Douglas
"Deadly Venom" Farmer Bites
Off $136,985 and Wins No-Limit Holdem
Title
A
record 404 players, the highest ever number
of entries for this event, entered the
$1,000 buy-in No-Limit Texas Holdem tournament
at the 2004 Jack Binion World Poker Open.
Play at the final table began with Reggie
Jackson as the chip-leader, along with
Douglas "Deadly Venom" Farmer, who was
a close second.
Three hands into Day Two, Ricky "Hot Lava"
Afalava, from Hawaii, moved "all-in" before
the flop with Q-Q and was called by Carlos
Fuentes with 8-8. Fuentes spiked an 8
on the turn and won with trip 8s, which
meant Aflava was the first player out.
�Hot Lava� was steamed and flowed off
the final table in ninth place with $5,924.
A
few hands later, short-stacked Donny Kerr
was desperate to pick up some extra chips
from the big blind and called Jake's Austin's
"all-in" raise, with A-3. Austin had 10-10,
which held up and eliminated Kerr in eighth
place. Kerr, who won the 1996 California
State Poker Championship and a number
of other poker tournaments, received $7,405.
John
Callahan's time at the final table expired
when he was in the big blind and faced
an "all-in" decision with Q-9 suited.
Larry Daigle was in the small blind and
raised with Q-Q. Callahan decided to call
the raise, which was a mistake, leaving
Callahan in dire need of a miracle. Callahan
caught a 9 on the flop, which provided
some hope, but he failed to catch a third
9 and walked away in disappointment. Callahan,
who is from Chicago and is a self-described
"Cubs Fan," knows the disappointment of
coming up short all too well. Nevertheless,
he did collect $9,256 -- which should
sooth the pain somewhat.
Jake
Austin took the worst of it on the next
key hand when he was "all-in" with A-K
against Douglas Farmer's 8-8, after an
8 flopped. Austin managed to catch a King,
but lost to trip 8s. Austin, a retiree
from Georgia, went out in sixth place
with $12,958.
Reggie
Jackson came into Day Two with the chip
lead, but encountered a string of misfortune
and was the next player to be eliminated.
Jackson came over the top of Carlos Fuentes
with a $40K re-raise with A-10 suited,
and Fuentes re-raised "all-in" with 6-6.
Jackson contemplated his decision and
decided to call the additional $80K raise,
as a $250K pot was at stake. The final
board showed J-J-9-5-J, giving Fuentes
the enormous pot with Js full of 6s. Reggie
Jackson, a casino supervisor from nearby
Lake Cormorant, MS, struck out on fifth
place, receiving $16,661.
That
gave Carlos Fuentes a monster-sized chip
lead. Fuentes then lost two successive
hands when he doubled up Peter Moore and
Douglas Farmer -- each time running into
pocket Aces. Incredibly, just a few hands
later Fuentes picked up the same A-A and
eliminated Peter Moore. Fuentes was in
the big blind and smooth called with the
premium pair, but then Moore raised from
the big blind with K-J. Fuentes beat Moore
into the pot with his chips and watched
as Moore failed to connect with the board.
Peter Moore, a retired business owner
from Atlanta who has previously made final
tables here at the JBWPO in addition to
events at the Horseshoe and Bellagio in
Las Vegas, collected $22,214 for fourth
place.
Larry
Daigle was on life-support and was forced
to go "all-in" a short time later, with
Q-10 suited. Douglas Farmer won the pot
with 5-5 when the final board showed A-7-6-7-4.
Daigle, a retiree from Breaux Bridge,
LA who finished in the money at the Four
Queens and the Frontier in Las Vegas,
received $35,172 for third place.
When heads-up play began, the chip counts
stood as follows:
Farmer -- $307K
Fuentes -- $179K
The
two finalists battled back and forth for
about 45 minutes. After roughly 30 hands
and several potentially big confrontations,
Fuentes seized a slight chip lead before
Farmer won the key hand of the tournament.
Fuentes opened with a $90K raise with
A-9 and Farmer moved "all-in" with Q-Q.
Fuentes called. The pocket Queens held
up and at that point, Farmer had a 6 to
1 chip lead. The final hand was dealt
a short time later:
Farmer -- 8s-5s
Fuentes -- Kd-10s
Final Board -- K-7-6-9-4
On
the hand, Fuentes raised "all-in" before
the flop with his last $60K. Farmer called.
Fuentes caught a King on the flop, but
Farmer had an outside-straight draw. Farmer
made a straight when a 9 came on the turn.
But Fuentes still had outs and was drawing
to a 10-high straight. A harmless 4 fell
on the river, and Farmer won the final
hand of the tournament.
Carlos
Fuentes is from Pamplona, Spain -- famous
as the site of the annual Running of the
Bulls." He managed to flatten 402 opponents
in this event, but was finally trampled
in the end by Farmer, the ultimate champion.
Fuentes was paid $70,343 as the runner
up.
Douglas
"Deadly Venom" Farmer, makes Southwestern-style
jewelry for a living in Colorado. Farmer
added another piece of jewelry, the coveted
gold and diamond bracelet to his collection
for the win. Indeed, the player known
as "Deadly Venom" put a bite into the
prize money, winning a whopping $136,985
for first place.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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