Huge
Five-Way Pot is Key to Bus
Driver Esmeralda's Hold'em Win
Jayr
Esmeralda is a low-limit ($4-$8) hold'em
player who's been playing poker for eight
years but tournaments for only 10 months.
Until now he's had only one small tournament
win at Hollywood Park. Things didn't look
that bright for him tonight either, because
he was struggling at the second table
and arrived at the final table third-lowest
in chips.
Then
came hand 21, which turned out to be a
monster. It started with five-way action,
with one player holding pocket 10s, another
pocket jacks, a third pocket queens and
a fourth A-K suited.
Esmeralda
went all in on the river with pocket kings,
they held up and, he hauled in an enormous
pot of about $75,000. He kept climbing
from there and held a substantial chip
lead when the field was down to seven.
At that point a chip-count deal was made,
making him the winner of event number
eight in Hustler Casino's Grand Slam of
Poker Tournament III, $200 limit hold'em.
Esmeralda,
who says poker is only a hobby with him,
is employed as a Los Angeles Metro bus
driver. He describes himself as an aggressive
player, but added, only when he has the
cards. "I try to wait until I have the
right card at the right moment," he explained.
Providing
graphic evidence of which way tournament
poker has been going because of television
exposure, this was only the first limit
event at Grand Slam III following seven
straight days of no-limit events. After
seven days of all-in moves, tonight's
event seemed almost surreally slow and
tame by comparison.
Final
table action started with blinds of $1,000
and $2,000, limits of $2,000 and $4,000
and 26:51 remaining in the round. There
was virtually a three-way tie for the
chip lead. Retired Air Force colonel Jerry
Simon had $57,500; Greg Kouyoumdjian had
$55,500; and Frank Schram had $54,500.
At
the other end, Ivan Nguyen, a student,
started with only $16,000 and managed
to last only six hands. He was in good
shape with aces and 10s until a Jh on
the river gave David Ho a flush and we
had lost our first player. Nguyen cashed
out for $1,010.
Robert
McHugh has been an investment banker in
London. One week ago he left that occupation
to follow his dream of becoming a professional
poker player. Tonight he was down to $1,500
with pocket 7s when he bet blind all in
before the flop. He hit a set on the flop
to beat Ho, who this time held the unlucky
A-10, and got to play a while longer.
When
blinds went to $1,500-$3,000 with $3,000-$6,000
limits, Steven Dubin was getting low on
chips. But Dubin, a record producer and
song writer, got back in the game when
his pocket jacks turned into a full house
in a pot against salesman Frank Schram,
who has a win at the Orleans to his credit.
Hand 21 was the pot of the night. David
Ho was dealt A-K suited; Dubin picked
up pocket 10s; Hamid Mohammadi, a civil
engineer, had pocket jacks; Greg Kouyoumdjian
had pocket queens; and Esmeralda had the
kings. After all the betting and raising
was done with, and Esmeralda went all
in on the turn, the board showed two small
pair. Nobody filled, the kings prevailed,
and the all-in player was suddenly the
big chip leader.
Ho came out of that fire-fight the lowest
chipped. He managed to hold on for a little
while by doubling up in a hand when he
paired a 9 on the flop. But one hand later
he ran into Esmeralda again. With a board
of 8-5-4-J-A, Esmeralda bet and Ho called
all in. Esmeralda turned over pocket 10s
and Ho mucked without showing his cards.
He picked up $1,180 for ninth place.
On
hand 27, McHugh was on the button with
Js-10s and made a $1,000 all-in raise.
Kouyoumdjian was in the big blind and
made an automatic call without looking.
Kouyoumdjian turned up Ad-Jh, making him
a 2-1 favorite. The board came 9-9-4-3-Q,
and the British aspiring pro cashed in
eighth for $1,685.
As
play continued, Simon added considerably
to his stacks at the expense of Kouyoumdjian,
who had been the most aggressive player
at the table. With a board of Ah-Ac-5h-9h,
Simon check-raised and at the end showed
Qh-Jh for a flush.
There
was one more sizeable pot. It was the
last pot of the evening, and Esmeralda
won it against Schram holdng Ah-Jc. He
flopped a broadway straight when 10d-Kc-Qc
was dealt, then improved to a flush when
two more clubs fell.
At
this point, Mohammadi pushed for a chip-count
deal. Robert "Bugsy" Slagle, the Texas
exterminator, was lowest chipped. Slagle,
who was making his second straight final
table, and who has three cash-outs in
four tournament attempts this year, was
the lone objector who wanted to keep playing.
But he finally came around after the deal
was sweetened a bit.
The
chip count was: Esmeralda, $112,000; Kouyoumdjian,
$72,000; Simon, $69,000; Mohammadi, $24,500;
Schram, $23,000; Dubin, $17,000; and Slagle,
$22,000.
That
was the order of finish with bus driver
Esmeralda driving off with an official
$25,515 for his first major tournament
victory.
Max Shapiro
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