John
Phan Triumphs Over Record Field at the
World Poker Open
Anyone
still doubting poker's booming popularity
would be advised to look at the numbers
from the Limit Holdem event at the 2004
World Poker Open. The second event of
this year's WPO attracted a staggering
918 entries, making it one of the largest
fields in poker tournament history. In
fact, no tournament with a $500+ buy-in
has ever attracted so many entries. Just
minutes before the noon starting time
on Day One, the event was declared "sold
out."
Play
on Day Two of this record-setting event
started with $2K-4K blinds and limits
at $4K-8K. John Phan, from Long Beach,
CA came in as the chip leader with $194,000.
Interestingly, Texan Bennett Flanagan
came in with the lowest chip count. Proving
that victory isn't necessarily dependent
on the number of chips one has coming
into the final table, Phan and Flanagan
would ultimately meet in the showdown.
It
took an hour before the first player was
eliminated. That moment came when Scott
Robinson, a loan officer from Memphis,
was short-stacked and lost his final pot
of the tournament. Robinson, who was playing
in his very first major tournament, collected
$6,525 for a very respectable ninth-place
finish.
Keith
Copp, a rancher from Ponder, TX, came
in with the second-shortest stack. He
moved in with his remaining chips holding
A-8 of clubs on a flush draw when the
flop showed 9-4-2, with two clubs. Unfortunately,
John Phan was holding pocket kings and
called Copp's last bet. A club failed
to rescue Copp from elimination, which
put the father of three out in eighth
place with $8,701.
After
another round passed, blinds increased
to $5K-10K with limits set at $10K-20K.
Robbie Frank, who finished fifth in the
WPO championship event in 2001, was eliminated
next when he was dealt Q-Q. John Phan
had 4c-5c and was pleased to see the flop
come down 8-7-3, with two clubs. Phan
had multiple draws, and when a third club
fell on the river making the flush, Frank
was bounced off the final table in seventh
place with $10,006. The big pot rocketed
Phan into a sizable chip lead.
Not
much went right for Ayaz Mahmoud at the
final table. He came in third in chips,
but was never able to gain much momentum
during his two and a half hour stay in
the finale. Mahmoud's final hand of the
night occurred when he was dealt 8-8.
By the turn, Mahmoud was a clear favorite
over "Da Blasta's" no-pair A-Q. But an
ugly Ace fell on the river for "Da Blasta,"
which put Mahmoud out in sixth place.
Mahmoud, a retail furniture dealer from
Houston, received $13,921.
Vernon
Harrison, from Hunt, TX came to the WPO
to attend the Poker School Online Convention
(PokerPages.com) and to play in the Limit
Holdem event. Harrison, had made several
final tables elsewhere, but thus far had
not been able to break into a big payoff.
Harrison had a great chance to acquire
some chips when he was "all-in" with A-5
against John Phan's A-2 after the flop
came Q-5-3. Harrison's pair of 5s were
good until the river was dealt -- a dreaded
Four - which stuck a knife into Harrison's
heart and gave Phan a gutshot straight.
Harrison, an attorney and business owner,
collected $18,706 for fifth place.
Mike
Blankenau, who plays in major chess tournaments,
was easily the calmest player at the final
table. The chess grandmaster rarely showed
any emotion and didn't get caught up in
the table banter that increasingly made
the finale a spectacle for viewers as
the hours passed. Blankenau made his final
stand with J-10 but was disappointed to
see John Phan -- with K-5 -- catch a King
on the flop. Blankenau failed to improve
his hand and was checkmated off the final
table in fourth place, with $23,927.
Dallas
local Tony "Da Blasta" Passacantando was,
by far, the most talkative player at the
final table. He consistently baited his
opponents with non-stop table chatter,
most of it aimed at the chip-leader Phan.
In the end, however, it was a fellow-Texan
named Bennett Flanagan who blasted "De
Blasta" out of the tournament.
Flanagan's
experience at the final table can best
be described as riding a roller coaster
out of control. He was nearly thrown off
the tracks twice within the first hour,
but caught life-saving two- and three-outers
to survive yet another hand. Initially,
he rivered a Jack holding the heavy dog
K-J versus K-Q on one hand. Then, he turned
a third 10 versus a pair of Aces on the
next. Over the next three hours, Flanagan
turned a paltry few thousand in chips
into a formidable stack size.
"Da
Blasta's" final hand came after a successive
run of bad cards when the limits escalated
to $15K-30K. He ran "card dead" at the
worst possible time and was forced to
commit his remaining chips with a 10-7.
Flanagan had pocket 6s and made a full
house which put the talkative Texan out
in third place with $41,328.
Heads-up
play began with Phan holding a 3 to 1
chip advantage. In the most unlikely of
scenarios, Phan had seen all of his adversaries
slowly knocked off the final table one
by one, only to be confronted in the final
chapter by the player who initially seemed
like the least likely to survive. Flanagan
managed to win at least a dozen "all ins."
He prolonged the ending by another 35
minutes with a number of dramatic moments.
Late in the tournament, Flanagan's most
memorable hand occurred when his A-2 topped
Phan's A-Q, when the board showed an innocent-looking
Deuce. But Lady Luck eventually deserted
Flanagan in his greatest time of need.
On
the final hand of the tournament, Flanagan's
stack had been hammered down yet again
by Phan's ceaseless aggression and moved
his last $50K into the pot with 10-5.
This time, Phan was the sizable dog with
7-5, essentially needing a Seven to win
the pot. The lucky Seven flamed down on
the flop, igniting the crowd and essentially
ending the tournament.
During
his poker career, Phan has won major events
at the Legends of Poker (Bicycle Club)
and the LA Poker Classic (Commerce Casino).
The 29-year-old poker pro ran wire-to-wire
and managed to personally eliminate six
of his eight opponents in the finale.
Second-place
finisher Bennett Flanagan has a number
of in-the-money tournament finishes to
his credit, including cashes at the Orleans
and Mirage. He added $80,481 to his prize
winnings. However, in the end it was John
Phan who won his first World Poker Open
gold and diamond bracelet and took home
$160,965 in the largest big money tournament
in poker history.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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