Curtis
Bibb Earns 160 Grand the Hard Way in Largest
Omaha High-Low Turnout in WSOP History
CURTIS
BIBB made $8,000 an hour, putting on a
two-day clinic that might as well have
been titled �How to Win an Omaha High-Low
Tournament.� BIBB played 15 laborious
hours on the first day, plus another eight
hours of overtime on day two at the final
table, and raked-in the last pot of the
tournament � worth $160,000 in prize money.
The tournament began with 374 players,
making it the largest Omaha High-Low field
in World Series of Poker history. Big
names like Scotty Nguyen, Carlos Mortensen,
Phil Hellmuth, Mike Sexton, and several
other former gold bracelet winners played
in the event. But in the end, it was a
47-year-old local poker pro named CURTIS
BIBB who won all the chips and captured
his first world championship.
At
4:00 pm, the nine finalists took their
seats at the feature table. CURTIS BIBB
enjoyed an appreciable chip lead, with
$125K over his closest rival � LOI TRAN
with $85K. It took only a few minutes
for the first player to go out.
Two-time
bracelet winner STEVE ZOLOTOW started
the day in decent position. But nothing
went right at the final table for the
former bar owner and financial consultant
from New York City. �Z� was hoping to
scoop a big pot with the powerhouse high
A-A-K-Q, but was disappointed to see RICK
FULLER prevail with J-10-9-8. The final
board showed Q-8-4-8-4 giving FULLER trip
eights. �Z� was making his 25th �cash�
at the World Series (his first came in
1985). He added $10,320 to his lifetime
winnings at the WSOP, which now totals
$719,845.
Next,
another final table veteran went out when
GREG MASCIO exited in 8th place. MASCIO,
a pro poker player from Fullerton, CA,
has a remarkable record in Omaha High-Low
events at the WSOP. He has a 16th, an
11th, an 8th, and a 2nd place showing
in four Omaha cashes, since 2000. His
biggest win, to date, was $90,820 in this
same event back in 2002. Low on chips,
MASCIO made his last bet of the night
when he flopped two pair. But JIM MEEHAN
rivered a straight, which put MASCIO on
the rail with $15,480.
Nearly
an hour later, SHAWNE PORTMAN found himself
in a desperate situation. Low on chips
and running �card dead� at the worst possible
time, PORTMAN made his final stand with
K-Q-Q-8. RICK FULLER had A-J-J-4 and flopped
a jack, which essentially left PORTMAN
drawing slim. He failed to hit the queen,
and exited the table in 7th place � good
for $20,640.
One
of the more interesting personalities
at the final table was MICKEY �MOUSE�
MILLS. Proudly wearing a portrait on the
smiling Disney character on his chest,
the mouseman infested the final table
for three hours before he was finally
exterminated by CURTIS BIBB. MILLS went
�all in� with a small raise before the
flop with A-Q-9-8, and was called by two
players. In the end, BIBB�s J-7-x-x stomped
MILLS with a full-house when the final
board showed J-J-7-7-3. MILLS, an attorney
and real estate investor from Ocean Beach,
CA, collected $25,800.
JIM
MEEHAN was the subject of some controversy
at this final table, due to his often
lengthy (and presumably intentional) pauses
between decisions. MEEHAN�s habit is to
ponder each and every decision for several
seconds, which sometimes extends past
a full minute. Such action might not seem
problematic � but when the action is delayed
repeatedly over several hours, opponents
are sure to become annoyed. That�s exactly
what happened at this final table, as
MEEHAN repeatedly stalled for time. PAUL
PHILLIPS, the flamboyant dot.com multi-millionaire
and poker champion became exasperated
at several points, hoping to speed up
play to a normal pace. PHILLIPS enjoyed
some gratification when he finally knocked
out MEEHAN � the winner of last year�s
$2,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold�em event.
MEEHAN quietly walked away in 5th place,
with $30,960 in prize money.
Things
moved along quickly as another player
went out just four hands later. LOI TRAN,
from El Monte, CA had the chip lead at
one point, but failed to close out the
victory. On his final hand, TRAN made
two pair, but lost to RICK FULLER�s higher
two-pair, with a made-low. TRAN ran to
the moneyman, and received $36,120 for
4th place.
Nearly
six hours had passed and it was now PAUL
PHILLIPS turn to sparkle as the chip leader.
He amassed well over half the chips on
the table when play became three-handed.
This
was a special day for RICK FULLER. Not
only was he playing at his first final
table for $160,000 in prize money, it
was also his 31st birthday. FULLER received
a couple of nice birthday presents along
the way, getting chips from unwilling
donators at the final table. But CURTIS
BIBB spoiled the party when he was dealt
K-10-10-8 and made trip eights, effectively
eliminating the birthday boy. FULLER,
who had two 7th place finishes at the
World Poker Challenge in Reno earlier
this year was paid $41,340 as the third-place
finisher.
The
final duel was an �all Las Vegas affair.�
The two local pros battled back and forth
for nearly an hour before BIBB went on
a massive rush and blew PHILLIPS off the
table. PHILLIPS enjoyed the chip lead
when the showdown began � with a $345
to $216 advantage. But BIBB gradually
narrowed the gap and took control of the
table in the closing minutes.
With nearly $80,000 at stake (the difference
between first and second place), the finale
pitted the dot-com millionaire turned
tournament pro (PHILLIPS), against a longtime
successful cash game player and Omaha
High-Low specialist (BIBB). With all due
respect to BIBB, who clearly earned his
victory, he was pushed across the finish
line by hurricane force winds, the benefactor
of an enormous rush of cards that bulldozed
PHILLIPS chips across the table into BIBB�s
steadily growing stack. Close to midnight,
the final hand of the tournament was dealt:
BIBB: A-J-7-3
PHILLIPS: K-J-10-9
When
the flop came A-Q-8, PHILLIPS bet out
and was �all in� with the straight draw.
BIBB called with top pair, then turned
another ace on fourth street. PHILLIPS
missed the straight when another 8 fell,
which meant CURTIS BIBBS was the new $1,500
buy-in Omaha High-Low champion.
PAUL
PHILLIPS has enjoyed tremendous success
in tournaments since he sold off his company
and took up poker as a vocation. He steadily
improved to the point where he is now
one of the game�s most recognizable figures,
his fame boosted by appearance at poker
tournaments on television. PHILLIPS remains
one of the game�s most expressive personalities,
although his demeanor was largely subdued
while at this final table. PHILLIPS took
the defeat well, and collected $82,580.
�Paul could have won this tournament just
as easily as me. He played very well,�
the victor said afterward.
But
PHILLIPS disagreed. �He was a stone lock
(to win) when we got heads-up because
he plays high-limit short-handed Omaha
constantly � and Omaha (is not my best
game).�
Just
as CURTIS BIBB was about to be paid $160,000
in cash, he made some interesting personal
observations: �I used to play in only
a few tournaments a year. But this year,
you�re going to see me a lot more. Television
and the Internet have done a lot for poker.
It�s brought in so many new faces. Years
ago, when I played � there were 70 people
in an event like this. You�d look around,
and know just about every player. But
now, when I play I see new players coming
into the game. I�ve never seen anything
like it.�
-- by Nolan Dalla
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