Mike
Pugliese Goes Wire-to-Wire
and Runs Away with $211,485 Victory
Dreams
do come true. Ask Mike Pugliese, a former
casino dealer from New Jersey, who won
his first major poker tournament and a
whopping $211,485 in the 17th event at
this year’s poker festival. The overall
$571,587 prize pool represented the largest
tournament pot ever, for any Jack Binion
World Poker Open event in his five-year
history (other than the main championship
event). Pugliese’s well-earned victory
was never seriously in doubt, as he started
with the chip lead and rocketed to his
first ever major tournament win.
Ten minutes into Day Two, the first player
went out when short-stacked Mike Keohen
moved "all-in" with A-Q. It was only $8K
more to call for Jacob Nissan, who held
J-10. The flop hit Keohen hard, as the
A-Q-7 gave him top two pair. But an evil
King rained down on the turn giving Nissan
the inside straight. Keohen failed to
catch his four-outer on the river, which
meant an early elimination. Keohan, a
software consultant from San Mateo, CA
-- the winner of two previous tournaments
at Foxwoods -- collected $9,145 for ninth
place.
Rondy
Roy has been coming around final tables
for years -- often to watch and learn.
Prior to the start of the final table,
Roy, from Cedar Rapids, IA said that if
he won, he'd pay off his entire mortgage.
Ronde started his final hand of the night
as the favorite, with A-J suited versus
Mike Pugliese's K-Q suited. When the flop
came Q-Q-J Pugliese check-raised Roy for
the rest of his chips and ultimately won
a $70K pot. Roy still has house payments
to make, although the $11,431 in eighth-place
prize money will certainly make things
easier for the next few months.
A few hands later, Paul Maxfield found
himself very low on chips and tried to
steal the blinds with a pre-flop raise,
holding K-9. Bobby Thompson made the call
and watched the final board show 9-7-3-10-2.
Thompson's top pair bested Maxdield's
second pair. Maxfield, an Englishman from
Stoke-on-Kent, collected $14,290 for seventh
place.
Larry
Wright, a.k.a. the "Texas Bandit" was
robbed of his chips when he tried to steal
the blinds with J-7 of clubs, which was
called by Jacob Nissan, with J-10. When
the flop came 9-8-7, Wright had a pair,
but Nissan had flopped the nut straight.
Wright, a rancher who has made final tables
at the World Series of Poker and the Hall
of Fame (Las Vegas), rode off into the
sunset with $20,005 for sixth place.
Dennis
Anderson, a Kentucky real estate investor,
was low on chips and made his final stand
with A-3. Bobby Thompson called the small
raise from the blind and watched cheerfully
as the flop came K-J-5, giving him a pair.
Anderson needed and Ace, which failed
to come, resulting in the end for Anderson.
He received $25,721 for fifth place.
Next,
the two chip leaders went to war when
Frank Kasella (7-4 of diamonds) moved
"all-in" after the flop A-6-2 with two
diamonds. Mike Pugliese, with A-10, thought
for three full minutes, then called finally
with the Pair of Aces (questionable kicker).
A diamond failed to rescue Kasella --
which meant the company president from
nearby Germantown, TN was the fourth place
finisher, good for $34,295.
Bobby
Thompson, a businessman from Costa Rica,
was the next player eliminated. He played
his final hand when he moved "all-in"
pre-flop with A-8 suited against chip
leader Mike Pugliese, with 6-6. Pugliese
won the $180K pot when Thompson failed
to connect with a pair. Thompson backed
away from the final table in third place,
which meant a $54,301 payday.
When
heads-up play commenced, the approximate
chip counts stood as follows:
Pugliese
-- $500K
Nissan -- $130K
Nissan
had a prime opportunity to draw close
to even in chips when he took his A-K
suited up against Pugliese's K-Q. The
flop came 5-5-5, and when a King fell
on the river, it meant the monster-sized
$260K pot was split between the two players.
Nissan
managed to increase his stack to slightly
over $200K at one point, but the end came
in dramatic fashion:
Pugliese
-- A-J
Nissan -- A-7
Pugliese
was the clear pre-flop favorite, and re-raised
before the flop as both players were "all-in."
With the tournament hanging in the balance,
Nissan snagged a Seven, when the flop
came K-7-4. A third club fell on the turn,
giving Pugliese a club-flush draw with
the Ace of clubs. On the river, the Six
of clubs was peeled from the deck, giving
Pugliese the nut straight versus Nissan's
pair of Sevens.
Jacob
C. Nisssan, an economist from Los Angeles,
was playing for the first time at the
JBWPO. He promises to come back again,
as he collected $108,600 as the runner
up.
The
champion was Mike Pugliese, a former casino
dealer from Red Bank, NJ. The $218,026
prize money was the largest tournament
win ever for the 31-year old poker player.
Pugliese also won a $10,000 seat in the
championship event of the 2004 JBWPO,
which is set to begin in two days. Prize
money is up to over $4.2 million – which
will likely hit the $5 million mark tomorrow.
The Jack Binion World Poker Open has clearly
established itself as one of the world’s
most prestigious and potentially lucrative
tournaments for poker players.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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