Buzz
Saw Cuts through Wildly-Entertaining
Final Table and Wins $166,702 in
Record Breaking Poker Tournament
The
2004 Jack Binion World Poker Open continues
to shatter records. A whopping 950 players
-- the largest JBWPO field in the tournament's
five-year history -- entered the first
major No-Limit Holdem event of the year.
No tournament with a $500 buy-in has ever
attracted so many entries. Nearly half-a-million
in prize money was divided amongst the
36 top finishers, in what was according
to many witnesses one of the most exciting
poker tournaments the South has ever seen.
A standing-room only crowd packed the
second-floor grand ballroom at the Gold
Strike Casino-Resort for the finale table,
in an event jointly-sponsored with the
Horseshoe Casino-Hotel in Tunica. Blinds
started at $5K-10K with a $1K ante. The
first major confrontation took place 30
minutes into play when two players were
eliminated. Frank Vigna started with J-J
and moved "all-in." Wolf Minsky sat two
players to Vigna's left and came over
the top with an "all-in" re-raise, with
K-K. Chip leader Bob "Buzz Saw" Mangino
had a big enough stack to call from the
big blind with A-8 suited. The flop came
8-7-3, which made it seem as though the
Kings would triple up. But two cards were
still to come and when a dreaded Ace fell
on the turn, it might as well have been
a dagger through the hearts of both Vigna
and the Wolf. Buzz Saw�s pair of pair
of Aces held up and two players were knocked
out. Paul "Wolf" Minsky was left howling
a bad beat story and departed in ninth
place with $6,758. Also eliminated --
Frank Vigna, playing in his first live
tournament (he's played and won online
tourneys) finished in eighth place and
received $9,011.
Billy Ray Shadwick became an instant crowd
favorite when he won the next big pot
in dramatic fashion. Shadwick moved "all-in"
before the flop with A-J of clubs, which
was called by Buzz Saw with 9-9. The flop
came 6-7-8 with two clubs. A blank fell
on the turn, but on the river Shadwick
spiked a life-saving club, which sent
the crowd into a frenzy. Whooping and
hollering, Shadwisk high-fived several
observers in the audience and yelled,
"I need my heart pills."
Fact was, the $50K loss barely put a dent
in Buzz Saw's big stack. A few hands later,
Bill "Arrow" Williams took a shot with
9-9 and was "all-in" versus Bob "The Coach"
Ciaffone's K-10. Arrow watched in horror
as the flop came K-K-7, giving Ciaffone
trip Kings. A two-outer Nine failed to
rescue Arrow, which meant the owner of
a California mobile home dealership was
wheeled-off in seventh place with $10,363.
John
Lukas managed to survive until the second
hour, when he made a raise with K-10 suited.
Ciaffone came over the top with a re-raise
holding A-Q. Lukas was obliged to watch
with disappointment, as a pair failed
to materialize. Ciaffone's Ace-high was
good, which rocketed the noted poker author
and columnist up to over $200K, posing
the most serious threat to Buzz Saw's
$220K. Meanwhile, John Lukas, a retiree
from Las Vegas, took $14,418 for sixth
place.
Billy
Ray Shadwick electrified the crowd a few
moments later when he flopped a set of
Queens against Ciaffone. Incredibly, Ciaffone
also flopped a set (Jacks versus Shadwick's
Queens). The pretty ladies held up and
put the Shadwick � who was playing in
his first tournament ever -- up over $100K.
The
deck quickly apologized to Ciaffone when
he turned the tables against Tommy Vinus.
This time, Ciaffone had the best of it
by flopping set over set. Ciaffone started
with A-A against Vinus' 7-7. When the
flop came A-7-2, Vinus was left desperate,
drawing to a single card which failed
to appear from the deck. The final table
was an absolute nightmare for Vinus, who
must have come into the Day Two with higher
expectations. He was dealt a long series
of sub-par poker hands and failed to generate
any momentum in the finale. Vinus, who
is a former gold and diamond bracelet
winner at the JBWPO in 2002, blasted off
in fifth place with $19,374.
Another stunning hand developed when blinds
were raised to $5K-10K with a $2K ante.
Juha Helppi, a former World Poker Tour
event winner (Aruba -- 2003) was dealt
Q-Q. After the flop, a harmless-looking
7-5-3, Buzz Saw moved his entire stack
into the pot on a semi-bluff holding K-6
-- which was quickly called by Helppi.
When a King fell on the river, it marked
yet another stunning moment in the finale.
As observers sat in stunned disbelief,
Helppi -- from Finland -- staggered away
from the final table in fourth place.
He collected $24,780.
Shadwick
defied the odds again a short time later
when he was dealt K-J and moved "all-in"
with K-J against Ciaffone's A-5. The shorter-stacked
Shadwick caught a Jack on the flopped
and doubled up to over $200K.
At that point, the chip counts stood as
follows:
Buzz Saw -- $373K
Shadwick -- $243K
Ciaffone -- $131K
Shorted-handed
play is an entirely different tournament
animal, and Buzz Saw proved to be a tiger.
He repeatedly cut down his two remaining
opponents by coming over the top of their
initial raises with "all-in" moves. Ciaffone
decided he'd had enough of the Buzz Saw's
antics and moved "all-in" on the turn
when the board showed Q-4-2-4. Ciaffone
was holding A-8, which amounted to a bluff
and the Buzz Saw snapped it off immediately
by calling with Q-7, good for a pair of
Queens. An Ace failed to materialize from
the deck, putting Bob "The Coach" Ciaffone
out in third place with $42,802. A master
gamesman, Ciaffone won the European Poker
Championship in 1988 and also finished
third in the 1986 World Series of Poker.
At that point, Billy Ray Shadwick reached
across the table and grabbed the coveted
gold and diamond bracelet. That's as close
as he would get to wearing the coveted
top prize. Down about 5 to 1 in chips,
Shadwick tried to make a move at the worst
possible moment. With about $90K in chips,
he moved �all-in� before the flop with
A-5. Buzz Saw announced, �You made the
wrong move at the wrong time,� and rolled
over A-K of spades, which dominated Shadwick�s
hand.
The
flop came K-6-4, which just about ended
Shadwick�s chances of pulling off the
comeback. Shadwick caught a five on the
turn, giving him a last glimmer of hope,
but it quickly faded when a blank 8 fell
on the river, guaranteeing Buzz Saw�s
victory.
Shadwick
was thrilled with his finish and had every
right to be joyful. After all, how many
players can say they won $83,352 in their
first-ever poker tournament?
After a hearty handshake between the two
finalists, Bob �Buzz Saw� Mangino, from
upstate New York, stood up in his chair
and pumped his fists into the air as the
large crowd filled into the tournament
area. Congratulated by a sea of fans and
well-wishers, Buzz Saw was clearly the
sharpest player on this night, winning
$166,702 and his first JBWPO title.
-- by Nolan Dalla
|
