ALADDIN
SUPERVISOR BEATS
2 REDHEADS IN FIRST EVENT
Redheaded
women may have a dangerous reputation,
but Robert Tyburski, a table games supervisor
at the Aladdin, faced down not one but
two flame-haired pro players at the final
table to win the first event of 4 Queens
Poker Classic 2002, $100 limit hold'em.
Even more amazing, Tyburski, who's only
been heads-up on the Internet, had a $30,000
to $160,000 disadvantage against Martine
Oules, winner of a no-limit event here
last year. When he finally pulled into
a tiny lead, the two split the prize money
evenly, but his extra $4,000 in chips
gave him the title.
The
opener drew a tremendous turnout of 319
players, and the 40-minute rounds offered
plenty of play. The final table started
at 9:30 with $1,000-$2,000 limits, 29:37
remaining, with Martine and Melissa Hayden
the chip leaders.
An
hour went by before a player even went
all in. Hayden, who had been having no
luck at all, finally put in her last $2,500
but stayed around when her pocket 8s held
up. By the time limits had jumped up twice,
to $2,000-$4,000, she had recovered to
an above average $23,000, while Bob Kenworthy,
who builds trucks for GM, had the lead
with $54,000. Finally, after 67 hands
and 90 minutes, Canadian software developer
Charles Mousseau made a $500 all-in raise
with Q-10 and was crushed by Oules' pocket
aces.
Ten hands later, Hayden showed her stuff
with a tremendous call. She had tried
a bluff raise with a mere 5-2 and called
when Ash "The Cash" Pervaiz re-raised
with A-K. On the river, she bet into a
board of 10-8-2-3-3, then called with
her paired deuce when Pervaize raised.
The British sports adviser busted on hand
82. With K-9 suited, he check-raised Oules
on a board of K-10-5-3, then bet his last
$3,000 on the river. But the French-born
Martine once again held two aces.
With
limits at $3,000-$6,000, Hayden took the
lead with about $65,000 when she flopped
a set of 7s to outrun Kenworthy's pocket
8s. Edward Newton, retired as a stockbroker
and mortgage broker, was next out. On
the button, he went all in with J-10.
Kenworthy called for the extra $1,000
with 6-5 and flopped a winning 6. Dennis
Spencer followed a few hands later. He
called all in with As, 9s after Tyburski
raised with Ad, 10d. Dennis, who is in
the scrap business, had a flush draw on
the turn but missed and got scrapped.
Oules
took the lead on hand 95 in a multi-way,
multi-raised pot when she flopped a set
of 9s. Hayden, with A-7, considered calling
for the 7-1 pot odds, but folded. She
would have won with a straight when the
board came 10-9-2-8-6, but realistically
could not have gone past the flop. Kenworthy
next finished fifth. He had A-10 to Tyburski's
A-4, but Robert flopped a 4.
"I'm in deep trouble, they're both coming
after me," Robert moaned on the next hand
when both red-haired ladies called his
raise. Martine won the pot and moved into
a big lead with about $105,000 of the
$192,000 in play. When limits went to
$4,000-$8,000, she still had $102,500
while Hayden had $36,500. Tyburski and
Chuck Sturm, a vehicle transporter, each
had $26,500.
After surviving her third all in when
her Kd, Jd flushed on the river, Hayden,
a poker player/photographer, finally ran
out of film on hand 121. The pocket 8s
that saved her the first time didn't work
this time. Tyburski called her all-in
raise with Ac, 7c and turned an ace. Martine,
meanwhile, ran her count to $130,000 when
she picked off Robert's bluff on the river.
He bet after he missed his club flush
draw, and she called with just ace-high.
The tournament finally got two-handed
on hand 134 when Chuck busted out on a
bad beat. He raised with K-8, Martine
re-raised with 10-8 and he made it $16,000
to go. He was in great shape when the
flop came 8-7-2, but a 10 on the turn
gave her two pair and she put him all
in and all out when a deuce came on the
river.
Heads-up,
Tyburski had only $46,000 to Oules' $146,000,
and as play commenced with limits of $6,000-$12,000,
he dipped down to about $30,000. But he
began a comeback on hand 151 when he checked,
with pocket kings, to a board of 6-6-3-2,
then got an extra all-in bet of $11,000
on the river. A hand later he moved up
to $72,000 when Martine folded on the
turn. A few hands later he again had pocket
kings and pulled nearly even while Oules
became increasingly frustrated as her
huge lead evaporated. She had repeatedly
refused a deal, but finally caved in after
folding on the turn on the final hand,
and falling behind, $94,000-$98,000. They
chopped, and Tyburski had a very dramatic
victory.
Max Shapiro
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