Event
#13
It was the longest final table so far
at this year's Jack Binion World Poker
Open. Clocking-in at just under six hours,
the finale played down to two players
-- Farzad Rouhani from Maryland versus
Ken "Skyhawk" Flaton from Nevada. The
epic heads-up match lasted 2 hours and
45 minutes before Rouhani finally won
the Seven-Card Stud High-Low Split championship,
with two pair on the final hand scooping
$31,816 in prize money and the coveted
gold and diamond bracelet.
The
last hand of the night was the high point
of a dramatic duel between Rouhani and
Skyhawk. Rouhani had the chip lead during
the entire confrontation, and had Skyhawk
all-in an astounding seven times. On each
occasion, Skyhawk managed to survive.
But Rouhani finally won the biggest pot
of the night in a staggering finish that
went down to the very last card.
Things
did not go as well for Jon Brody. He came
to the final table second-lowest in chips
and got involved early in a three-way
pot with Rouhani and Chris Grigorian.
Brody started with a pair of aces and
was drawing to a 6-low on the final card.
Meanwhile, Grigorian made a 6-high straight
with a low. Brody caught a brick on the
final card, which dashed his hopes of
moving up the money ladder. Brody, from
Florida, received $2,386 for 8th-place.
Meanwhile
"The Armenian Express," Chris Grigorian,
turned the final table into his own private
ATM machine. He started the day with just
$1,600 (Note: He was outchipped by the
8th-place player 2-1 and by the chip-leader
16-1!). "The Express" went on a tear,
ripping chips out of his opponents' stacks
one-by-one. An hour into play at the final
table, Grigorian had increased his stack
tenfold, to $16K.
It
appeared that Spring Cheong had the perfect
opportunity to double-up when she was
dealt (3-3) 3 after the first three cards.
But Cheong's big hand couldn't have come
at a worse time. Skyhawk Flaton was also
rolled-up on the same hand, with (5-5)
5. All Cheong could do was hope to catch
a pair or the case 3, which didn't come.
Skyhawk won the big pot and put Cheong
out in a disappointing 7th-place. Cheong,
a popular columnist for Card Player magazine
and a regular player on the poker tournament
circuit, collected $3,182.
Next,
Texan Judy Ingram went out when she started
with split kings and lost. She showed
(A-K) K-6-7-10 (8) which was roasted by
a straight. This was Ingram's second final
table at this year's tournament. She walked
away with $3,977 for 6th-place.
Paul
Honas arrived at the final table with
a 2-1 chip lead over his closest rival.
Then, he ran card-cold at the worst possible
moment. Honas failed to catch a hand of
any significance during the finale and
was mowed down to a few thousand in chips
as the antes went up to $200 and and limits
increased to $1,500-$3,000. Honas' final
hand came with (A-4) 2-8-9-Q (K) against
Rouhani's (A-A) 7-6-10-K (x). Honas, a
professional poker player from Las Vegas
and winner of the Seven-Card Stud High-Low
Split event at the Hall of Fame Classic,
received $4,772 for 5th-place.
Israeli
Asher Derei was within striking distance
of the chip-lead when he was completely
wiped-out by Skyhawk Flaton on three critical
hands. First, Derei lost to Skyhawk's
6-5 low and pair. Next, Skyhawk made a
flush against Derei's two-pair. Finally
down to just $3K in chips, Derei's lost
when Skyhawk swooped down and crushed
his opponent with (2-5) 3-4-7-Q (Q). Derei,
who won this year's $500 buy-in Seven-Card
Stud High-Low Split event departed his
third final table of the 2003 series with
$5,568 for 4th-place.
Perhaps
the most remarkable performance at the
final table was by Armenian-born, and
now Los Angeles-resident, Chris Grigorian.
The Armenian Express dominated play early
on, and turned a "toothpick into a lumberyard,"
rocketing from just a few chips at the
start of the final table to the co-chip
lead at one point. But "the Express" was
finally derailed when Grigorian started-off
with (K-J) J against Rouhani's (A-K) Q.
