Billy
Duarte Earns Impressive Win in
Pot-Limit Holdem Event at 2004 JBWPO
Billy
Duarte won $76,062 and first place in
the $1,000 buy-in Pot-Limit Texas Holdem
event. The win marked a personal milestone
for Duarte, who has made several previous
final tables at the Jack Binion World
Poker Open during its five-year history.
But up until tonight, the coveted gold
and diamond bracelet had eluded the 65-year-old
retiree from Colorado. That all changed
when Duarte played a nearly perfect tournament
and won the final hand in dramatic fashion,
besting the runner up � George Abdallah.
Duarte
began Day Two with a sizable chip lead
-- $80K to his closest rival, Ali Sarkeshik
who had $51K. All others had $29K or less.
The
shortest stack was Ray Henson, from Houston,
who had $12K. Henson found a good hand
to go "all-in" with -- A-K. Buddy Williams
called from the big blind with K-Q. Both
players flopped top pair when the board
showed K-9-6, but Williams managed to
catch two running hearts to win with a
heart flush. It was a bad beat for Henson,
who has cashed at a number of major poker
tournaments in the past. He received 3,289
for ninth place.
John
Phan took a big hit when he lost most
of his stack with A-J against Roger Guerrette's
6-6, when the final board showed J-6-3-5-2.
Down to just $3K, Phan had to move in
with 10-3 in the blind against Nicky DiLeo's
K-Q of diamonds. The final board showed
A-Q-7-2-10 with three diamonds, giving
DiLeo a flush. Phan, who has already won
two titles at this year's JBWPO, could
not pull off the tournament trifecta.
He collected $4,112 for eighth place.
Nick
DiLeo won the Limit Holdem event here
in 2002. He was shooting for his second
gold and diamond bracelet, but came up
short. He took a bad beat when his 4-4
looked to be the best hand on the flop,
which came K-7-2. Scott O'Bryan held A-Q,
and watched with delight as the final
two cards were 10-J, good for the runner-runner
straight. DiLeo, from New York City, stormed
off with $5,139 for seventh place.
Yet
another horrible beat took place a few
hands later when Buddy Williams was dealt
K-K and faced Scott O'Bryan's A-K. O'Bryan's
frown turned into a big smile when the
flop came A-Q-4, essentially leaving Williams
with just one out (the case King). Two
blanks fell giving O'Bryan the big pot.
Buddy Williams, from Oklahoma, who made
the final table in the championship event
last year, picked up $7,195 for sixth
place.
One
of the most interesting hands of the final
table occurred when Billy Duarte and Scott
O'Bryan went heads-up. After a flop of
9-9-7, Duarte checked and O'Bryan bet
$8K. Duarte then raised $8K more, and
placed $16K into the pot. O'Bryan didn't
hesitate and moved "all-in" with a $20K
re-raise. Duarte was convinced he was
beat and folded. Although the hands wee
not shown, the pot rocketed O'Bryan into
the chip lead for the first time.
Roger
Guerrette was low on chips and moved "all-in"
with K-J versus Scotty O'Bryan's A-J.
Neither player made a pair, which meant
the Ace-high played and Guerrette was
out. Guerrette, from Houston, received
$9,251 for fifth place.
Ali
Sarkeshik, a high-limit player from London,
went out next when his 8-8 was routed
by Billy Duarte's A-A. When the flop came
A-J-Q, Ali was nearly drawing dead. The
board paired on the turn, giving Duarte
a full house and a $60K pot. Ali was not
�the greatest� on this day, but still
managed a $12,335 payoff for fourth place.
With Ali's elimination, Duarte regained
the chip lead. A few minutes later, George
Abdallah ripped a sizable chunk out of
Scott O'Bryan's stack when he hit a fifth
diamond on the river, completing a flush.
That key pot put Abdallah up close to
Duarte in chips and left O'Bryan down
by about 2 to 1.
O'Bryan
went out a short time later when he flopped
top pair with K-10. Billy Duarte had J-9
when the flop came 10-8-3, for the open-ended
straight. When an 7 fell on the turn,
that ended O'Bryan's stay in the finale.
Scotty O'Bryan, who won the Jack Binion
World Poker Open championship event in
2000, finished in third place and collected
$19,529.
Down
to two players, Duarte had a slight chip
lead. Duarte won a few small pots before
dropping an atomic bomb on Abdallah on
the final hand of the tournament.
Duarte
-- A-A
Abdallah � 9-9
Board � A-10-8-A-4
Abdallah
raised before the flop. Duarte re-raised,
and Abdallah moved �all-in.� Duarte couldn�t
get his chips into the pot fast enough
and flipped over the pocket rockets. Abdallah
needed a Nine desperately, but watched
in horror as the flop came with an Ace,
giving Duarte trip-Aces. To add insult
to injury, Duarte caught a fourth Ace
on the turn, which blew Abdallah off the
final table as the runner up.
George
Abdallah, from Houston, is in the restaurant
business. Although disappointed he did
not win, he still earned $39,059 for second
place. Meanwhile, Billy Duarte stacked
up chips from the final pot of the night
and collected $76,062, plus a seat in
the $10,000 championship event.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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