The
Flying Dutchman Towers Over Huge Omaha-High
Field: Ed de Haas, from Amsterdam, Wins
First Event at
2004 World Poker Open
The first thing you notice about Ed de Haas is his physical stature.
Standing at nearly 7-feet tall, he's an imposing figure. However, his
performance at the kickoff event at this year's World Poker Open was
even more impressive. De Haas, a pot-limit Omaha cash game specialist
who plays regularly at Casinos Holland in Amsterdam, won a whopping
$100,126 and his first-ever gold and diamond bracelet. Although De
Haas has previously won major poker tournaments over in Europe -
including at cardrooms in Paris (France) and Bregenz (Austria) -- this
victory marks his biggest payday ever.
Entries increased by ten percent in this event over last year, which
amounted to a record-breaking 259 entries with 320 rebuys, making the
prize pool over a quarter of a million dollars. On the first day, 250
players were eliminated. Play on Day Two started with the final nine
players representing a broad range of poker backgrounds and
geographical regions. But in the end, it was a Dutchman who towered
over the field.
Well-traveled tournament pro Tony Cousineau was the first player to
exit. He was short-stacked and made an "all-in" raise with K-J-10-10.
David Cowan was getting a fair price from the big blind and called the
small raise with 9-8-7-6. The flop might as well been a sledgehammer
to Cousineau's skull, as the first three cards showed 9-9-9. To no
one's surprise, Cowan's four 9s held up and Cousineau was destined for
another nice payoff, but not the big-money victory he was seeking. He
received 4,330 for ninth place.
Hoyt Corkins, originally from Alabama but now living in Las Vegas, has
enjoyed a stellar year on the tournament circuit. He won the million
dollar top prize at the World Poker Tour event at Foxwoods in
November. The savvy poker veteran of many tournament wars also won the
pot-limit Omaha championship at the World Series of Poker back in
1992. However, Corkins could do no better than eighth place in this
tournament as he was forced to make his final stand with A-Q-J-4
versus Ed de Haas' monster pre-flop hand, A-A-K-J. Corkins needed a
lot of help from the deck, but failed to catch a miracle. He exited
with $5,412 in prize money.
Doug Kim came in third in chips, but didn't enjoy much success at the
final table. In his one hour stay on the final day, he failed to win a
pot of any significance and was gradually grinded down to a short
stack. When Kim flopped a straight with K-J-9-8 to the board's 7-9-10,
Kim moved his remaining chips into the pot. David Cowan was happy to
call getting favorable pot odds with a flush raw. When the river
brought a third heart, Cowan had completed his flush, and Kim was
bounced off the final table in seventh place. He collected $6,765.
Art Young, from Biloxi, MS has several impressive tournament finishes
on his resume, including a win many years ago at the Super Bowl of
Poker. He also finished second in the Eight-or-Better event at last
year's World Poker Open. Young's chances to move higher into the money
were dashed 1:10 into play at the final table, when his A-K-K-9 lost
to Scott Downes A-A-8-4. Minutes later, left with only $17K in chips,
he played his last hand of the night when he raised with A-K-Q-5 and
was called by David Cowan with J-9-7-6. The final board showed
10-10-3-Q-K, giving Cowan a king-high straight. When the river card
fell, Mr. Young suddenly looked very old and hobbled away from the
final table in sixth place, good for a $9,472 payday.
Scott Downes took the second of two brutal beats at the final table
when he lost a $180K pot (and the chip lead) to Tony (a.k.a. "Tekkno")
Seunsom. On the turn, Tekkno bet his last $40K, after repeatedly
betting pre- and post-flop. Tekkno was on a draw and Downes, with
A-A-Q-4 (two diamonds) made the correct call holding the best hand at
the time. However, Tekkno had K-J-9-3 and bolted out of his seat in
jubilation when the board cards fell Q-9-6-7-10. Tekkno spiked a 10 on
the river to complete the straight, which completely changed the
dynamics at the final table.
