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Texas Holdem-Poker

2003 World Series Of Poker
Thu - Fri May 1- 2, 2003
Event #17
Limit Hold'em
$1,500 BUY-IN

Players: 346
Prize Pool: $
482,670

2. Kathy Liebert Las Vegas, NV 91,700
3. Nick Frangos White Plains, NY 45,900
4. Jaime Ateneloff Montevideo, Uruguay 29,000
5. Gino Yu Torrance, CA 21,700
6. Al Korson Albuquerque, NM 16,900
7. Joe Brandenburg Portland, OR 12,100
8. Trent Sessions Huffman, TX 9,700
9. Thor Hansen Oslo, Norway 7,740
10. Tom Ralph Sioux Falls, SD 5,800
11. David Plastik Las Vegas, NV 5,800
12. Jereme Montoya Towaoc, CA 5,800
13. Richard Fong San Francisco, CA 4,800
14. Jason Mathews London, England 4,800
15. Patty Gallagher San Diego, CA 4,800
16. Shaun Stephans Mt. Sterling, OH 3,900
17. John Phan Long Beach, CA 3,900
18. Randy Holland Winnetka, CA 3,900
19. Kenna James South Gate, GA 2,870
20. Sok Cheng Bothell, WA 2,870
21. John O'Connor League City, TX 2,870
22. Christopher Bell Raleigh, NC 2,870
23. Donald Barton Pahrump, NV 2,870
24. Bruce Yamron Naples, FL 2,870
25. David Rabbi Las Vegas, NV 2,870
26. Lejdin Fazlibegu Manalapan, NJ 2,870
27. Nick Sciurba N. Hollywood, CA 2,870


King For a Day: Binion's Poker Dealer, Johnny Arrage, Stuns Poker World and Wins $178,600
and First Gold Bracelet

There are rare moments in poker when the results of a tournament final table can actually change someone's life. That special moment occurred in the $1,500 buy-in Limit Texas Hold'em event at the 2003 World Series of Poker, when Johnny Arrage pulled off a startling upset victory and achieved every poker player's dream -- winning the most coveted prize in poker, the gold bracelet.

Arrage had been coming to his job as a poker dealer at Binion's Horseshoe for the last 14 years. He arrived each day and remains one of the most popular employees at the legendary casino. Arrage also played poker semi-professionally on the side and made extra income. This year, Arange decided to invest a little extra in himself and take his game to a new level. In Event #1 at this year's World Series of Poker, Arrage took third-place -- which was a nice payoff, but didn't carry the same significance as winning a poker tournament. Indeed, the closer one gets to the taste of victory, the more insatiable the appetite becomes.

Two weeks later, Arrage was sitting at his first World Series of Poker final table (in an open event), although the task ahead seemed formidable. Arrage came into day two with just $40K in chips (in 5th chip position) versus the always dangerous Kathy Liebert, with $97K. It took nearly five hours for the first eight players to be eliminated before Arrage and Liebert would meet in an epic heads-up duel for the gold bracelet.

The first player to exit from the ten-player final table was South Dakotan Tom Ralph, followed by Norweigian-born Thor Hansen. Hansen was shooting for his third win at the World Series of Poker, but could never generate any momentum on the final day. Next, Texan Trent "Chainsaw" Sessions was cut away from the action, and took 8th place. Joe Brandenburg, an engineer from Portland, went out next in 7th place.

Down to six players, New York-native Al Korson was the next player to make an exit, followed by Gino Yu, from Southern California. Jaime Atenloff, a businessman from Uruguay went out in 4th place and collected $29,000. Incredibly, most of the damage over the last few hours had been done by poker dealer-turned-player, Johnny Arrage. He rocketed into the chip lead mid-way through the final table and nearly had Liebert out of the tournament at one point. Liebert had been the real survivor at the final table, as she was down to only $2K at one point. Amazingly, she managed to come back and get into a heads-up confrontation by picking her spots carefully and getting just enough of a rush of cards to remain a serious threat.

