BET
AND TAKE IT
If
there is such a thing as TOO much respect,
maybe the players at tonight's Final Table
had it. After all, gambling is legal in
Nevada. Although one would have a hard
time proving it by these guys.
There
were 26 entrants in the $1,500 Buy-In,
Razz for a total prize pool of $36,660.
One table was paid, a total of five players.
To
setup the Final Table, Phil Ivey caught
a four on 6th street for a 10 4 to send
Chris Bjorin home jacketless in 9th. Chris
had a 10 9.
THE FINAL TABLE:
34 mins left of 60.
The ante was $50. High card was $100.
Playing $300/$600
Player
Hometown Chip
Count
Seat 1 Phil Ivey Atlantic City NJ $ 9,750
Seat 2 Scotty Nguyen Henderson NV $ 1,200
Seat 3 Tom McEvoy Las Vegas NV $10,025
Seat 4 Robert Williamson III Dallas TX
$ 3,700
Seat 5 John Juanda Alhambra CA $ 8,650
Seat 6 Don Zewin Las Vegas NV $ 2,950
Seat 7 Bill Wiley Flora IL $ 1,725
Seat 8 Ken Flaton Las Vegas NV $ 1,450
There
was a lot of pride on the line with this
grizzled Razz group. No one wanted to
have to go home empty-handed. The Hall
of Fame jacket wasn't going to be sufficient
for bragging rights in the poker locker
room. The short stacks were going to have
to get real lucky early, because the big
boys were gonna come after them.
The
first to crack was gentleman Bill Wiley.
If he has a word to say at the table it's
a lot. As usual with Bill he started out
with the best hand. Wiley had A 4 8 to
Bob Williamson's 3 6 8. Both players double
paired but Wiley's were Queens for a Queen
low and Williamson's were Jacks for Jack
low. So much for the coyote in 8th.
This
was one Final Table of the many he's had,
that Don Zewin will be glad to forget.
He didn't make any money and he didn't
make any hands. Tom McEvoy put Zewin out
with an 8 to Don's 9.
After
having fought until after 3 a.m. this
morning to win the No-Limit event, Scotty
Nguyen had to be exhausted. Still he was
drawing to the best hand all-in against
Phil Ivey. Scotty had a wheel draw that
bricked a 9. Phil was already there with
8 6. From $47k last night to $0 tonight,
Scotty was one out of the money.
The
second former World Champion at the table
left with a little cash since he won a
satellite to get into the event, but Tom
McEvoy wasn't a happy camper after starting
with the chip lead. 5th wasn't what he
had in mind. But few good starters and
a brickyard when he played ended Tom Terrific's
night early. In a sad final hand, McEvoy
caught K K to lose with Q J to John Juanda's
Q 10. "I caught him stealing and
paired on the end," Tom said dejectedly.
Kenny
'Skyhawk' Flaton was the one short stack
to escape the mire. He went on a headlong
rush from the get-go. The wunderkind Phil
Ivey knew he was dead when he paired Deuces
on 4th street, but he only had $450 left
so he shipped it into the pot anyway.
Time to go home for Phil in 4th. He had
no way to beat Ken Flaton's made 9 5.
This
is where the too much respect part comes
in. Yes, the blinds were relatively low.
But how could three players push chips
back and forth for over two hours? It
was 'bet and take it' to the extreme.
Each player was waiting for the other
to go bad.
Eventually,
with the limits now $1,000/$2,000 $150
antes and a $300 high card someone cracked.
That someone was Ken Flaton. It didn't
take too many high cards and failed draws
to eat up Ken's third of the chips on
the table. Ken went all-in for his last
$4,100 with a better 9 draw than the made
9 of Bob Williamson, but Kenny bricked
on the end for a great 3rd coming from
so far back.
Heads up, Williamson had a $26k to 19k
lead on the Zen Master John Juanda. There
doesn't seem to be a card game that the
brilliant Juanda can't play. Even though
he was so tired he could barely keep his
eyes open, John still keep winning the
'bet and take it' battle that ensued.
Finally
we had a pivotal hand. "Brick, brick,"
Williamson said as he had to muck his
big draw. Juanda won a $20k pot with a
rag 9.
Williamson
kept begging Juanda to gamble with him,
offering to bet without looking. He was
even willing to have them play all-in
hands, that he would have to win both
of. But Juanda is too disciplined. Even
groggy from lack of sleep, the Zen Master
never gambles. He has the edge or he doesn't
play.
The
end came at last when Williamson went
all-in out of desperation with a bad hand.
Bob had a K 5 in the hole with a 2 showing.
Juanda had 9 6 in the hole with a 2 up.
All the bating Williamson was doing of
Juanda came to no avail. John is just
to strong a player to fall for such an
obvious ploy. The 'bet and take it' game
was over. Bob Williamson was drawing dead
on the river to John's 9 8.
Mike Paulle
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