John
Phan Becomes Third Repeat Champion
at 2004 Jack Binion World Poker Open
Yesterday,
Can Kim Hua became only the second player
in Jack Binion World Poker Open tournament
history to win two gold and diamond bracelets
within the same year. What were the odds
that just one day later, the feat would
be repeated again? Amazingly, Long Beach,
CA poker pro John Phan overcame the odds
again by topping a huge field and won
his second championship at this year's
tournament.
Four
days ago, Phan wn his first bracelet,
defeating a then-record 918 entries in
the $500 buy-in Limit Holdem event. The
number of entries in this record-setting
Pot-Limit event (454) must have seemed
easy by comparison. Indeed, Phan made
it look way too easy in coasting to a
$85,257 payday.
The
final table featured three former JBWPO
bracelet winners (Devil Fish, Phan, and
Vinas). Matthew McDaniel arrived lowest
in chips and was the first player to make
an exit. He was dealt A-9 and raised pre-flop.
John Phan called with A-4 of diamonds
and made a flush on the turn, when the
final board showed 10-7-6-J-A -- with
three diamonds. McDaniel, from Indiana,
made a quick exit but to his credit has
now placed in the money four straight
years in this event. He added $3,055 to
his poker bankroll for ninth place.
Canadian
player Grant Pittman made his final stand
with A-K and was "all-in" against John
Phan's 9-9. Pittman failed to catch a
pair which gave John Phan the pot -- and
the chip lead for the first time. Pittman
went north of the border in eighth place
with $4,074 American dollars.
Billy
Duarte, from Colorado, has several wins
and cashes in his extensive poker career.
But he could do no better than seventh
place in this tournament. Short-stacked
throughout his 30-minute stay at the final
table, Duarte raised "all-in" with A-Q
suited and was called automatically by
Glen Bean, with A-K. Duarte caught two
clubs on the flop giving him hope of making
a flush, but when two red blanks fell
on the turn and river, Duarte was out.
He collected $4,685 for seventh place.
Tommy
Vinus, the winner of a gold and diamond
bracelet in 2003, was down to about $20K
in chips. Playing six-handed with blinds
at $2K-4K, Vinus was caught in a fly trap
when he made an "all-in" pre flop raise
with A-J which was called quickly by Glen
Bean with A-Q. Vinus' hand was dominated
and he failed to spike a life-saving Jack,
which meant a sixth-place finish for the
former champ from Houston. Vinus received
$6,518.
David
"Devil Fish" Ulliott is the defending
Jack Binion World Poker Open champion.
He won nearly $600,000 in last year's
main event. The Devil Fish also won a
gold and diamond bracelet back in 2002.
One of only three players with two JBWPO
wins to his name, the Devil Fish's bid
for the tri-fecta came up short. The English
pro went "all-in" with K-J suited versus
Doug Paxton's 7-7. Devil Fish picked up
a number of outs when the flop came Q-9-2.
Any King, Jack, or Ten would give him
a straight. Unfortunately, two blanks
fell on the turn and river -- which meant
a disappointing fifth-place finish for
the defending JBWPO champ. Devil Fish
swam away with $8,759.
With
John Phan in the chip lead, Ed Corrado
then doubled-up with pocket Aces. The
big pot put Corrado into a virtual tie
for second place (in chips), along with
Doug Paxton and Glen Bean. Phan's 3 to
2 chip advantage quickly increased at
Bean's expense when he bluffed Bean out
of a big pot, with a massive pot-sized
bet. Ed Corrado decided he'd seen enough
of Phan's antics and got involved in a
bit of controversy on the following hand.
Phan,
who constantly utilized a "stall" tactic
most of the day by delaying his decision
at the expense of the timeclock and his
opponents’ patience, made an initial raise.
Ed Corrado was next to act and intended
to re-raise, but his verbal declaration
was somewhat ambiguous -- so the raise
was disallowed. That turned out to be
a good thing for Corrado who likely ended
up making an additional $45K on the hand.
Corrado had A-K, and came over the top
of Phan's initial $20K bet with an "all-in"
raise after the flop came K-Q-4. Phan
called with Q-10, which essentially gave
Corrado an extra $45K on the hand when
Phan hit his pair. In just two hands,
Corrado had rocketed into a slight chip
lead.
It wouldn’t last for long. Phan seized
back the lead on the next hand when he
raised with 9-7 -- good for top pair -
after the flop came 9-6-5. Glen Bean pondered
his decision and decided to call with
A-K, hoping Phan was pulling a bluff.
This time, he wasn't. Phan's pair of 9s
held up and Bean was out. Bean, who delivers
pizza for a living, made a lot of dough
for fourth place -- $11,203.
Phan
and Corrado went heads-up again when Phan
was dealt 10-10 versus Corrado's A-5.
When the flop came 5-4-3, Corrado raised
Phan's large bet and was "all-in." Phan
was thrilled to call with his over-pair
-- which held up and took down the $200K
pot. Corrado, a retiree from Florida,
added $19,351 to his pension.
It
didn't take long for Phan to close out
the victory. Holding a 4 to 1 chip advantage,
the final hand of the night took place
when Doug Paxton was dealt J-10 against
Phan's 10-6 of diamonds. The flop came
A-Q-10 with two diamonds. Paxton, with
bottom pair and an inside straight draw,
made a pot-sized bet. Phan thought momentarily,
then moved in with enough chips to cover
Paxton. Phan, with bottom pair and a flush
draw watched and stood up from the table
as Paxton called. The turn paired the
board with a Queen, effectively making
it a split pot -- although Phan was still
free-rolling with the diamond draw. As
everyone in the audience stood and both
Phan and Paxtonheld their breaths, a diamond
rained down from the poker Gods, crushing
Paxton's chance of staging a comeback.
Doug
Paxton, from Oklahoma, came into the final
table with the chip lead and certainly
had reason to be proud of his performance.
He is the past President of the U.S. Custom
Harvesters Association. Paxton finished
fourth in the Pot-Limit Omaha event at
last year's JBWPO. He collected $37,683
as the runner up in this event.
But this night clearly belonged to John
Phan, who wrote a new chapter in the five-year
history of the JBWPO. Phan joins Scotty
Nguyen and Can Kim Hua as the only players
to win two titles in the same year. In
only a week, Phan now has two gold and
diamond bracelets and nearly a quarter
of a million dollars in prize money.
And
now -- the race is on to see which poker
player will be the first to win an unprecedented
three poker titles. Stay tuned to the
latest news from Tunica.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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