Research On Final Players Helps Ben
Fineman Win Circuit #2, $1,000 NL
Las Vegas, NV--Day one of the second Circuit event at Caesars Palace ended at 2 a.m. with 11 players still left. Gathering up the names, Ben Fineman phoned a friend and asked him to research the players' stats. With that info in hand (Josh Ewing, he was told, had the most cashes) Fineman was able to adjust his play the next day, aiding him considerably as he took down the $1,000 no-limit event, earning $73,566 and the striking gold and diamond trophy ring.
Fineman, 24, was a business major living in Philadelphia when he came to Vegas three months before graduation to try some poker. He did well, starting out with some small cash games, and decided to turn pro and move to Vegas right after he graduated. His parents, he said, supported him. "They trust my sense," he said.
Yesterday, Fineman built his chips to 38,000 by the fourth level, lost most of them, and then, late in the evening, he "went crazy" with super-aggressive play because he felt he could run over the players. He took the chip lead, still holding it when he got to the final table. He then changed his image and tightened up considerably; playing hardly any hands in the first couple of hours, partly because he wasn't getting much in the way of cards. Eventually, he would get involved mainly in three big pots, where he knocked out a player each time. Fineman, who has entered a number of prior Circuit events, had a $100,431 cash for finishing 38th in a $3,000 no-limit WSOP event last year. That year he also won a $1,000 event, paying $65,485, in the Caesars Palace Poker Classic.
When the final table assembled, Fineman led with 206,500 chips.
Here were the starting chip counts:
Seat 1. Mike Peters 103,000
Seat 2. Panayote Vilandos 74,000
Seat 3. Charles Thorneycraft 80,500
Seat 4. Adam Murphy 138,500
Seat 5. Ben Fineman 206,500
Seat 6. Josh Ewing 145,000
Seat 7. Raj Patel 66,000
Seat 8. Arutyun Nalbandyan 106,000
Seat 9. Yong Ho Harrison 32,500
This was truly a World Series event, with players at the final table originally from India, Greece, Armenia, Korea and Nova Scotia, and another now living in Canada.
Play began with blinds of 2,000-4,000 and 500 antes, 43:14 remaining. At this point, event #3, $500 limit hold'em, which played down to six players the night before, was going on simultaneously.
Quickly first out in the $1,000 event was Yong Ho Harrison, who started by far the lowest-chipped. He was in poor shape, all in with A-7 against the A-K of Charles Thorneycraft, and busted when the board came J-2-2-3-8. Ninth paid $4,598. Harrison, 35, originally from Korea and now living in Honolulu, Hawaii, is a soldier in the U.S. Army. He started playing three years ago, has entered seven Circuits, and this year finished third at the Circuit in Rincon.
It would take a very long time to lose the next player. It was well into the next level, with blinds of 4,000-8,000 and 1,000 antes, before Fineman made his first kill. Holding A-Q, Arutyun Nalbandyan had the lead when the board showed Q-K-6-5. Fineman had pocket 9s and hit a set on the river. Nalbandyan bet, Fineman raised him all in, and now seven were left. Nalbandyan collected $6,897 for eighth. Nalbandyan, 22, a native of Armenia, now lives in North Hollywood, California.
Ewing, who had gotten the most respect from Fineman and who started second-highest in chips, was next out. Not able to do much, he was down to about 40,000 when he moved in holding Jc-10c. Adam Murphy had him in bad shape when he called with A-J. Ewing was dead to a gut-shot straight when the board came 2-6-Q-A. He missed when a 9 rivered, and ended up with $9,196 for seventh. Ewing, 27, is a poker player originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia, now residing in Berkley, California. He learned poker playing with friends 10 years ago, and has entered 10 Circuits. His biggest cash was $103,500 for finishing 11th in the $10,000 main event of the WPT/World Poker Finals in Mashantucket in 2005. His other pastime is snowboarding.
A few hands later, Fineman had A-10. He bet and Raj Patel called all in with A-7. When the board came Q-A-9-J-4, Patel, 48, cashed sixth for $11,495. Patel is from India and now lives in Rocky Hills, Connecticut where he is self-employed. He's played three Circuits, and by far his biggest cash was nearly $1.3 million for winning a WPT championship event at Foxwoods last year.
By the time blinds went to 4,000-8,000 with 1,000 antes, Charles Thorneycraft was down to the cloth with 17,000. It didn't take long for him to lose those few chips. He was all in with pocket 8s and ran into Michael Peters' pocket aces. A board of 5-7-9-7-2 was meaningless, and Thorneycraft cashed out $13,793 for fifth. Thorneycraft, 25, is a mover from Ontario, Canada who learned poker at his university. This is his second Circuit.
Next out on a bad beat was Panayote Vilandos. He was all in with pocket kings, well ahead against Peters' A-K, until an ace flopped, and he ended up in fourth place, worth $16,092. Vilandos, better known as "Pete the Greek, is 76, originally from Greece, retired, and now living in Houston, Texas. Vilandos has over 70 tournament cashes in his long career, including a few wins.
As play went on, Fineman began picking up chips with a couple of all-in bets and raises that went unchallenged. Then, when Murphy moved in from the button for 125,000 with Qd-7d, Fineman had him covered and dominated with As-Qs. A board of 9s-10c-2d-Jc-9d couldn't rescue him, and Murphy took home $20,690 for third. Murphy, 36, is from Muskego, Wisconsin, where he is president of a software company. He learned to play at a WSOP Academy, and this is his first Circuit event. Murphy has a win in the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge in Tulsa, Oklahoma, last year.
Heads-up, Fineman was way in front, with about 790,000 chips to 160,000 for Peters. Still, the heads-up match lasted 31 hands. Peters was able to move up some, but not nearly enough to challenge Fineman. It ended three hands after blinds went to 6,000-12,000 with 2,000 antes. Fineman raised to 35,000 with Ac-4c and Peters, holding Ad-9h, moved in for 172,000 more. A flop of Kc-3c-Jh gave Fineman a flush draw. He missed, but a 4 on the turn paired him, and that was all it took to end the tournament. For finishing second, Peters had a $40,461 payday. Peters, 23, is a student/poker player from Toledo, Ohio who learned poker in home games with family and friends. This is his third Circuit.
-- by
Max Shapiro |
