Event
#19
"Lucky 7s for the Lady in Spain"
Cecilia De Mortenson became the first
female player in two years to win an open
event at the World Poker Open. Mortenson,
the wife of 2001 World Series of Poker
champion (Carlos Mortenson), outlasted
219 opponents and captured her first American
tournament victory. As her husband watched
proudly from the audience, Mrs. Mortenson
was awarded her first gold and diamond
bracelet and $58,036 for first place.
The
final table started with ten players.
Mary Craft was the first of the finalists
to make an exit when she was dealt Q-Q,
which lost to Ben Durham's A-K. The final
board of 9-4-3-A-J put Craft out in 9th
place with $1,882 for a full day's work.
Next,
"Cowboy" Roy Dudley was bucked off the
final table when he took J-J up against
Durham's A-Q. Exactly as before, Durham
paired his overcard and eliminated a player
when the final board showed 4-3-2-4-Q.
Limits
increased to $3K-$6K. In what turned out
to be one of the most critical hands of
the night, Cecilia De Mortenson got into
a big pot with Mark Wilds, who would eventually
end up as the 2nd place finisher in this
tournament. Both players got into a raising
war on the turn when the board showed
A-Q-4-K. Mortenson had 4-4, for trip fours.
Wilds had A-K, for top two pair. A blank
fell on the river which gave Mortenseon
a momentary chip lead.
Frenchman Paul Testud took the chip lead
a short time later when he broke Cal Dykes.
Testud called a raise with 9-9 against
Dykes' A-Q. By the turn, Dykes as all-in.
The final board showed 8-7-2-5-5 giving
Testud the pot with two pair. Dykes, a
Las Vegas dentist, was extracted from
the final table in 8th place, which paid
$3,137.
Bonnie
"The Producer" Damiano came to the final
table lowest in chips, but outlasted three
of the finalists. It looked as if Damiano
would be a force when she moved all-in
with A-8 as the flop came A-8-2. But Paul
Testud had been dealt a sledgehammer.
He crushed Damiano's hopes when he rolled
over 2-2, for trip deuces. Damiano, the
host of the Four Queens Poker Classic
and other major international tournaments,
went out with grace in 7th place. She
received $3,921.
Jay
Weatherford won an early pot with three
7s, but was never able to generate any
momentum at the final table after that.
Desperately low on chips, Weatherford
moved all-in with K-8 suited. Unfortunately,
Charles Bullard's A-K had Weatherford
completely dominated. An 8 failed to come
from the deck and save Weatherford, who
went out in 6th place with $5,490.
Bullard
would soon feel the same sting of defeat.
A few hands later when the board showed
A-6-5, Bullard went back and forth with
Cecilia De Mortenson a few times, with
both players raising with paired aces.
However, Bullard's A-7 was out-kicked
by Mortenson's A-10. The end result was
a 5th-place finish for Bullard, a retired
military man. Bullard, who plays poker
regularly in the Tunica area, collected
$7,058 in prize money.
Another big hand came when Mortenson took
the chip lead back from Paul Testud with
a king-high straight. In fact, Testud's
closing moments at the final table were
a disaster, as he went from being the
chip leader to the short-stack following
a series of beats and bad cards. The final
blow came when Testud went all-in with
A-K versus Ben Durham's 8-8. Testud failed
to pair up, which meant a 4th place finish
for the Parisian. Paul Testud received
what amounts to about 9,411 euros for
his fine performance.
After
the three finalists played for about 15
minutes, Mortenson, Durham, and Wilds
were locked into a virtual three-way tie
for the chip lead. It was anyone's tournament
to win. Then, lightning struck.
Cecilia
De Mortenson went on the roll of a lifetime
that absolutely crushed the two stacks
of her opponents. In fact, if this poker
game had been a prize fight, it might
have been stopped at some point. The bigget
hand of the night came when Mortenson
made quad-sevens against Ben Durham. Best
of all, she got massive action on the
hand. Mortenson raked in a $65K pot with
the monster hand.
The sevens continued to be very lucky
for the lady from Spain. Durham had been
totally devastated by the previous hand,
and went all-in on the big blind with
K-6. Mortenson had 8-7. The final board
showed A-A-7-8-3. Mortenson's pair of
7s won the pot and Durham was out in 3rd
place. Ben Durham, who won this event
in 2001, collected $14,901 in prize money.
Mortenson
started heads-up play with a 2-1 chip
advantage. Up to this point, her opponent
Mark Wilds had played relatively few hands,
choosing (wisely) to stay out of the way
as Mortenson ran over the table. Now playing
heads-up, it was time to shift gears.
He
did exactly that on the 9th hand of the
Mortenson-Wilds duel when he tried to
take a pot with an unexpected raise, which
Mortenson reluctantly called. Wilds did
not show his hand (which suggests a bluff).
Mortenson turned over K-10 as the board
showed J-10-9-6-5, good for a pair of
10s. That hand essentially ended Wilds'
hopes of making a comeback. With Mortenson
holding a 21-1 chip advantage the final
hand of the night was dealt:
Mortenson: J-3
Wilds: 9-9
The final board showed 10-3-3-8-10, giving
Mortenson a full house.
Mark
Wilds, making his second final table of
this year's World Poker Open, is from
Biloxi, Mississippi. He has made numerous
final tables at major poker events. He
added $29,801 to his tournament winnings
for second place.
Cecilia
De Mortenson was a delight to watch at
the final table. Remarkably uncharateristic
for most poker players, she clapped for
herself when she won a big hand, and seemed
to genuinely enjoy herself while playing
in the finale. She proved once and for
all that "enjoying the experience" is
what tournament poker should be all about.
-- by Nolan Dalla
|
