“Cimino
the Survivor” Atlantic City
Poker Dealer Wins First Major Tournament
The
fourth event at this year’s "Showdown
at the Sands" was won by Michael
V. Cimino, a poker dealer in Atlantic
City. Cimino topped a tough field of 141
players, which started on a Monday morning,
promptly at 11:00 am. Thirteen hours later,
what was technically the next day, Cimino
was declared the winner and walked away
with first-place prize money, which amounted
to $24,670.
After
132 players were eliminated, the nine
finalists began play. The final table
started with blinds at $2,000-4,000 and
betting limits at $4,000-8,000.
Kelly
Voci was the first player to bust out
from the final table. She was short-stacked
with A-Q and put the remainder of her
chips into the pot. William L. Sanford,
with 8-6 was a dog, but managed to catch
a pair on the flop and put Voci out in
ninth-place with $1,763.
Thomas
Fiore came in with medium-sized stack,
but was never able to establish any momentum
at the final table. He seemed to be in
a favorable position to double-up early
when he was dealt pocket Jacks -- but
the hand ultimately proved to be a loser.
Fiore exited in eighth-place, good for
$2,115.
Big
pairs proved to be disastrous at this
final table. A short time later, Gary
Henry was dealt K-K and moved his last
chips into the pot before the flop with
the powerful hand. William L. Sanford
faded the bet with A-J and watched happily
as the final board showed A-5-3-8-Q. Sanford's
pair of Aces knocked-out Henry (with kings)
in seventh-place, which meant a $2,468
payday for the player who has also finished
high in the money at previous poker tournaments
in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.
William
L. Sanford's good fortune ran out a short
time later when he was dealt K-9 and flopped
top pair. Unfortunately, David Ferrante
also had a King with a better kicker (a
Jack versus a Nine), which meant a disappointing
sixth-place finish for Sanford. He received
$3,173.
After
a short break, blinds increased to $3,000-5,000.
Limits went up to $5,000-10,000. That
effectively made any single hand critical
for the remaining five players, since
no player had over $100K in chips. David
Ferrante was blinded down to his last
$2K and made his final stand in the big
blind with J-3. Rubenstein faded the bet
with Q-8 and made a pair of Queens which
effectively knocked Ferrante out in fifth-place.
Ferrante, an Atlantic City local, collected
$3,878.
Down
to four just players, Bernard West had
a slight chip lead. He improved his position
a few hands later when his flush crippled
Rubenstein, leaving him very short on
chips. Rubenstein, finally moved his last
chip into the pot shortly thereafter with
9-10 suited, and appeared to like the
flop -- which came J-10-8. Rubenstein
had a pair, along with an outside straight
draw. However, Michael V. Cimino had a
Jack (for top pair) and won the pot with
a single pair when two blanks fell on
4th and 5th street. Rubenstein was awarded
$4,935 for fourth place.
Down
to three players, Bernard West enjoyed
a slight chip lead. The three players
battled for over an hour back and forth
before everyone looked around and realized
that the chip counts had drawn very close
to even. In a incredibly close finale,
Cimino had $120K to West’s $118K,
and Naro’s $116K. The three survivors
then agreed to split the top-three places
in prize money and play one final hand
to determine the tournament winner.
On
the final hand of the night, Cimino was
dealt A-4. The final board showed 9-7-7-9-2,
which gave Cimino two-pair, along with
an Ace kicker. The Ace proved to be the
difference as Cimino took first place,
while opponents West and Naro finished
second and third, respectively.
Michael
V. Cimino has been a poker dealer in Atlantic
City for the past seven years. He decided
that a deal was in his best interest,
since both of his opponents has proven
to be solid players over the course of
the marathon tournament. Cimino was quick
to credit both of his adversaries, especially
Brazilian player, Alessandre Naro, who
is from Rio de Janeiro.
"I
thought it was amazing that (Naro) was
able to come back from being down in chips
so many times," Cimino said. "I
was happy to make a deal with them."
"Besides,"
he added, "after playing for thirteen
hours, my back was killing me."
-- by Nolan Dalla
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