Layne
Flack Demolishes Final Table of Event
#18
and Wins Fourth Gold Bracelet
If
the $2,500 Buy-in Omaha High-Low event
had been a heavyweight prize fight, it
would have been stopped by the referee
in the middle rounds. The champ's gloves
would have been raised high into the air,
and there would have been blood splattered
all over the canvass. Ka-boom! Layne Flack
put on a stunning poker display on Saturday
afternoon and wiped out everyone at the
final table -- doing so in near-record
time at this year's tournament.
It took Flack less than four hours to
knock everyone out of the ring, although
the decision appeared to have been settled
long before then. Once Flack seized the
chip lead very early during play at the
final table, he was never in serious jeopardy
of losing his chip advantage. It was as
though no one could lay a glove on the
cagey and elusive Flack.
The
Montana native, turned-Las Vegas pro came
to the final table in second chip position,
slightly behind Mike Abecassis (who is
known as "Mik22" online, he says). Abecassis
is a master bridge player and journalist
who has also demonstrated great natural
talent for poker. But no amount of skill,
talent, or experience would be enough
to overcome Flack's dominance on this
day.
Chicago-area native Brent Carter was the
first player to make an unwanted exit,
in 10th place. He was met on the rail
a short time later by Scott Vietzer. It
might have been poetic justice if Veitzer
had won this event, since he's actually
from Omaha. But, it wasn't to be. Nebraska's
best Omaha player finished in 9th place
and took home $9,400. Alaskan Billy McGowan,
who was making his first World Series
of Poker final table appearance in 19
years finished 8th.
Denis
Ethier, originally from Montreal and now
living in North Carolina with his wife
and two children went out in 7th place.
Annie Duke, second on the all-time women's
money list went out in 6th place, clearly
a disappointing finish for the high-stakes
Las Vegas pro and mother of four. Next,
it was George Marlowe's turn to take a
hike, and he did so -- collecting $12,560
for 5th place.
The chip leader, Mike Abescassis, was
never able to generate much in terms of
momentum at the final table. He was dealt
a long serious of unplayable hands and
watched as his tall towers of chips slowly
diminished. Virtually all of his chips
(and everyone else's, for that matter)
ended up in Layne Flack's chip mountain,
which completely covered the felt and
appeared to pose an insurmountable edge.
Abecassis, from France, went out in 4th
place, good for $18,860.
Toto
Leonidas won the seven-card stud event
earlier this year (his first gold bracelet)
and has now made it into the money five
times in 2003. However, Leonidas could
do no better than 3rd place in this event.
He received $29,500.
That left Men "the Master" Nguyen heads-up
against Flack. Normally, the two combustible
personalities would have put on a classic
match for the crowd, with a great deal
of give and take along with table banter.
In fact, the big Saturday afternoon crowd
assembled at Binion's Horseshoe right
after the Kentucky Derby expected to see
a Flack-Nguyen battle of wits. It never
materialized. Flack's chip advantage and
hyper-aggressive style in this event seemed
to even have Nguyen (a fiercely-competitive
tournament player) satisfied to take second
place. That's total dominance.
It's
hard to imagine a more impressive performance
from a single player at a final table
than we saw on this day. Yes, he did get
a rush of cards, but once he had the chips
he went for the knockout punch. Layne
Flack's victory now gives him four old
bracelets -- equal to Men the Master (also
with four). The win was also Flack's first
in a World Series non-hold'em event.
After the match was over, Flack hardly
seemed interested in the historical significance
of the moment, nor did he appear to fully
understand how commanding his win looked
to observers. Indeed, Flack almost made
things look too easy. That's that mark
of a champion.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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