A
Perfect ‘10’
Poker legend Johnny Chan becomes first
player in World Series of Poker history
to win ten gold bracelets
The
World Series of Poker is filled with many
memorable moments: Doyle Brunson’s back-to-back
wins back in 1976-77 holding his trademark
hand -- ten-deuce; Stu Ungar’s rise from
the ashes in his third world championship
(a.k.a. “the comeback”) in 1997; Online
poker player Chris Moneymaker’s stunning
victory in 2003. These events rank among
the most unforgettable of poker memories.
What
happened at 3:18 am on a Sunday night
at the Rio Pavilion in Las Vegas ranks
right up there as one of the games’s greatest
moments. Johnny Chan won his all-time
record tenth WSOP gold bracelet. After
a two-year epoch during which poker’s
three most famous players remained locked
in a virtual dead heat with nine gold
bracelets each (lifetime wins), Chan finally
broke through and became the first player
to win Number Ten.
It would be hard to decide which was more
exciting – the final duel between Chan
and Phil ‘the Unibomber’ Laak -- or, the
fanfare of media and well-wishers swarming
around Chan afterwards.
Neither of these things would have happened
had it not been for one dazzling hand
which took place when play was four-handed.
Chan was dealt Q-Q. His opponent, Frank
Kassela, was dealt A-A. The former world
champion was ‘all in.’ Chan, not accustomed
to needing help from the deck, was in
serious trouble. Almost as though his
fate was pre-ordained, the flop brought
a queen. The jam-packed crowd went ballistic.
In mere seconds, Chan went from one step
away from the rail to the chip lead. Indeed,
pocket queens would prove to be a lucky
hand for Johnny Chan.
The
tournament began with 425 entrants. Finalists
included three former gold bracelet winners
– Johnny Chan (3), Jerri Thomas (1), and
Humberto Brenes (1). The chip leader was
formidable poker pro, Tony Hartman. At
the final table, players and chip counts
were as follows:
THE
FINAL TABLE:
SEAT
1 -- Jerri Thomas 65,000 in chips
SEAT 2 -- Tony Hartman 200,000 in chips
SEAT 3 -- Richard Osborne 55,000 in chips
SEAT 4 -- Johnny Chan 70,000 in chips
SEAT 5 – Ivo Donev 50,000 in chips
SEAT 6 -- Frank Kassela 170,000 in chips
SEAT 7 -- Richard Harrich 75,000 in chips
SEAT 8 -- Humberto Brenes 125,000 in chips
SEAT 9 – Phil Laak 85,000 in chips
SEAT 10 -- Ashok Surapaneni 175,000 in
chips
Players
were eliminated in the following order:
10th
Place – Ivo Donev, from Austria,
has made several final tables and in-the-money
finishes at the WSOP. He arrived low on
chips and went out first. Tenth place
paid $11,730.
9th
Place – Costa Rican Humberto Brenes
went out next when his 6-6 was flattened
by Richard Harroch’s 9-9. Brenes collected
$19,550 for 9th place.
8th Place – After
Brenes departed, Ashok Surapaneni was
eliminated on the very next hand when
his A-10 was topped by Frank Kassela’s
Q-Q. That gave Kassela the chip lead for
the first time. Surapaneni collected $29,325
for 8th place.
7th
Place – Richard Harroch took a
tough beat on what might have been one
of the most important hands of the tournament.
Harroch was dealt A-J and was ‘all in’
against Johnny Chan’s 4-4. The flop came
J-5-8….followed by a 7 and 6 on the turn
and river. The runner-runner straight
gave Chan the pot and put Harroch on the
rail. Seventh place paid $39,100.
6th
Place – Tony Hartman had a disappointing
final table. He arrived as chip leader,
but watched helplessly as his chips moved
in the wrong direction. Hartman’s bad
run was summed up in his final hand –
pocket queens versus Phil Laak’s pocket
tens. Wham! A ten on the flop booted Hartman
out in 6th place – good fro $48,875.
5th
Place – Jerri Thomas was low on
chips. She managed to survive six ‘all
ins’ before finally succumbing to a 5th
place finish. On her final hand, A-8 was
dominated by Richard Osborne’s A-10. Neither
player made a pair, but the ten played.
Thomas walked away with 5th-place prize
money -- $58,650.
4th
Place – After Frank Kassela lost
the most important pot of the night to
Johnny Chan (see A-A versus Q-Q), he went
out a short time later, losing his final
hand to Phil Laak. Kassela earned $68,425
for 4th place.
3rd
Place – While play was three-handed,
Chan widened his chip advantage. Then,
another bizarre hand took place when Phil
Laak had much the worst of it with K-10
and had his opponent (Richard Osborne)
‘all in’ with A-K. The river brought a
ten to Laak, sending him into a frenzy.
Meanwhile, Osborne staggered away in disbelief.
$78,200 was the consolation prize for
3rd place.
2nd
Place – The final duel was so compelling
that ESPN cameras were turned on for an
event which was not originally scheduled
to be televised. Phil Laak versus Johnny
Chan was as great poker theatre as there
ever has been in the history of the World
Series. Johnny Chan may have seen everything
in his 23 years as a pro, but he had certainly
not witnessed the equivalent of Phil ‘Unabomber’
Laak playing the role of circus clown,
crazed lunatic, and grand shaman all wrapped
up in a single, seemingly disturbed, poker
player. Chan sat stoically, while Laak
bounced around the final table like Jackson
Pollack painting a canvas. He darted back
and forth around Chan, the dealer, and
the Tournament Director – often in the
middle of hands. When he folded a hand,
he pleaded with the dealer to rabbit hunt
cards, seemingly more interested in a
hypothetical outcome than reality. Like
a deranged madman, Laak had the audience
(and occasionally Chan, too) in stitches.
No one would have thought that there was
about 150 grand riding on the outcome
(the difference in prize money between
first place and second).
It
would be safe to say that although it
was past 3 am, no one – the players, nor
the audience, nor the staff -- wanted
this match to end. It was a theatre worthy
of an extended encore. The final curtain
came down on the Chan-Laak show when the
Unabomber was dealt K-J. Chan was dealt
Q-Q. The flop came J-5-5. Laak was trapped.
He was ‘all in’ with top pair and Chan
had an overpair. Two blanks fell and Chan
had delivered the final knockout punch.
Phil ‘Unabomber’ Laak took $156,400 for
second place.
1st Place –
Johnny Chan won the world poker championship
in 1987 and 1988. He came within one card
of wining the 1989 WSOP, as well. His
win in the event amounted to $303,025.
One
must now wonder if and when Phil Hellmuth
(or Doyle Brunson) might catch Chan for
the all-time “most wins” record. Given
that Chan plays fewer tournaments than
any of the three, his record is even more
extraordinary.
Official Report
by Nolan Dalla – World Series of
Poker Media Director
World
Series of Poker Circuit Director of Operations
– Ken Lambert
World Series of Poker Tournament Director
– John Grooms
Rio Poker Room Manager – Michael
Matts
Rio Poker Tournament Director – Robert
Daily
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