
from the button with pocket kings. The
board came A-5-5-3-9, and Jungblut took
home $1,930.
The
next hand was number 33, and it was to
prove the last hand of this tournament.
Eulisses Sandoval, a taxi driver, was
two away from the button and moved in
with A-8. Patel called all in with K-Q,
and Sandoval had him covered. Patel had
13 outs and was only a 49-51 underdog
when a flop of J-10-4 gave him an open-end
straight draw. His hopes ended when a
5 and then a 6 hit the board, and he finished
fifth, which was worth $2,415.
A
deal was now proposed for the four finalists.
Howard Walker had around $27,000 to about
$26,000 for Sandoval and $18,000 for Ulker,
while Luong had all the rest, about $123,000.
The
payouts were calculated and accepted.
Ulker finished fourth, winning an official
$2,900. Eulisses cashed out third, for
a listed $4,590. Walker's second-place
finish officially was $9,175, while Luong,
finally a winner, took home the trophy
and an official $18,355.
Max Shapiro
|
