Frankie
O'Dell Goes Wire-to-Wire and
Captures First Gold Bracelet
I
want to dedicate this win to my father.
-- Frankie O'Dell (in remembrance
of his late father who passed away in
2000)
Frankie
O'Dell came to the final table of the
$1,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low Split event
with the largest chip lead so far this
year (through the first 29 events). In
fact, O'Dell had nearly 40 percent of
the total chips on the table and held
an almost 2 to 1 chip advantage over his
closest competitor when play began on
Day Two. Over the next six hours, O'Dell's
stack never dipped below $100K. He ran
wire-to-wire in an awesome display of
Omaha expertise. With the win, O'Dell
has now won titles at both the World Series
of Poker and the World Poker Open for
the same game.
The final table was comprised of an eclectic
mix of poker players, of all ages, backgrounds,
and levels of experience. At one end of
the spectrum were players including Jay
Heimowitz (with 6 gold bracelets), Berry
Johnston (with 5), and John Bonetti (with
3). Then, there were players making their
first final table appearance at the World
Series of Poker, including Richard Ashby
and Bill Schonsheck. In between were players
such as Jim Meehan (winner of a gold bracelet
this year), Dale Phillips (third time
in the money), Marc Durand (second cash),
Jimmy Cha (4th cash), and Frankie O'Dell
(second cash).
Two
players, Marc Durand and Jimmy Cha, came
in very low on chips. Desperately needing
to win a pot, Durand went "all-in" with
his last chips and ran into John Bonetti's
club flush and nut low. Durand went out
and collected $4,340 for 10th place.
Jay Heimowitz came into the final table
in decent chip position, with $33K. However,
the former Budweiser beer distributor
and member of the Senior's Hall of Fame
was never able to generate any momentum
and went out in 9th place -- good for
$5,785.
A
short time later, "Minneapolis Jim" Meehan
went "all-in" with a full house -- 7s
full of jacks. But he ran into an even
higher full-house, Frankie O'Dell's 10s
full of jacks, which meant and eighth-place
finish and $7,220 in prize money. The
big pot put Frnakie O'Dell back up to
$160K in chips, nearly 2 to 1 over Dale
Phillips.
Meanwhile, Bill "Shony" Schonsheck made
the biggest leap in the first 90-minutes
of play. Shony went from just $15K in
chips to nearly $100K, as he scooped a
couple of key pots against John Bonetti.
After
short-stacked "Jimmy Jimmy" Cha went out
in 7th place and collected $9,040, Richard
Ashby from London went "all-in" on a club
flush draw, but missed. Shony made a heart
flush, sending the Londoner out in 6th
place with $12,640.
It
was hard to tell if John Bonetti was sitting
at the final table or riding a roller
coaster, so precarious were his swings
in chips. He bounced back and forth between
virtual elimination and $50K in chips
much of the day, before catching a wave
that propelled him into a comfortable
chip position with nearly $70K. 1986 World
Poker Champion Berry Johnston was not
so fortunate. He was never able to muster
much of a rally and went out in 5th place,
collecting $16,220 for the two-day tournament.
After Johnston went out, Bonetti followed
a half an hour later, when had K-K-x-x
and lost when Frankie O'Dell made two
pair on the river. The lone pair of kings
was no good. Bonetti received $21,680
for 4th place.
O'Dell had roughly a 2 to 1 chip lead
over his remaining two opponents -- Dale
Phillips and Shony Schonheck. The three
finalists battled for over an hour before
Phillips found himself lowest on chips
following a series of bad cards. Down
to just $10K, Phillips went in with a
decent low (2-3-3-x) but ran into O'Dell's
wheel, A-2-3-4-5, which scooped the pot.
Phillips took $34,320 for 3rd place.
The
final two players squared off with O'Dell
holding a $243K o $145 chip lead over
Shony. With the betting limits fixed at
$10K-20K, O'Dell gradually increased his
stack to the point where he held a 3 to
1 chip lead. Since the limits were so
high, all it took was one or two big hands
to throw things out of balance.
The
first key hand occurred when Frankie scooped
a big pot with a nut low and a flush.
One hour into heads-up play, Frankie kept
applying pressure on his opponent by raising
almost every hand before the flop, then
betting out no matter what cards fell.
It was a strategy that worked.
"The
key to winning in Omaha is to gamble,
have fun, and play your cards," O'Dell
stated afterward. "I play fast, I'm a
fast player."
The
final hand of the night came when O'Dell
was dealt Q-9-3-2 (with two diamonds)
against Shony's 9-7-6-4. All the money
went in on the turn when the board showed
6-4-2-J (with three diamonds). Shony had
two pair, 6s and 4s. But O'Dell had a
diamond flush. Shony needed to catch a
6 or a 4, but when an ace fell on the
river, O'Dell scooped the pot and won
the title.
Shony
congratulated his opponent for playing
well, and collected $68,640 for second
place. Meanwhile, Frankie O'Dell was ecstatic
with his first World Series of Poker victory.
"The
only game I enjoy playing is Omaha," O'Dell
said. "No-limit and pot-limit (hold'em)
are both very stressful. But I really
enjoy playing Omaha."
O'Dell's
poker abilities obscure the fact that
behind the poker face is a deeply spiritual
man. Afterward, O'Dell acknowledged his
deep religious convictions and said, "I
am fortunate to have been blessed with
this win today. Win or lose, I love God
above everything else."
-- by Nolan Dalla
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