Event
#1
In
the inaugural "Million Dollar Deal
at the Sands," the first event of
what promises to be one of the most exciting
poker tournaments in Atlantic City history,
Frank Tatje Leeser topped a highly competitive
field of 159 players. The East Coast has
long been revered for the best seven-card
stud action in the world, and many of
the top players in the game live on the
Eastern Seaboard. Since Atlantic City
first legalized poker in ten years ago,
stud has been "the game" in
most of the local casinos -- although
things are now quickly changing with the
explosion of Texas hold'em. Still, a very
strong turnout showed up at "The
Showdown" for a guaranteed $75,000
prize pool.
New
Jersey local, Paul Goldman arrived at
the final table with the chip lead ($51,700).
Trailing by a small margin was Jose Luis
Gomes ($46,600) from New York City.
The first player to bust out was James
Wilsey, no stranger to poker players along
the East Coast. Wilsey, who plays in many
tournaments in Atlantic City and Foxwoods
and won a major event recently at the
United States Poker Championship started
with a pair of aces, but ended up losing
to a flush. He exited in 8th place and
received $1,875.
Jose
Luis Gomes had just about everything go
wrong at the final table. He came with
a respectable number of chips, but failed
to win any hand of significance during
his 35-minute stay under the bright lights
at the Sands Casino. Gomes exited unceremoniously
in 7th place and collected $2,625.
Next,
Seth B. Fass from Long Beach, NY busted
out. This was Fass' first-ever final table
and he started with split jacks, but failed
to improve his hand, which ended up losing
to two-pair. He received $3,375 for 6th
place.
Ron
Preston from nearby Toms River, NJ arrived
with $23,100 and hung on for the first
90 minutes. But he failed to be a force
at the final table.
Preston took home $4,125 for 5th place.
Down
to four players, Paul Goldman was still
held the chip lead, by nearly a 2-1 margin
over his closest competitor ((Frank Leeser
in second place). With betting limits
of $3,000-6,000 one key hand was all it
took to swing momentum and redistribute
the $231,000 chips in play.
Giancarlo
DiPierro came in with the lowest chip
count ($6,000) and survived two tense
all-ins early in the finale. He took a
proverbial toothpick and ran it into a
lumberyard, which eventually burned up
in one big confrontation with Frank Leeser,
who was on fire throughout play at the
final table. DiPierro started off with
a pair of queens and looked as though
he'd survive another round, yet again.
But Leeser spiked an ace on the final
card, good for a pair of aces, which eliminated
the DiPerro. $5,250 was paid for 4th place.
With
three players remaining, Goldman and Leeser
were neck-a-neck in chips, with Goldman
holding a very slight lead -- $102,500
versus $101,500. Harvey Layton was hanging
tough with $36,000. Layton, from Devon,
PA -- who cited his most spectacular poker
accomplishment as "staying alive"
-- was buried when he began his final
hand with pocket 9s. Unfortunately, Layton
received no help whatsoever and watched
in horror when Leeser caught a second
pair and made 6s and 3s. Layton received
$7,500 for 3rd place.
Down
to the final two players, Leeser had the
chip lead for the first time. The two
rivals squared off for over an hour, as
Leeser continued to bulldoze over the
table with several "scare" cards
face up, forcing Goldman to fold when
pressured with bets and raises. Leeser
took a 3-1 chip lead into the second hour
of heads-up play as betting limits increased
to $6,000-12,000. Goldman went all-in
at this point, and survived his first
gamble when he spiked a second pair on
the final card. Goldman was able to parlay
the $30,000 pot into a second big payoff,
when he made another two pair on seventh-street,
which effectively took his chip count
up to over $60,000. Nevertheless, he was
down 4 to 1 in chips to Leeser.
Goldman's
good fortune finally ran out when the
final hand of the night was dealt:
GOLDMAN
(A-Q) 10-A-7-3 (2)
LEESER (8-8) 6-7-8-9 (Q)
Goldman
started with big cards, which improved
to a pair of aces by fourth- street. Leeser
started with a pair, and hit trips on
fifth street. Leeser's three 8s was the
winning hand of the tournament, which
came just minutes shy of midnight. Goldman,
the chip leader coming into the finale,
received $15,000 for his 2nd place finish.
Frank Leeser certainly qualifies as one
of poker's top seven-card stud aficionados.
Leeser won the $300 stud event at the
United States Poker Championship in 2000,
and finished 7th a year later in the big
stud event. He also made the final table
of the Tropicana's New Jersey State Poker
Championship series a few years ago. Leeser
added $27,750 to his poker bankroll.
Leeser,
who lives in Delaware, is getting married
next month. After he collected his prize
money, he said, "This will make a
great wedding present."
"Yeah,"
someone quipped from the late-night crowd.
"A wedding present for who?"
Everyone
was laughing, especially Frank Leeser.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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