ARMENIAN
EXPRESS ROLLS
TO VICTORY IN STUD HI/LO
After
finishing second in no-limit hold'em and
third in the first stud hi/lo event, Chris
Grigorian, the "Armenian Express," finally
got on the fast track and easily steamed
to victory in the ninth event of Hustler
Casino's Challenge Cup, 7-card stud hi/lo.
By the later stages, after he had amassed
a commanding chip lead, there was little
doubt that he would win. With a third-place
finish at Tunica, Grigorian would now
rank high in Card Player's "Player of
the Year" standings for this event.
And
he finally broke the four-time jinx of
his adamant no-deal policy.
Only seven players made it to the final
table, but with 45-minute rounds, gradual
level increases, and repeatedly chopped
pots, the table still took a grueling
three hours to finish past 6 a.m.
Two players dropped out the hand before.
At one of the two second tables, Tim Raynak,
previously a host at the Hustler and Hawaiian
Gardens, was all in with queens and lost
to John Inashima's aces and treys. At
the other table, night club owner Cliff
Cantor raised with split kings and was
re-raised all in by recreational player
Tim Fu. Cantor couldn't improve while
Fu, who started with low cards, caught
a third deuce on the river. Tim and Cliff
both collected $740.
Demonstrating that "tight is right," Inashima
was making his fourth final table. Earlier,
after winning the first 7-stud hi/lo event,
Robert Gray had said he was glad that
he had played heads-up against Inashima
rather than the more aggressive Grigorian,
who had finished third. "Well, Robert
isn't here tonight, so I guess I'll have
to play against Chris," John cracked,
getting in the last word. John put his
vaunted survival skills on display, going
all in and escaping eight times as he
scratched his way to third place.
Limits started at $800 and $1,600 and
after six hands rose to $1,000 and $2,000
with $200 antes and a $300 low-card bring-in.
In early going, veteran tournament player
Bill Henson was giving by far the most
action by playing about 50 percent of
the hands. This got him in a lot of trouble
as he went all in three times but managed
to wiggle out each time. Grigorian, meanwhile,
got a big break on hand 16 when he was
all in against Fu's three aces, but scooped
with a small straight.
Thor Hansen finished seventh for $985.
He got low-chipped on hand 22 when he
made a good fold against Henson's board
of 4-Q-4-A because Bill had aces-full.
On the next hand, though, he got broke
after starting with A-J/7 and made nothing
against Inashima, who began with split
deuces and made kings-up.
Henson
went out of business six hands later when
limits were $1,500-$3,000 with $300 antes
and a $500 bring-in. He started and ended
with pocket deuces, calling all in on
sixth street for $2,600. By that time
Grigorian had a seven made and two 4s.
He missed his wheel draw, but the two
4s were all he needed. Bill collected
$1,230 for sixth place.
Another
34 hands would crawl by before another
competitor could be forced out. Meanwhile,
the players kept up a stream of light-hearted
banter. One hand, Grigorian folded while
digging into a plate of food. "You're
lucky I'm eating," he said.
"Keep eating," said Corey Mandell. "Give
him an out button," suggested Jack Howard.
Mandell, a screenwriter playing in only
his third tournament, had built up a nice
stack but then took a big hit, losing
$15,000 with a made hand of jacks-full
on sixth street. He bet blind, but had
his eyes opened when Fu, who caught queens-full
on the river, raised.
Inashima
got a break on hand 56. "Let's go," he
declared, raising for his last $500 with
a promising start of A-5/4. He caught
a 6 on fourth street, but was looking
at three bullets held by Fu. On sixth
street, John was free-rolling when a deuce
gave him a 6-low. Calling for a 3, he
caught it on the river to scoop with a
wheel.
At
5:30 a.m., Howard was down to $1,100.
He put it in with split aces and couldn't
help while Fu, starting with A-3/7, knocked
him out by making two pair. Howard, a
retired computer programmer, picked up
$1,475 for fifth place.
Grigorian,
meanwhile, had held the lead for some
time. But after the players returned from
a break, the action speeded up and the
Armenian Express really took command.
Five minutes into the new limits of $3,000-$6,000
with $500 antes and $1,000 bring-in, he
broke Fu. Showing A-J-Q-Q, he bet. Fu
called for his last $200. Chris turned
up another ace and Tim tossed in his 2-7-4-K
without showing his down cards. Fourth
place was worth $1,720.
By
now Chris had about $74,000 of the $82,000
in play. A few minutes later the elusive
Inashima finally got speared. John had
only $1,400 left and had to bring it in
with a door-card deuce. All he could make
was king-high and lost to Mandell, who
started with A-Q/J and won with two fives.
John's endurance demonstration was worth
$2,950 for third place.
Now
out-chipped about 12-1, and only playing
his third tournament, the screenwriter
proved a scrappy competitor who refused
to roll over. "He's a good fighter, fought
me all the way," Chris later said in tribute.
But he couldn't make much headway against
the vastly more experienced Grigorian,
who has several major tournament wins
to his credit. On the seventh hand heads-up,
Corey went all in for $1,500 with K-3/7.
He paired his king on fourth street, but
it was not nearly enough as Chris hit
a heart flush on the river. Corey collected
$5,600 for second place while the Armenian
Express went home with an un-chopped purse
of $9,100.
Max Shapiro
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