Club
Boss Wins Lowball
Andy Sacino, an executive host at
Hollywood Park and a former owner of the
Gardena Club, returned to the game he
loves after a long absence and ended up
winning the $1,000 lowball event, the
14th of Legends 2003. After the tournament
got down to three players it took 60 long
hands to finish. But nobody (apart from
the tournament staff) seemed to mind,
because it was a reunion of sorts. The
three were old acquaintances who many
times years ago had played against each
other short-handed in the wee small hours
of the morning, as the song goes.
The eight finalists got there after Don
Halpern drew one, bet his last 4k on an
8-6, then finished ninth when Sacino showed
8-4. Final table limits began with blinds
of $500 and $1,000, playing at 1-2k limits,
37 minutes remaining. “Super”
Mario Esquerra started as chip leader
with $23,500, but after losing the first
three hands he aggressively played, he
dipped to a below-average 10k, then later
recovered back to his starting count.
On hand 15, poker player Bruce Coons raised
all in for $1,500 and drew one. German
Leyva also drew one and made an eight.
Coons, drawing dead to a jack, was out
of business. One hand later, Stan Goldstein
also raised all in for $1,500. Martin
Corpuz called for the additional chip
and stood pat with a 10-7. Goldstein took
two to a 3-2-1. “Looks good,”
he said, looking at the first card, an
eight. The second wasn’t quite as
good, a paired ace, and the pro player
cashed out in seventh place.
Corpuz now suggested a deal, but was rebuffed.
“You’re gonna be sorry,”
he warned. After limits went to $1,500-$3,000,
Corpuz, a top lowball player of the 80s
from northern California, began to make
good on his threat. All in for three chips
on hand 31, he proceeded to take several
consecutive pots, and within eight hands
had gotten up to par with about 24k.
Engineering manager Tom Ricketts was in
strong contention in early going, but
by hand 44 he was all in. Drawing to a
7-5 to Sacino’s made 7-6, he needed
a deuce or trey to stay alive, but he
paired his five. Esquerra, whose chips
were again depleted, was in the big blind
with $1,500 left when Corpuz raised him
all in with a pat 10-9-8. Esquerra drew
one to a 7-6-4-3, caught a less-than-super
paired three and departed with a loud
“BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!” directed
at the startled dealer.
The four players left weren’t that
far apart: Sacino, 32k; German Leyva,
25.5k; Corpuz, 24k; and Aurel “Ace”
deHollan, 21k. After they made a deal
for most of the money, Corpuz said he‘d
play loose. “I don’t want to
win. I don’t want the publicity.”
Making good on his word, he played loose,
dropped rapidly and right after limits
went to 2-4k raised all in with a 7-4-3-A
draw. He paired his four and lost to Leyva’s
two deuces.
“Three-handed
at 4 a.m. Just like old times,” one
of the players noted. Playing the most
conservatively, deHollan hit two bikes
in a row at one point, but otherwise did
not fare very well. Nearly 50 hands later,
with 3-6k limits, he was down to 8k against
48k for Sacino and 47k for Leyva. Soon
after, he folded in the big blind with
only $1,000 left after Leyva raised with
a pat 6-4. “Tough as nails,”
Sacino marveled. In the small blind next,
deHollan drew two to 8-4-2. He paired
his four, losing to Leyva, who drew to
7-4-A and made a king.
Heads-up,
Leyva led, 62-41k, but after seven hands
the count was reversed, and the two made
a deal for the remaining money.
BIOGRAPHY
Andy Sacino started playing poker when
he was 17 back in Gardena’s early
days. A businessman with a degree in music,
he owned a chain of accordion schools
and later operated the Gardena Club for
five years. He sold it in 1984 when the
second-generation casinos began to open.
Seven years ago he started promoting Hollywood
Park’s $20-$40 stud hi-lo game, and
now is an executive host with the task
of bringing people in.
In the early 90s, Sacino played big-limit
lowball games at the Bike, but hadn’t
played lowball for many years since then.
The games, when you can find them, tend
to be populated by conservative, gray-haired
players who don’t give you much play,
he explained. The $300 lowball tournament,
where he made the third table, marked
his return to the game. Tonight, he said,
he started off with a pat wheel on the
first hand, won the next two or three
hands, and then moved steadily up.
Max Shapiro
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