Event
#11
"The Kings of Tunica County"
Ask Galen Kester what his favorite poker
hand is -- and he's bound to say "pocket
kings."
Kester,
Tunica County's hometown hero, won his
second World Poker Open gold and diamond
bracelet, cashing for a whopping $152,096
in the Pot-Limit Omaha event. In what
proved to be the toughest lineup of any
event thus far (four of the nine finalists
have previously won World Poker Open titles),
Kester remained completely focused and
relaxed throughout the four-hour conquest.
With his victory, Kester now owns a bracelet
for Pot-Limit Omaha, as well as Triple-Draw
Lowball.
The
first significant hand of the night occurred
just minutes into the final table, when
chip-leader Mark Seif clashed with 1998
World Champion Scotty Nguyen. It might
as well have been "Clash of the Titans
-- Part 2." The two players raised back
and forth pre-flop until Nguyen was all-in.
Nguyen flipped over A-A-J-J against Seif's
A-A-2-5. When the board showed 6-5-3-J-10,
Nguyen's three jacks cut Seif's stack
in half and put the dynamic poker champion
comfortably into the chip lead with over
$100K.
For
Seif, the situation immediately went from
bad to worse. Much worse. Seif's misery
continued when he went up against Las
Vegas pro, Bob Walker. Seif tried to take
the pot with J-J-10-7, but lost to Walker's
A-Q-Q-7 after the board gave both players
a diamond flush. Walker's ace-high flush
versus Seif's jack-high flush capped an
astounding turn of events. Seif's $96K
had vanished in just two hands, which
meant a disappointing 9th-place finish
for the Lake Tahoe semi-pro. Seif, who
won the No-Limit Texas Hold'em event last
week, added $6,084 in prize money to his
tournament earnings.
That
big hand would be the lone bright spot
of the evening for Bob Walker. After he
was dealt A-A-K-6, Walker squared-off
against Galen Kester, one of only two
players at the final table with enough
chips to cover Walker's large bet. After
the flop came 9-5-3, Walker moved all-in
and Kester called with 9-8-7-6. Any 4,
6, 7, 8, or 10 on the next two cards would
give Kester a straight. The turn paired
the board with a 3, and the river brought
a 6 -- giving Kester a straight and the
enormous pot. Walker watched silently
and departed in 8th-place, good for $7,605.
This marked Walker's second final table
appearance, and third time in the money
at this year's tournament.
Next
Kester, with K-K-4-3, called an over-the-top
pre-flop raise by Greg Lilley with A-K-J-9.
The final board showed 9-3-2-8-4, giving
Kester a lone pair of kings. The kings
were good enough -- or "bad enough," depending
on one's perspective. Lilley, a Systems
Analyst for the State of Virginia, received
$9,506 for 7th-place.
Sunny
Nijran was the next player to hit the
rail. Nijran was dealt Q-J-10-7 and made
his final bet of the night with two pair
after the flop came J-10-3. As it turned
out, Kester was also pleased with the
flop and called with an overpair to go
with an outside straight draw, K-K-Q-J.
The turn brought a 3, pairing the board
-- which ended up as the nail in Nijran's
coffin. When a blank fell on the river,
Kester's two-pair, Ks and 3s was the best
hand. The pocket kings has done it again.
Nijran, one of England's top pot-limit
players, finished in 6th-place and collected
$13,308.
George
Pitsilides came to the final table lowest
in chips and survived until he finally
went all-in with A-Q-J-2. Kester and Chris
Bjorin both called with A-K-x-x. The final
board showed K-J-5-6-9 giving Kester and
Bjorin top-pair (you guessed it –kings)
with top-kicker. Pitsilides -- the proud
owner the two "Captain George's Seafood"
restaurants in Virginia Beach, Virginia
and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina -- became
the 5th-place finisher. His catch of the
day amounted to $17,111.
The
four finalists -- Bjorin, Nguyen, Kester,
and Seidel -- have won a grand total of
12 World Series of Poker titles between
them. Swedish-born Chris Bjorin, who now
lives in London, was the next player to
exit. Kester's pocket kings won yet another
key pot when his K-K-7-5 topped Bjorin's
A-K-J-8. The final board showed Q-J-6-2-4
giving Kester the pot and, more important,
the chip lead for the first time. Bjorin's
numerous poker titles include three wins
at the World Series of Poker. He exited
in 4th place with $22,814.
Nguyen
had a chance to retake the chip-lead when
he was dealt a monster hand. Nguyen held
two 5s in his hand and was delighted when
the flop came with the two case 5s. But
Kester and Seidel dodged the bullet when
Nguyen tried to slowplay the hand and
neither opponent could make a hand worth
calling with, after Nguyen finally made
a modest-sized bet on the final card.
A
short time later, Seidel was gunned down
by Kester. After the flop came 7-2-2,
Kester checked. Seidel bet $12K. Kester
raised to $25K. After pondering his decision
for several minutes, Seidel re-raised
all-in for $42K more. Kester nearly beat
Seidel into the pot with his chips and
flipped over Q-7-7-2, which amounted to
a full-house. Seidel knew he was in trouble
when Kester called and showed 10-8-5-2.
Seidel might as well have been drawing
dead. A miracle failed to rescue Seidel,
which meant a 3rd-place finish for last
year's runner-up in the main championship
event. He received $38,024.
When heads-up play began, Kester had the
chip lead, $235K to $160K. Kester gradually
wore down Nguyen's stack to $90K. Then,
Kester and Nguyen faced-off in the most
stunning hand of the night:
Kester - A-A-10-7
Nguyen - 10-9-8-6
With
$40K already in the pot, the flop came
K-7-6. Kester bet the size of the pot
and Nguyen moved all-in with a big draw.
Kester called and the audience came to
its feet. The turn brought a 4. Then,
the river brought an 8 which might as
well have been a dagger thrust into Kester's
heart. Nguyen completed a straight and
the audience, which included many supporters
for both players, was divided. One half
screamed. The other half roared. The catch
put Kester and Nguyen into a virtual tie
for the chip lead.
Then,
Kester showed why he's a poker champion.
Not the least bit fazed by the bad beat,
Kester waited for just the right moment
to come along -- which came when both
players put all their chips into the pot
after the flop came K-7-6:
Kester - K-K-Q-7
Nguyen - Q-J-6-6
Both players flopped a set, but Kester's
trip kings were far superior to Nguyen's
trip 6s. Nguyen, the former World Poker
Champion failed to catch a two-outer,
which meant a 2nd-place finish and $76,048
in prize money.
After
it was over, Kester shook hands with many
well-wishers and calmly walked away from
the table -- without the usual pomp and
circumstance. Indeed, Galen Kester is
a quiet man. He tends to let his cards
to all the talking. In this tournament,
the kings of Tunica County had spoken
-- loud and clear.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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