Floridian
Shines on Rainy Atlantic City Night:
Anthony Morales Wins Top Prize in
$1,000 Buy-in No-Limit Hold'em Event
On
a cold and rainy night, while thousands
of Atlantic City residents and visitors
were shivering in freezing rain and gale
force winds, millions of Floridians enjoyed
82-degree weather. Nevertheless, two Floridians
found themselves in the garden paradise
of South New Jersey, playing for a large
chunk of a $137,000 prize pool in the
"Showdown at the Sands" poker
tournament. After several big names at
the final table had been eliminated, it
was down to just two players, both from
Florida, to determine the winner of what
is, to date, has been the biggest event
of the tournament.
Play
at the final table started with a $300
ante and blinds set at $800-$1600.
Mike
"Motormouth" Matasow's stay
at the final table was short, but not
sweet. Early on, he shifted into his humorous
if belligerent conversational mode when
he taunted fellow tournament veteran Andy
Bloch. "Keep on raising like that,
and I'm going to wake up with Aces and
bust you," Matasow said trying to
fend off Bloch's early aggression. A few
minutes later, Bloch left the Motormouth
speechless.
Matasow
made a bold all-in move before the flop
with 9-9, as the action then swung around
to Andy Bloch. Now, it was decision time.
A full five minutes passed before Bloch
finally called with J-J. When the hole
cards were exposed, Matasaw went silent.
The board failed to bring a lifesaving
Nine for the former World Series of Poker
bracelet winner, which put Matasow out
in tenth place with $2,329. With the big
pot, Bloch immediately zoomed into the
chip lead.
He
wouldn't stay there for very long. Another
star player went out minutes later when
short-stacked Paul Darden moved his last
few thousand into the pot with 10-9. Tony
Morales had K-J in the blind. The flop,
J-8-2 gave Darden an outside straight
draw. But two blanks fell on the final
two cards, which bounced Darden off the
final table in ninth place with $3,425.
Suddenly, Morales was now a force to be
taken seriously.
Following
a short break the blinds increased to
$1500-$3000, with antes at $500. Jordan
Siegel, one of three players in the finale
fromthe state of Florida, found himself
low on chips and ultimately busted out
in eighth place. Andy Bloch took the chips,
while Siegel took home $4,110.
Freddy
Deeb is another player who plays regularly
on the tournament trail. Deeb came in
with $75K, but was never able to mount
any momentum during his 90-minute stay
in the finale. On his final hand, Deeb
made two pair on the turn -- Queens and
2s -- but lost when Tony Morales spiked
a diamond flush. Deeb, from Las Vegas,
who has many cashes over the years, took
seventh place and $4,790.
No
matter where he finished, this was quite
a day for Jan Chen, a business-owner from
Princeton, NJ. Chen expected to play seven-card
stud today, but decided at the last minute
to enter his first-ever no-limit hold'em
tournament. Chen played marvelously for
many hours, but finally caught a bad break
when his three-of-a-kind was crushed by
a flush. On his final hand, Chen had 9-8
and was delighted to see the flop come
9-9-7. When a 6 came on the turn, that
seemed to improve Chen's position, but
the 6 also made a flush for Tony Morales.
Chen received $6,165 for sixth place and
received a sincere ovation from the crowd
and his fellow players.
By
this time, Andy Bloch had lost the chip
lead to Morales, who was turning into
a human bulldozer. Bloch got some chips
back momentarily when his A-A topped Stan
Goldstein's 10-10, leaving the championship
a wide-open affair. Then, Daniel Moran
busted out when his A-3 failed to connect
to a final board of K-J-9-2-2. Once again,
Morales was the chip-busting culprit,
holding K-J for two pair, which meant
Moran was out in fifth place with $7,535.
Bloch's
stack declined over the next few rounds,
and he finally decided to take a stand
with A-J. The decision proved disastrous.
Bloch raised before the flop and Robert
Mizrachi, with 8-8 re-raised all-in. The
raise was just enough to cover Bloch,
who called the re-raise. The final board
showed all low cards, which meant Mizrachi's
pair of 8s was the winner. Bloch, a multi-talented
individual with degrees from Harvard and
M.I.T., who has also won many events including
a Hall of Fame title from the Horseshoe
in Las Vegas, received $9,590 for fourth
place.
Down
to three players, Stan Goldstein was the
lowest stack. Twenty minutes after Bloch's
elimination, Goldstein went to war with
Tony Morales. Goldstein, with Q-7, was
all-in against Morales' K-J after the
flop came Q-10-9. Morales had flopped
a straight, which pretty much left Goldstein
drawing slim. Two blanks fell on the turn
and river, which put Goldstein out in
third place. The Californian, who has
many tournament wins and final table appearances,
collected $12,330.
The
final two-man duel was an all-Florida
affair. Morales, from Pembroke Pines,
held a 2 to 1 chip advantage over Mizrachi,
from Miami. Mizrachi made a valiant effort
to draw closer to Morales, but took a
horrible beat on the final hand of the
tournament. In fact, it was brutal.
In
a bizarre finish, Morales was in the small
blind and made an "all in" raise
with 8-9 off-suit, obviously hoping to
steal the $3,000 big blind, plus the antes.
Lo and behold, Mizrachi woke up in the
big blind with 10-10 and practically beat
Morales into the pot with his remaining
$150,000. In what certainly amounted to
the most exciting finish thus far at this
year's Sands' tournament, Mizrachi caught
a ten on the flop, was massive overkill
versus the two under cards. However, the
board showed Q-10-3, which gave Morales
(with 9-8) an inside straight draw if
Jack came.
All
eyes were glued to the dealer's left hand
and the center of a poker table in the
grand ballroom of the Sands Casino. Incredibly,
a Jack fell on the turn -- which absolutely
electrified Morales who had completed
the straight. The brutal middle-buster
catch left Mizrachi praying for the board
to pair. It wasn't to be. A harmless five
fell on the river, leaving the large crowd
staring at the table in stunned disbelief.
Just
about everything went right on this cold
and rainy night for Tony Morales. He topped
a field that included several former world
champions. He arrived at the final table
with a small number of chips and managed
to win every major confrontation during
the three and a half hour finale. And,
in the end, he busted his final two opponents
with straights. “Come rain or come
shine,” Morales had $47,950 reasons
to start “singing in the rain.”
-- by Nolan Dalla
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