RUSTY
MANDAP STORMS TO WIN
IN LAPC EMPLOYEE FIRST EVENT
After
getting his bluff picked off, Rusty Mandap
was down to a mere $2,700 in the Casino
Employees $300 limit hold'em opening event
of L.A. Poker Classic XIII. But the Hawaiian
Gardens tournament director immediately
went on a ferocious tear to run off with
a victory worth $11,160, along with the
impressive Remington "Bronco Busters"
statuette trophy.
With
seven players left, Mandap began raising
virtually non-stop, and in 10 hands knocked
out two players and zoomed up to about
$22,000. He soon moved into the chip lead,
kept up the pressure, personally eliminated
the next three players and had 56,500
of the 74,000 chips in play when he got
heads-up with Tamir "The Mad Egyptian"
Ilcafass. The two then quickly agreed
to a deal which ended the non-points event.
Mandap's
numerous tournament cash-outs include
two Omaha hi-lo victories at the Legends
of Poker. Ilcafass, a poker dealer at
Canterbury Park in Minnesota, has a second
place in the Iowa State Championship along
with about seven local tournament wins.
Mandap paid tribute to his final opponent
as a "great" player. "Every time he made
a move I respected him."
This
was the second year for the all-employees
event. The final table started with limits
of $400-$800, with 4:19 remaining. Sue
Liu, a blackjack dealer at Pechanga, arrived
with a chip lead of 13,900, closely followed
by Mandap with 11,700. Rusty said he picked
up a lot of chips when he was dealt pocket
aces twice at the fourth table. Lowest-chipped,
with only 1,800, was a Players Club poker
dealer going by just his first name, Jim.
He was to prove a survival specialist,
however, going all in and escaping six
times while making it all the way to fourth
place.
With
limits at $300-$600, Howard Liu, an assistant
casino manager at Commerce, was first
out. He had to put in his last chips in
the big blind with just J-6 offsuit, and
lost to Marc Adreani's pocket 9s when
the board came Q-8-3-8-10. Adreani is
a poker dealer at Casino Arizona. He later
handed the chips over to Mandap, who made
a great call with just ace-high after
Adreani made a stone bluff.
Limits
now went to $1,000-$2,000.
Three
hands into the new level, Sokunthear "Tear"
Khin, a banker at Hustler Casino, raised
and was called from the small blind by
Michelle Zhang, a Commerce chip runner.
With only $900 left, James Luong, an Asian
games dealer at Commerce, called blind.
"If I look, I cannot play," he said. On
a flop of Q?-4?-4?, Zhang bet holding
A?-Q?, and was raised by Khin. Two running
diamonds gave Zang the top flush. Luong
then turned up a puny J-5 and departed
in eighth place. The sizeable pot gave
Zhang the lead with about 24k. Eleven
hands later, Rusty got in trouble. Holding
K-10, he raised, then bet out each time
as the board came Q-7-7-7-A. "Good call,"
Mandap said, as Zhang turned up a winning
A-K. "OK, we're playing for second place
now," the "Mad Egyptian" cracked as Zhang
stacked up more than 30k in chips.
He
spoke too soon. Mandap, with less than
a tenth Zhang's chips, now lived up to
his reputation for final-table aggressive
play. First he took three straight pots
with uncalled raises. On his fourth consecutive
raise, Khin called. After trip 6s flopped,
she made a desperation, all-in bet with
just 9-8, but Mandap had an easy call
with pocket 10s, and she finished seventh.
A
few hands later Mandap claimed his second
victim. He called from the big blind with
K-J after Adreani raised all in with A-8.
Rusty outran his opponent when a jack
turned, and the Arizona dealer was turned
loose in sixth place.
Mandap
continued to pick up pots, and soon after
limits went to $1,600-$3,200 he was about
tied with Zhang for the lead. Rusty then
hit one of the few roadblocks in his rush
when Ilcafass raised all in for $5,200,
and Mandap abandoned an 18k pot.
He
regained his momentum when he blackjacked
the blackjack dealer Sue Liu with a bad
beat. Holding 10-9, she flopped two pair,
called all in when Mandap raised on the
turn, then lost to his pocket deuces when
a deuce hit the river.
The
chip count now was: Mandap, 35,100; Zhang,
19,000; Ilcafass, 15,600; and Jim, 4,800.
Jim,
meanwhile, was continuing his escape artist
act, winning a sixth time all in when
his J-7 held up against Mandap's 8-5.
Mandap then picked up a big pot when he
bet a board of K-10-3-K-K, showing 9-8
when Zhang folded. "I know your style
-- too tight," he ribbed her.
Jim
finally said good night when he raised
all in with A-J on a board of K-J-6 and
lost to Mandap's K-10.
After
limits rose to $2,000-$4,000, Zhang went
out in third place. Earlier, she had gotten
low on chips when she folded the river
after Mandap bet into a board of 9-7-4-5-Q.
Now, with a board of Q-8-3-Q, she bet
her last chips holding A-3. "You're a
very brave lady," Mandap quipped, calling
and turning over Q-J and leaving her drawing
dead.
The
two finalists now agreed to a deal, and
event No. 1 of LAPC XIII was in the books.
-- by Max Shapiro
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