Lumello
Returns and Wins
Dan Lumello hasn’t been seen much
lately on the poker circuit because his
job as a poker host at Hawaiian Gardens
keeps him pretty busy. But tonight he
showed up for the fifth event of the Bicycle
Casino’s Legends of Poker 2003, $300
no-limit hold’em, and walked off
with the win. The key hand came midway
through the final table when he broke
two players and with a sizeable chip lead
of about $120,000 coasted easily to victory.
He faced down a tough field that included
Paul Darden, winner of a World Poker Tour
event at Lucky Chances, and John Phan,
who won the limit hold’em event the
night before. Yesterday, Phan started
the final table with a big chip lead of
$75,000, and tonight he also started in
front, this time with $75,500.
The final table sat down to $300 antes,
$1,000-$2,000 blinds, 39 minutes remaining.
David Ho lasted three hands. He moved
in and his A-5 was no match for Juan Holub’s
A-Q. Seven hands later short-chipped Viensay
Sayavong pushed in all his $6,500 with
A-Q. Phan called, but then Lumelo moved
in as well and Phan went south. Lumello
had pocket eights and Sayavong said “Sayonara”
as Dan made eights full.
Darden moved in on hands 8, 11 and 12
without being called. Whether it was his
intimidating reputation or his intimidating
size, he would do so three more times
at the final table before anyone challenged
him.
With $500 antes and blinds of $1,500-$3,000,
poker player Tony Nguyen had taken the
chip lead with about $44,000. Then came
the big hand on the 21st deal. Under the
gun, attorney Grady Talbot, who had a
couple of final tables in pot-limit hold’em
at the Hustler last month, moved in for
around 30k with K-Q. Lumello covered him
and moved in for the rest of his chips
with A-K. And then Bill Potts, a retiree
from New Zealand, called all in from the
button for about 15k holding A-Q. “I’m
covered both ways,” Potts said despairingly
when he saw the A-K and K-Q. The board
came K-9-6-8-4 and Potts, with the fewer
chips, finished eighth, while Talbot cashed
out seventh.
Not surprisingly for no-limit, there continued
to be big chip swings. The most dramatic
came after Phan beat loan agent Reza Payvar
in a pot and left him with a piddling
$4,500. On the next hand, Payvar paid
Phan back by beating him and getting some
of his money back. Two hands later his
pocket queens held up against Nguyen’s
A-9 and he doubled up again. The hand
after that, Payvar was all in again for
the third time, this time with pocket
aces, and this time he took a big chunk
out of Phan, who held pocket nines. In
just four hands, Payvar leaped from $4,500
to nearly $70,000.
On hand 38, Lumello raised and Darden,
pushing in 30k, moved in for the sixth
and last time. Darden had Ah-Qh to Lumello’s
K-J and flopped a queen. But he took a
bad beat and finished sixth when Lumello
rivered a king. Just one hand later, plumbing
contractor Holub moved in for 9k from
the small blind with J-10 and got flushed
away by Nguyen’s pocket queens.
Four hands later he chip count stood at:
Lumello, 154k; Payvar, 65k Phan, 55.5k;
and Nguyen, 43.5k, and the final four
hammered out a deal for everything but
9k. With most of the money in the bank,
the action got much looser, with all-ins
on every deal. In just a few hands, Phan
had all his chips in with K-Q, close to
a 3-1 favorite over Lumello’s Q-J.
But a jack flopped and three were left.
After a few more hands the three finalists
chopped the nine grand three ways and
called it a night.
BIOGRAPHY
Dan
Lumello is 55 and has been playing poker
since high school and 10 years professionally.
His biggest prior wins both came in 2000
when he won the National Championship
of Poker championship at Hollywood Park
and an Orleans Open no-limit event, along
with a flock of small wins. He started
hosting at Hawaiian Gardens two years
ago, and with other side game action,
he figures he puts in 60 hours a week
at the tables, leaving him time now for
only an occasional tournament. Omaha hi-lo
and no-limit hold’em are his favorite
games, but he also plays a lot of stud
hi-lo in cash games.
It
was tough sledding at first in this tournament,
and Lumello never had more than $800 in
chips until blinds reached $100-$200.
“I just tried to dodge bullets and
stay out of the way until I started to
get lucky. It was a bit of a crap shoot
tonight.”
Max Shapiro
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