Guard
is Winner in Hold'em!
Ibrahim Jajo, a guard for a security
services company whose poker playing mostly
centers around tournaments, scored his
first major win in the eighth event of
Winnin' o' the Green, $200 limit hold'em.
He came to the final table with the chip
lead and held onto it until a four-way
deal ended the event. Even with the abrupt
ending, the tournament lasted until nearly
5 a.m. Much of that time was consumed
with the deal negotiations that stretched
on nearly as long as the mid-East arms
reductions talks and that included more
advisors and backers milling around and
involved in the discussion than there
were players. With $91,000 of the $215,000
in play, Jajo was the clear winner. His
official prize for first place was $18,045,
his biggest cash-out ever.
Meanwhile, the $15,000, best all-around
points payoff race remains surprisingly
wide-open. After eight points events,
nobody has more than 62, and a mere three
points separates the nine top finishers.
Tonight's final table got there after
restaurant manager John Droutsas, with
pocket aces, polished off Benjamin Chung,
who had Ac, 4c, and finished in 11th place.
Blinds started at $1,000-$2,000, playing
for 2-4k, with 20:45 remaining. Richard
Flicker, son of veteran player Steve Flicker,
flickered out on hand number four. Half
the $4,000 he arrived with was posted
in the big blind, and the other half went
toward calling Art Andor's raise. Richard
had 10-7 to Art's K-J, and he was drawing
dead after two kings flopped.
With limits at $3,000-$6,000, Annibale
"Tony" Falato raised with K-Q on hand
24, then bet his last $1,000 into a flop
of K-7-6. Mike Laos called with A-J and
sent the pizza restaurant owner home when
a jack and then an ace hit. Ninth place
paid $935. Two hands later, Steven Bernstein,
cardroom manager at Sycuan Casino, raised
with A-4 and was called by Jajo, who had
K-J. When the board showed K-J-3 A-8,
Bernstein bet all in for $4,000 with his
paired ace. But Jajo was holding the winner
with kings and jacks. Steve earned $1,170
for eighth place.
Arturo Andor finished seventh, taking
home $1,410. In the big blind with just
9-2, he called all in on the river with
just a paired deuce, no match for Droutsas,
who had a paired jack to his K-J. Andor
walked away with $1,410.
K-J had knocked out two of the first three
players, but it didn't do Sin Soo much
good. Sin, who earlier had escaped an
all-in encounter when four diamonds on
board gave him a flush, was all in with
K-J and flopped a king. But an ace also
hit the flop, to pair Jajo's A-4. When
the board showed A-K-7-4-5, the final
table was without Sin, and he collected
$1,885 for sixth place. Jajo, meanwhile,
had spurted into a very big chip lead.
Just before the limits went to $4,000-$8,000,
Rusty Mandap, tournament director at Hawaiian
Gardens, had pocket queens and bet his
last $6,000 into a flop of A-6-4, hoping
that Droutsas, his lone opponent who raised
pre-flop, didn't have an ace. He didn't,
just pocket jacks, and Rusty got to stick
around.
There
were only three more deals at the new
levels. Hugo Mejia, who had been nursing
his small stack, was finally caught in
the big blind with just a 6 and a 5. When
the flop came A-10-4 it was bet by Michael
Laos, a carpenter by profession, who held
pocket 9s. Mejia called all in, hoping
for and needing a small miracle. It didn't
come, Mejia picked up his fifth-place
winnings of $2,360, and now four were
left.
Jajo led with $91,000, Laos had $54,000,
Droutas had $36,000 and Mandap trailed
with $34,000. The talks got underway,
and after a lot of give and take, a deal
was finally struck to end the night's
festivities.
BIOGRAPHY
Ibrahim Jajo is a 42-year-old security
guard for Security Watchman Services who
is originally from Iraq. He has been playing
poker for more than 12 years. His biggest
prior cash-out came when he finished second
in a limit hold'em event at the Normandie
Casino. He's been playing $20-$40 limits
in side games, but lately has dropped
down a notch. He likes all games, though
recently he finds that he has been doing
better in stud and Omaha split games.
Jajo, describing himself as a solid player,
says that he played his best game today.
He found himself in a little trouble with
six tables left, but he held on. When
he got to the second table, he won a big
pot when his Q-10 made a straight, and
that put him back in business. A couple
of times he had to make a move and bet,
with absolutely nothing, into big pots
without being called.
Max Shapiro
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