Beck
Makes Granny Proud!
Gary Beck learned poker from his late
grandmother, whom he used to drive to
games in Gardena. "Grandma needs an operation,"
she would say when she raked in a pot.
Granny was no doubt smiling down tonight
when her grandson came in first in the
12th event of Legends of Poker 2004, $500
no-limit hold'em.
Beck
is with a company that develops custom
software for telecommunications companies.
He's been playing poker for 25 years but
only began to specialize in tournaments
a year ago. He came to the final table
a little bit above average in chips, took
a big lead in early action and held onto
it until a four-way chip-count deal was
made after only 30 hands of play.
Blinds
were $1,000-$2,000 with $300 antes when
the final table got underway. Art dealer
Harry Kleiman lasted two hands. He opened
for $6,000 with pocket 4s. Andy Lambo,
a former high school football coach, put
Kleiman in with pocket 6s and then tackled
him with a set on the river.
Beck grabbed the chip lead on hand 11.
After Lambo raised $6,000 with A-Q, Beck
moved in for about $45,000 with pocket
8s. They held up when the board came K-9-6-7-9,
and Beck now had $95,000 of the $348,000
in play. Blinds now moved up to $1,500-$3,000
with $500 antes. Two hands later, Beck
increased his lead to $106,000 when Dan
Stevens pushed in his last $8,000 with
pocket 9s and ran into Beck's pocket 10s.
A board of 8-7-5-2-J didn't alter anything,
and Stevens, a high-limit ring-game player,
finished ninth.
Lambo
then had a near miss. With a flop of 7-6-2,
he made an all-in move with A-5. "Nice
call," he said, when Nandi Varadi called
with 10-6. But then an ace turned to save
the coach.
For the second time, pocket 8s came into
play in an all-in pot. This time they
were dealt to Varadi, who is in the video
game industry. He moved in with them for
$8,000 and lost to Aldo Crespo, who had
Ac-9c, and caught an ace on the river.
This is the second straight cash-out for
Crespo, a bus driver. He actually finished
on the bubble last night, but was voted
a share.
Stan
Goldstein, who finished second behind
Ben Affleck in Commerce Casino's Cal State
Championship this year, is quick with
a quip. When Lambo mentioned that he is
now a loan broker, Goldstein shot back
that he's a "broke loaner." Lambo, incidentally,
was not the only "coach" at the table,
because Goldstein also coaches Little
League ball. Goldstein then got in a hand
against John Kim, who is in the import
business. Kim, in the small blind, moved
in for $3,500. Figuring he was getting
2-1 on his money, Goldstein called from
the big blind. "A classic match-up," he
announced, turning up J-3 to Kim's 9-2.
Kim survived when a 9 turned.
Now
Goldstein was low-chipped. On the next
hand he moved in from the small blind
for $7,500 with A-5 and got called by
Lambo, in the big blind with 7-6. For
the second straight time Goldstein was
outdrawn when the board came 10-6-3-3-3,
and Lambo's freak full house left him
in seventh place.
Retiree
Clarence Cole busted out two hands later,
and once again pocket 8s came into play.
This time Lambo had them, and when Cole
opened for $8,000 with K-Q, Lambo made
it $20,000 to go. A f lop of J-8-4 gave
Lambo a set and made him a 93 percent
favorite. He bet and took Cole's last
few chips. Lambo now moved into the $90,000
range, not far behind Beck.
On
the next hand, Beck raised with A-8. Kim,
who started the final table lowest-chipped
with $13,100, had already survived two
all-ins. This time he called for $5,000
from the big blind holding 9h-6h. The
board came 8-5-4-10-10, and now four were
left.
Three
more hands were played, and then a chip
count deal was proposed. Beck still led
with $124,000. Lambo had $91,000, Crespo,
$74,500 and Yi, $59,500. Everyone agreed
and Beck was the winner.
BIOGRAPHY
Gary
Beck, 46, won his first tournament when
he was 21. The game was five-card draw,
it was at the old Rainbow Club in Gardena,
and his late father came in sixth. He's
played tournaments only rarely since then,
preferring $10-$20 hold'em side games.
A year ago he decided to concentrate on
tournaments, and so far this year he's
had a final table earlier at the Bike
and finished fifth in $2,500 no-limit
at the Bellagio's Five Diamond event.
Beck
describes his play as "selective aggressive,"
but says he's still building his style.
Tonight he had tough going in early action,
going all in a couple of times and being
below average in chips until near the
final table. Beck has a love, though,
even greater than poker. His 12-year-old
daughter is an actress and did a voice-over
in the film "Finding Nemo." Her character
was the Little Pink Octopus, and her memorable
line was, "You guys made me ink myself."
Max Shapiro
|
