Asian Games Dealer Anthony Tran Wins
Caesars Circuit #4 After Marathon Match
Las Vegas, NV--Scoring his first tournament win ever, Anthony Tran, an Asian games dealer at Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, said he felt very confident once he got heads-up with Sales Dominique, who owns a bakery in France. "He didn't play too good," Tran said. "He would check and call a lot. When he bet a hand, he bet too much. He got lucky, but I know sooner or later I have to win."
In this case, it was much later than sooner, because the heads-up match took 76 hands to complete...on top of another 133 hands before that. Tran started with a sizeable lead, Dominique caught up after outdrawing Tran's pocket jacks, and it took a long time for Tran, playing patiently, to finally get all his chips. Tran, 50, originally from Vietnam, now lives in West Covina, California. He prefers cash games, mostly $40-80 limit hold'em, over tournaments. His style is to pay attention and determine which players try to bluff and steal. He's been dealing 18 years and playing poker a little longer than that, and decided to play this event while on vacation. His win was worth $58,941, along with the championship ring.
The tournament got down to the final nine players a little before 2 a.m. on day one. They returned the next day with Joseph Pallitto holding a big chip lead of 331,500, almost twice his closest competitor.
Here were the starting chip counts:
Seat 1. Bob Robbins 75.000
Seat 2. Craig Varnell 87,000
Seat 3. Doug Carli 90,000
Seat 4. Matt Rosen 36,000
Seat 5. Gregory Harris 150,500
Seat 6. Sales Dominique 164,000
Seat 7. Anthony Tran 81,000
Seat 8. Joseph Pallitto 331,500
Seat 9. Mike Caruso 168,000
Play commenced with 2,000-4,000 blinds and 500 antes, 27:03 remaining. After little or no action the first 13 hands, we suddenly had two consecutive all-in bets and calls. The first time, Matt Rosen was on the button with 15,000 left and attempted a steal with just 7-6. Gregory Harris picked him off with A-K, winning when the board came 10-10-4-Q-10. Rosen is a 25-year-old poker player from Escanaba, Michigan. His biggest tournament cash was $24,345 for fifth in a Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic event. Today, ninth paid $3,802.
On the next hand, Bob Robbins pushed in his 78,000 with A-5. Once again Harris, after some hesitation, took up the challenge and called with pocket jacks. They held up after the board came 5-10-6-6-8, and Robbins, finishing eighth, took home $5,704. Robbins, 70, is from Cambridge, Ontario, retired and insists there is "absolutely nothing" interesting about him or his family.
Three hands later, Harris looked to grab some more chips. With the board showing Ah-5h-8s-4h, Craig Varnell moved in and Harris called with a set of 8s. However, Varnell had Qh-10h for a flush, and he took a chunk out of Harris' stacks when the river failed to pair.
Blinds moved up to 3,000-6,000. Tran then doubled through Mike Caruso when he moved in with pocket queens and flopped a set to crush Caruso's pocket jacks. With blinds now at 4,000-8,000 and 1,000 antes, Pallitto was still in front with about 300,000, while Varnell was lowest with 57,000. On hand 50, the pot was raised and re-raised, and Varnell went all in with Kd-Ks, only to see Dominique turn up pocket aces. Varnell was rooting for a flush when the flop came 5s-9s-8s, but it didn't come, and he went. Seventh paid $7,605. Varnell, nicknamed "Imgrinding," is 24 and a pro from Vegas. His cashes include final tables at a Caesars Classic event and a $300 rebuy tournament at the L.A. Poker Classic.
Nursing short stacks, Doug "Rico" Carli had played carefully, moving all in twice with no calls. On hand 59, down to 41,000, Carli moved in for a third time and this time was called by Tran. Carli had 8-8, Tran 6-6, and he knocked Carli out by catching another 6 on the river. Carli received $9,506 for sixth. Carli, 52, is a former stockbroker turned pro and a lifelong resident of Alliance, Ohio, where he played baseball in college. This is his 30th Circuit final table, and he holds the world's record in that category. Earlier this month alone he made four final tables at Caesars Indiana. Rico is on a Streak-O. He's made so many tables he should be in the furniture business. Carli also has a couple of WSOP final tables along with two Circuit rings. As usual, his wife and inseparable companion Karen was close by.
A lot of action came down soon after. First, Mike Caruso had his pocket aces cracked and handed over 161,000 to Tran, who started with Qd-10d and made two pair. Left with 40,000, Caruso then doubled up when he cracked Dominique's pocket kings after his A-Q turned into a straight.
But a dozen hands later, right after blinds went to 6,000-12,000 with 2,000 antes, Caruso went broke. He moved in for 53,000 with Ah-3h after Harris raised with pocket queens. The best Caruso could do was pair his trey, and he went out fifth, paying $11,407. Caruso, 23, is a full-time player from Arvada, Colorado.
By this time, Harris had the lead with nearly 400,000 chips, while Pallitto, had dropped down to about 150,000. Hand 89 was dramatic. The flop came 9h-10c-7c. Tran, with Js-8s, had a straight and moved in. Pallitto, with 9c-8c, had an open-ended straight flush draw and called for his last chips, about 125,000. He missed when a 3s and 4s came, and was out fourth, collecting $13,308, while Tran moved into the lead. Pallitto, nicknamed "Joe Mush," is 58 and from Sayerville, New Jersey.
When blinds went to 8,000-16,000 with 2,000 antes, Tran now led with about 575,000. It took 133 hands for this tournament to finally get heads-up. Tran made a small raise with pocket queens, Harris re-raised with pocket 5s, and Tran moved him in. The board came 9-10-4-K-7, and Harris exited third, which paid $15,210. Harris, 46, is from Springfield, Oregon. Growing up and playing hockey in school, he was three times National Hockey Champion.
Heads-up, Tran led with roughly 960,000 chips to 220,000 for Dominique. Ten hands later, Dominique won a 550,000 pot when he hit a queen to his A-Q to beat Tran's jacks.
Blinds went to 10,000-20,000, and by the time the whole round went by, with blinds now at 15,000-30,000 with 4,000 antes, they were fairly even with Donimique having a little over a half-million, Tran a little under. Tran then pulled ahead, and on the final hand, with a board of 2-J-3-Q-10, Dominique tried an all-in move with just K-5. Holding Q-6 for top pair, Tran called, and the match was finally over.
Dominique, the bakery man from Rouffiac, France, spoke little English, but managed to communicate that he has only played four tournaments, and had just won one of the daily events at the Mirage.
-- by
Max Shapiro
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