David Cowan, an Oklahoma University graduate from Norman, watched with
disappointment when his team lost the national championship game last
week. Cowan suffered a much more personal blow at the final table,
when he was the next player to exit, in fifth place. Cowan picked up a
huge draw on the turn when his A-K-9-5 was double-suited with clubs
and diamonds to the board's 10-10-5-Q, with both suits. With a club,
diamond, and straight draw, Cowan was a favorite to win the pot, but
lost when non-connected 6 fell on the river. Ed de Haas scooped the
$100K pot and Cowan went home "Sooner" than he expected, with $12,178.
As stated earlier, Scott Downes took a number of blows at the final
table. At one point he was the chip leader, but after a few bad breaks
Downes made his final stand with A-J-10-9, losing to Ed de Haas with
two pair. Downes from Spokane, WA added a fourth-place finish at the
World Poker Open to two previous tournament cashes at the Bellagio
Five Diamond Classic (in late 2003). He collected $16,237.
ALocal player Chuck Doumitt came into the final table with the chip
lead, but was involved in relatively few confrontations during the
first two hours of play. When action became three-handed, he was down
about 2 to 1 to both Tekkno and de Haas -- who shared the chip lead.
Doumitt couldn't play passively when play became short-handed and
moved all-in on a straight draw. Doumitt was dealt 4-6-7-Q and tried a
semi-bluff with an open-ended straight draw when the flop came K-5-4,
which was called by Tekkno, with K-J-7-5 -- good for two pair. The Ks
and 5s held up, which kicked Doumitt away from the final table in
third place. Doumitt, who finished high in the money at last year's
Mid-America Poker Classic (Horseshoe -- Tunica, MS), added $25,708 to
his tournament winnings.
Tekkno held a slight chip advantage when heads-up play began. The most
critical hand of the tournament came just three hands later. Tekkno
was dealt J-J-3-2 with suited diamonds. When the flop came K-9-3, with
two diamonds both players moved their stacks into the pot. Tekkno
managed to catch the 8 of diamonds on the turn for the flush, but was
horrified to see De Haas roll over A-A-K-4, with the A-K of diamonds
-- good for the higher flush. That left Tekkno drawing dead and down
to just $15K in chips when the smoke cleared and the applause ended.
Tekkno made things interesting over the next ten minutes, when he
rivered two winning pots in a row and ran his small stack back up to a
respectable $70K. But with the blinds at $5K-10K, Tekkno would need a
near miracle to stage such a big comeback. It wasn't to be.
The final hand of the tournament came when Tekkno committed his
remaining chips with Q-8-6-3 versus De Haas' K-K-Q-6. De Haas ended
Tekkno's hopes of a comeback when he flopped a third king. The final
board showed K-9-3-J-5 giving De Haas trip kings and his first
American tournament victory.
Tony "Tekkno" Seunsom, from Houston, had to be happy with his
performance and $51,417 in prize money. Cheered on by an enthusiastic
gallery of fans, Tekkno made things interesting for viewers by
bouncing back and forth between elimination and the chip lead most of
the night. But in the end, his enthusiasm and desire to win could not
top a precision performance by the Dutchman.
Afterward, De Haas reamrked that he came to the World Poker Open
specifically to play pot-limit Omaha. Since "PLO" is much more popular
in Europe than in the U.S., De Haas had heard that the Omaha games in
Tunica were, by far, the best on this side of the Atlantic.
Incredibly, De Haas almost decided not to enter this tournament.
"I
didn't want to play yesterday," De Haas
said. "I came here for the cash games.
But a friend encouraged me to enter, and
now here I am with a first-place finish."
He
added: "There certainly is a lot of luck
in Omaha, but I really think I played
well in this tournament."
In the end, there were 100,126 reasons
and 258 players standing on the rail who
had to agree. De Haas played "very well"
in this tournament, indeed.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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