200k
Pot Wins it for Simhai!
With an almost insurmountable lead after
hauling in a 200k pot and busting David
“The Dragon” Pham, Michael Simhai had
an easy win in the 15th event of Winnin’
o’ the Green 2004, $1,000 no-limit hold’em.
It was the high-tech consultant’s first
major tournament victory. Tonight’s event
lasted nearly 13 hours, and the final
table provided onlookers with a full share
of drama and excitement.
The
table started with $100 antes and $500-$1,000
blinds, 43:59 left. On the first hand,
Men “The Master” Nguyen moved in, treating
the table to a new expression: “All you
can eat, baby.” Fortunately for the table’s
sanity, he got to use it only three times.
On hand two, Simhai raised with As-2s
and Men called with Qh-10h. The flop was
Q-4-2. Simhai moved in with his paired
deuce and Men quickly called with his
paired queen. An ace hit and Simhai ate
up all but 4,000 of Men’s chips.
Four
hands later, poker player Phi Nguyen three-bet
all in with pocket 7s against Computer
guy Gary Peck’s A-Q. The 7s held up and
Peck was gone. On the next hand, Men pushed
in his 4k with Q-10. Massage therapist
Vin Elle called with Ad-7d and blew The
Master away by flopping two pair.
At
the first break, Simhai led with 73k.
Blinds were now $800-$1,600 with $200
antes. On hand 26, Greg Wynn moved in
for 12k with A-K. Pham raised all in while
munching on a banana. “You got a couple
of bananas?” asked David Moskowitz. No,
he had a couple of cowboys. No ace hit
and seven were left.
Moskowitz is the CEO of Hawaiian Gardens,
owned by his father, Irving Moskowitz.
(Both are also physicians.) On hand 30
he was all in with Ah-Kh against Pham’s
Ad-Jd. Pham was getting great cards. He
turned a jack to knock out Moskowitz and
take the lead. After picking up three
more pots, he moved past the 100k mark.
Just
before the next level, Simhai made his
move by putting a beat on Mickey Mouse,
flopping a set of 8s against pocket kings.
Simhai now had about 90k, the mouse 10.
After blinds went to 1-2k with $300 antes,
Pham’s luck began to vanish. He called
with Ac-9c after Mickey Mouse moved in
with K-Q. He had the mouse until the river,
when a king came off. On the next hand,
Simhai raised with A-Q. Vin Elle moved
in with pocket 7s and busted out when
Simhai made two pair, regaining his lead
over Pham.
The
pot of the night, and of the entire WOG
tournament to date, now came down. Pham
made a small raise and Simhai, holding
A-A, moved in for a bit over 100k. Pham,
with A-Q, made a debatable call. The board
came 10-8-2-8-4, Pham was gone and Simhai
now owned more than 2/3 of the chips.
Phi
Nguyen finished fourth after picking a
bad spot to bluff. Holding just 8-6, he
re-raised all in on a flop of 7-7-3 against
Simhai, who had a 7. Simhai now had 232k
to 38k for Mills and 24.5k for Dutch Boyd.
The most dramatic hand of the night came
down after blinds went to $1,500-$3,000
with $500 antes. The mouse was all in
again with Ks-Qs against Simhai’s Ac-9c.
He took the lead when a queen flopped.
Simhai took it back when an ace turned.
And the mouse got all the cheese with
a river queen as the crowd of onlookers
went wild.
On
the final hand, Dutch Boyd moved in with
pocket kings against Mickey Mouse’s Ac-9c,
losing when an ace hit. The mouse had
now made a remarkable recovery from his
10k low point. He had 107k to 187.5 for
Simhai, and a deal quickly ended the marathon.
BIOGRAPHY
Michael Simhai is an information technology
consultant for Fortune 500 companies.
He’s been playing playing poker “a few
years,” and though he’s had some minor
wins at places such as the Bellagio and
Hollywood Park, this is his only major
tournament victory. Most of his poker
time is spent in side games, usually pot-limit
hold’em. His style of play, he said, varies;
tonight it was solid.
He
was never in trouble, and his first big
break came when he went against Kathy
Liebert with K-J against her A-K at the
third table. She went all in on a flop
of A-Q-10. It gave him a straight and
he knocked her out. Simhai said he was
impressed by how well the tournament was
run. For example, twice at the final table
there was confusion over a missing $100
ante. Both times, tournament director
Denny Williams made a phone call, and
in moments the security camera tracked
it down.
Max Shapiro
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