IN
MEMORIAM
A
moment of silence.
There
were 22 entrants in the $2,500 Buy-In,
Limit Hold'em for a total prize pool of
$51,700. Three players were paid.
To
setup the Final Table, Robert Thompson
said "I didn't know who he was until after
I busted him." This is the first tournament
Thompson has EVER played in and he knocks
former World Champion Scotty Nguyen off
the Final Table. Bob plays in a big home
game. "$2,500 (buy-in) every Sunday for
19 years." They mostly play Hold'em, so
his success isn't that surprising.
THE FINAL TABLE:
20 mins. left of 60.
The blinds were $100/$200
Player
Hometown Chip
Count
Seat 1 John Kapovich South Holland IL
$ 4,100
Seat 2 Bob Feduniak Las Vegas NV $ 3,500
Seat 3 James Covington Charlotte NC $
6,100
Seat 4 Jake Naumer DuQuoin IL $ 8,200
Seat 5 Richard Ranney Irons UT $ 3,300
Seat 6 Paul Testud Paris, France $ 3,300
Seat 7 Robert Thompson Cumberland MD $
6,900
Seat 8 T J Cloutier Richardson TX $11,100
Seat 9 Maureen Feduniak Las Vegas NV $
6,500
Seat 10 Daniel Negreanu Las Vegas NV $
2,400
In
an extraordiary hand, Richard Ranney departed
in 10th after trailing so badly on the
flop it seemed impossible that he was
leading on the turn. Ranney had the infamous
pocket 5's. Jake Naumer had A J. The flop
came J J 6. When a 5 turned Richard went
all-in because he was on a boat, but the
boat sank in the river when an Ace arrived
last.
Frenchman
Paul Testud lost almost all his chips
in the hand before with A 10 against A
K and K K. Now with only enough for the
blind and K 3, Daniel Negreanu made a
straight with K 7 to make Paul wish he
were back home in Paris.
Third
earlier this week in A To 5 Triple Draw
Lowball, James Covington showed he can
play Limit Hold'em with the best of them.
Unfortunately, his best tonight was only
good enough for a Hall of Fame jacket
and 8th. Covington went all-in with his
measly case money and an 8 7. Robert Thompson
called with 10 9 and flopped a 10.
For
the second time in their poker careers,
the Feduniaks made a Final Table together
in a Major. The last time was also at
a Hall of Fame tournament a few years
ago. When the table was informed that
a husband and wife were both present,
someone cracked "We know who the wife
is." Since Maureen Feduniak was the only
woman at the table, Sherlock Holmes wasn't
needed to solve that mystery. Same-sex
marriages aren't recognized in Nevada.
When Bob Feduniak was pointed out T J
Cloutier advised, "And they don't play
sugar, either." In 7th, Bob could use
some sugar at this point as he is yet
to cash in the Hall of Fame this year.
Sweet and Low would do in a pinch. Bob
had so few chips he took a shot from the
small blind going all-in with a raise
of $100 and pocket 4's. Not unexpectedly
Bob got a couple of callers and T J Cloutier's
A 5 prevailed when an Ace flopped.
Daniel
Negreanu was sucking up all the oxygen
at this point leaving the short stacks
gasping for air. No one else could win
a hand. Robert Thompson not only didn't
know Scotty Nguyen, he'd never HEARD of
T J Cloutier sitting immediately to his
left. That brought a bemused smile to
T J's face. Thompson may not have known
enough to be intimidated, but he may have
figured out he was being outplayed by
the best of the best. One memorable hand
Thompson bet until the board paired on
the river. "I had K's and 9's," Robert
said as he mucked his hand to what we
had to presume was a higher two pair.
T.J confided that if we believed Thompson,
he had a bridge in Brooklyn he'd sell.
All out of chips, the Cumberland MD native
left a gap at the table upon his departure
in 6th when his Q J lost to T J's 10 6
with a 6 on board.
This
is no way to treat a lady (starring Joanne
Woodward or Jodie Foster). First hubby
is ushered unceremoniously to the door,
now the wife has to go as well. Maureen
Feduniak has cashed a couple of times
in this year's HOF, but she was unable
to bring home the bacon tonight in 5th.
More jackets for the Feduniaks. Maureen
was leading on the flop of J 9 3 with
her A 9 and bet out. Action player Jake
Naumer called with pocket 6's and cruelly
turned trips putting Maureen all-in and
all-out.
John Kapovich may have known he was in
trouble when he pulled the same #1 seat
in this event he did the other day in
another. In that event, John started out
as the chip leader and was hammered. This
time Kapovich didn't even have the protection
of lots of chips. Yet, with these fewer
bullets tonight, John's finish was higher.
Sadly, for John Kapovich is such a pleasant
person, 4th was one out of the money.
If John could have found a way to throw
away his A 10 with the flop A K J and
a raising war going on, he might have
gotten paid. Instead, Kapovich called
all the raises and reraises drawing completely
dead by the turn. When an Ace arrived,
Jake Naumer had the top full house with
his A K. Naumer wasn't completely sanguine
about the board because there was a royal
potential with Club paint. To finish the
hand without the all-in Kapovich, Daniel
Negreanu went to the river with the second
nut straight flush draw (with the 10 9
of Clubs) that didn't get there. Jake
Naumer racked a monster pot.
"All
I wanted to do was get into the money,"
Jake fibbed. As the initial chip leader
three-handed, Naumer was eyeing that $25,850
for first. "This is the most money I've
ever made," Jake said of the $10,340 guaranteed
3rd place prize. Since this was Naumer's
first live poker tournament, as it was
Robert Thompson's, $10k against a world-class
lineup is mind-boggling.
"I'll
be buying some jewelry for my wife," Jake
continued, looking at her in the audience
(as was every other guy in the place).
If you get the idea from the quotes that
Jake is a certified character, you wouldn't
be in error. Last one: "The poker Lords
give you a hand then they torture you
for the next hour and a half," Jake lamented.
The
hand that killed Naumer's chance for the
bigger money was when he flopped the joint.
Jake had J 10, the flop came 9 8 7. Small
problem. They were all Diamonds. Daniel
Negreanu had the King of Diamonds and
caught one on the river for a flush. Jake
was gone on the next hand with a 9 6.
Danny exited the character stage left
with a Queen on the flop.
In
17 events at this year's Hall of Fame,
we hadn't had a 'worst to first' until
now. Heads up, Daniel Negreanu had a $42k
to $13k lead on the 51-time Major tournament
and all-time WSOP money winner T J Cloutier.
Danny started last in chips with $2,400.
He finished first in chips, with all of
them, and his second HOF title this year.
"Eight
out of nine hands, I started with the
best one and lost all of them," T J said
as Daniel's flopped 3's held up on the
last hand. Cloutier had A 7. Negreanu
had the 4 3 of Spades. The Negreanu legend
grows.
And
the anniversary of 9/11 ended peacefully,
thank God. My best to all the poker world
on this solemn day.
This
report is dedicated to a dear friend I
lost one year ago today: John Perry, NYPD.
Mike Paulle
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