Grigorian caught four successive blanks
while Rouhani's made a monster hand --
kings full of deuces. Grigorian hit the
rail in 3rd place and had $9,545 reasons
to be happy.
Heads-up,
Rouhani started off with a 3-2 chip advantage
over Skyhawk. He proceeded to immediately
dismantle the Las Vegas pro's stack. Rouhani
widened his lead to 4-1 after one key
hand and suddenly, it looked as though
Rouhani would win the tournament in a
rout.
But
anyone who understands anything about
poker and seven-card stud high-low split
in particular, knows that Ken "Skyhawk"
Flaton is one of the best players is the
world at this game. Flaton put on a clinic
for the audience on how to play a short-stack
in a tournament. Desperately short on
chips at several key moments, Flaton semed
to always sense when he was beat and made
the most of his opportunities. Skyhawk
was all-in an austounding 7 times against
Rouhani. Each time, he managed to either
split the pot or scoop enough chips and
climb back into contention.
One of the most interesting hands of the
night was the following. Hand shown is
on sixth street:
Skyhawk (8-5) 3-3-5-A
Rouhani (A-K) Q-5-9-9
Skyhawk was all-in with two pair. He also
had a low-draw. Rouhani had no chance
to make a low, but had four diamonds.
On seventh street, Skyhawk caught what
seemed to be the perfect card -- a deuce
to make a low. In a dramatic moment, Rouhani
squeezed his final card and then showed
a diamond. Split pot.
After
the two players battled for another half-hour,
Flaton drew close to even in chips when
he check- raised Rouhani with 5-6-3-J
showing (including three clubs). Rouhani
had 6-4-2-8 showing and mucked his hand.
It was anyone's tournament to win at that
point.
When
antes at $1K and limits increased to $5K-$10K,
scooping one single pot was enough to
seize a commanding chip-lead. Rouhani
dealt a few devastating blows to Skyhawk
and gradually took a $63K to $16K chip
lead. Then, Skyhawk raided Rouhani's stack
when he scooped a pot with:
Skyhawk (6-6) 4-3-A-10 (6)
Rouhani (2-2) 6-3-A-9 (Q)
On fifth street, both players had monster
draws. But Skyhawks trip 6s took down
the big pot. Another virtual tie for the
chip-lead.
The
final hand of the night came rather unexpectedly.
Rouhani started with (A-K) 9 against Skyhawk's
(J-J) 9. Both players got into a raising
war with high cards and then succeeded
in catching several blanks. By sixth street,
the players had:
Skyhawk (J-J) 9-8-4-2
Rouhani (A-K) 9-6-2-K
Rouhani had a pair of kings. Skyhawk had
a pair of jacks. On the final card Rouhani
caught an ace, for two pair -- As and
Ks. Skyhawk desperately needed a jack,
which would have scooped an enormous pot
and likely given him an insurmountable
chip-advantage (Rouhani had only $3K left
when Skyhawk was all-in). Skyhawk looked
down and peeked at his final card. He
saw paint. He saw royalty. Could it be
the jack?
No.
A harmless queen was shown, and Rouhani
was the winner.
Ken
"Skyhawk" Flaton has won numerous poker
titles, including the 1996 United States
Poker Championship. He congratulated his
rival and calmly walked away with 2nd-place
prize money of $18,294.
Farzad
Rouhani played an outstanding tournament
and deserved to win. Iranian-born Rouhani
is primarily a cash-game player who just
started playing in tournaments a few years
ago. This win marks his second major tournament
victory, as he won a Seven-Card Stud High-Low
Split tournament at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic
City last year. This time, Rouhani defeated
one of the best stud players in the world
heads-up and rightly collected the World
Poker Open gold bracelet. To no one's
surprise, it fit perfectly.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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