SQUEAK!
This
writer has covered a lot of Media events
and has NEVER seen a tighter group. It
took an unheard of 55 minutes to eliminate
the FIRST player in a No-Limit freeroll.
Yikes!
There
has to be a first one out. And that dubious
honor went to our early chip leader, Jason
Reed who was playing for Emerson Parkinson's
Academy.
Oddly,
the only player entered who had cashed
in this year's Hall of Fame tournament
was the 11th and last off the Final Table.
The Horseshoe's Shelley Carr was 3rd in
the Women's Hold'em event last week. She
played for Heaven Can Wait and Best Friends
(Animal Sanctuary). Shelley's engine blew
up just short of the finish line when
her all-in A 6 couldn't catch against
pocket 4's.
THE FINAL TABLE:
10 mins. left of 20.
The blinds were $200/$400
Player
Hometown Chip
Count
Seat 1 Q Knopow Las Vegas NV $ 3,600 Straddle.net
Seat 2 Larry Grossman Las Vegas NV $ 2,500
You Can Bet On It
Seat 3 Bonnie Rattner Las Vegas NV $16,300
Cardplayer Magazine
Seat 4 Janet Berliner Las Vegas NV $ 2,200
Professional Media Services
Seat 5 Jim Sherwood Las Vegas NV $ 4,100
Gaming Today
Seat
6 Darryl 'Razzo' Phillips Las Vegas NV
$ 3,200 PokerWorld.com
Seat 7 Debbie Burkhead Las Vegas NV $10,600
Poker Writer
Seat 8 Bob Fleck Las Vegas NV $ 4,300
Professional Media Services
Seat 9 Rich Wilens Scottsdale AZ $ 6,600
Southwest Poker Player
Seat 10 Ethan Allen Humbolt IA $ 2,800
Southwest Poker Player
To
take the time, on this solemn anniversary,
to play for a charity makes all these
fine people winners.
Our
Media/Charity was honored by the appearance
of world-famous author Janet Berliner.
Janet has written many novels including
'Child of the Light' and 'Rite of the
Dragon' a Bram Stoker Award winner. What
she couldn't write was a check for more
chips. The shortest stack at the outset,
Berliner raised all-in from the big blind
with A K and was called by Ethan Allen
with 'Presto' pocket 5's that held up.
Janet was playing for Childreach.
"Don't
tell them I played bad," Debbie Burkhead
said. She didn't. Debbie had the No-Limit
nightmare hand-pocket Kings with pocket
Aces in the small blind. Understandably
she couldn't get off the hand and had
her stack destroyed. To add insult to
injury, Jim Sherwood with the Aces told
Debbie he didn't expect to win before
turning his hand over. "What did you think
I had," Deb said, "Three Aces?" A little
competitive for a Charity freeroll, wouldn't
you say? All-in, it was too much for pocket
5's to win again. Larry Grossman had A
Q and turned an Ace. Burkhead played for
the Heart Fund.
It's
football season and that means that Larry
Grossman is VERY busy. The host of the
popular sports handicapping radio show
'You Can Bet On It,' it was wonderful
that Larry would make the effort to join
us today. Larry's A 10 on the button was
the best starting hand, but a Jack on
the flop sent him to the showers. Rich
Wilens was smokin' at the time and hit
his kicker with a K J. Grossman played
for Make A Wish.
Swearing
that he was named for the patriot, not
the couch he was conceived on, Ethan Allen
never had any chips. He went all-in from
his big blind for his last $500 and a
9 6. Bob Fleck called from the button
with J 4 and spiked a 4 when the Jack
high was good. Big hands! Allen played
for the Heartland Health Cancer Institute.
As
the saying goes around the Horseshoe,
"All roads lead to Razzo." Darryl is best
known for being the most prolific Internet
poster on the poker newsgroups. He also
is doing the photography for this Hall
of Fame tournament and he deals poker
at the Horseshoe. Other than that, he's
not too busy. Razzo didn't make many hands
and went all-in with pocket 3's in the
big blind for $4,500. Jim Sherwood had
lots of chips and called from the small
blind with the A 4 of Diamonds. Razzo
was there until the river when another
spiked 4 hit. Razzo's road led out the
door. Mr. Phillips played for the 911
Victim's Fund.
"I picked the wrong time to move on the
blinds," Q Knopow said. Most famous for
his snappy chapeau and dark glasses, Q
was also 27th in the Big Dance a few years
ago. Maybe the buy-in here at $0 wasn't
enough. When he paid $10,000, Q did real
well. Knopow had a fine hand five-handed
with the K 10 of Spades. But Jim Sherwood
woke up with pocket Kings and raised all-in
from the small blind and Bob Fleck made
a big call all-in from the big blind with
A 10. Not one but two Aces flopped and
Q had to use one of his own escape inventions
to get out of town. Knopow played for
the Disaster Relief Fund of Clark County.
This
is the most disappointing paragraph. The
next player out wouldn't be able to gift
their charity of choice. Rich Wilens had
a good run, but then his hands went dead.
Rich is starting a new monthly poker magazine
which will debut in October called Southwest
Poker Player. He already has wide distribution
and it will be available in most card
rooms from Arizona to Southern California.
Good luck with the new venture, Rich.
Better luck, for sure, than the A Q of
Clubs you took up against Bonnie Rattner's
pocket Queens. Wilens played for Jewish
Family Services.
Hooray,
the charities were in the money!
It
was suggested by Bob Fleck that the charity
money be split three ways evenly. All
agreed. They would play for bragging rights.
That loosened this crew up! After hours
of tight play, suddenly they were all-in
on every hand. The Squeak was gone. To
start off the hand of the night, Bonnie
Rattner raised from the button to $8,000.
That brought Jim Sherwood all-in from
the small blind with the K 8 of Hearts
and Bob Fleck all-in from the big blind
with the K 9 of Spades. Reluctantly, Bonnie
called all-in as well with K J. The flop
came Q Q 7. Bonnie was leading. But a
9 on the turn gave Bob Fleck the prohibitive
chip lead and sent Jim Sherwood out Gaming,
Today. Right then in fact.
I
may be biased because he's one of my best
friends, but I think Bob Fleck is the
most talented and dedicated writer's assistant
in publishing. His work in support of
Janet Berliner's writing at Professional
Media Services is unsurpassed. A talented
writer and graphic designer himself, Bob
now had almost all the chips. Bonnie Rattner
chose to go all-in 'blind' and won her
first hand. Then she lost the next to
give Fleck the title with Queen high.
This
may have been the tightest Charity event
group ever, but on the anniversary of
a day we will never forget their hearts
were wide open.
Mike Paulle
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