With three players remaining, the approximate chip counts were as follows:

JOHNNY ARRAGE: $300K
KATHY LIEBERT: $100K
NICK FRANGOS: $72K

This was Nick Frangos' second final table at this year's tournament. He was eager to improve on his previous fourth place finish, and did so -- but not to the extent he wished. Frangos finished third, good for $45,900.

The two-hour showdown between Arrage and Liebert was truly remarkable, and featured an ending that no one in the audience could possibly have predicted (including Arrage, perhaps). Arrage started off with roughly a 3 to 1 chip advantage over Liebert, but saw his lead crumble gradually over the first hour. Liebert was the far more patient of the two players. She seemed content to wait it out for better hands, hoping to outlast Arrage who appeared to be getting impatient by over-betting his hands. Arrage won more of the small pots, while Liebert won the bigger pots.

One big hand came when Arrage and Liebert got into a raising war, then saw a flop of 8-7-7. Liebert was holding Q-7 and waited until the turn to pull a check-raise on Arrage. Liebert took down a huge $130 K pot. Incredibly, despite the slide, Arrage remained completely relaxed -- almost of the point of carelessness. After losing the big pot to Liebert, Arrage turned around and joked with the crowd. He wasn't the least bit fazed, drinking cocktails, and explaining to everyone who would listen that he was having the time of his life.

No doubt, this match featured a completely opposite contrast of styles, with Liebert the far more studious and serious of the two players. She had valid reason to take the game more seriously. Liebert has been one of the top tournament players in poker for nearly ten years, but incredibly -- has not yet won a gold bracelet. In fact, although she's won over a million dollars at a single poker tournament, the one thing that has eluded her so far has been a World Series of Poker title.

When Liebert built her marginal chip lead into a 3 to 1 chip advantage during the heads-up finale, her victory seemed to be a foregone conclusion. It appeared Arrage was content with the second-prize showing and $91K, while Liebert was primed for her first world championship.

Then, the limits went up to $5K-10K, and the world might as well have been turned upside down. Liebert's dream was shattered. Arrage went on a 25-minute run that left everyone in the room shaking their heads in disbelief. The key hand of the lightning strike was a full house made by Arrage (with pocket 7s) to the board's 7-6-6. Liebert did not reveal her hand, but it was clear she was shocked by the good fortune of Arrage.

In a stunning reversal, Liebert saw her 3 to 1 chip lead vanish, and she was left with only $25K when the final hand of the night was dealt:

LIEBERT: J-9
ARRAGE: K-5
FINAL BOARD: 8-6-5-4-10
Arrage won with a pair of 5s.

The victory brought the crowd to it's feet. Arrage said afterward that he'll take a few days off, then return back to work at the Horseshoe as a poker dealer on Monday. He says he has something in store for players who are critical of poker dealers. "They don't think dealers can play. Next time I hear that when I'm sitting in the box, I'll show them this (gold bracelet) and ask -- 'hey, where's yours?"

Arrage was genuinely thrilled with the victory, and truly enjoyed his World Series of Poker experience. One observer sitting in the crowd cheering Arrage's victory summed up it up best when he said, "I've been coming here to the Horseshoe every year for 33 years, and this is the most fun I have ever seen a player have at the final table."

Indeed, Johnny Arrage won a victory on this day on behalf of everyone who has toiled in the box day after day, put up with abuse and rude comments, and still managed to act professionally. On this day, the tables were reversed.


-- by Nolan Dalla



2003 World Series of Poker

Event 1 Event 2 Event 3 Event 4
Event 5 Event 6 Event 7 Event 8
Event 9 Event 10 Event 11 Event 12
Event 13 Event 14 Event 15 Event 16
Event 17 Event 18 Event 19 Event 20
Event 21 Event 22 Event 23 Event 24
Event 25 Event 26 Event 27 Event 28
Event 29 Event 30 Event 31 Event 32
Event 33 Event 34 Event 35 Event 36
Event 37 Day 1 Day 2 Day 3
Day 4 Final Table    

 

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