Restaurant Owner Jae Chang Beats
Atlantic City Circuit Champ in #18
Patient Play Helps Him Overcome
John Racener's Huge Chip Lead
Tunica, MS - "This place is lucky for me," remarked Jae "J.C" Chang. A restaurant owner from Austin, Texas, Chang finished sixth in the championship event here two years ago, and today took down the 18th event in the WSOP Circuit at Grand Casino Tunica, $1,500 no-limit hold'em. The win was worth $96,807 and a gold WSOP trophy ring. In doing so, he patiently overcame a huge lead held by 22-year-old wunderkind pro John "JMoney" Racener, who won the Circuit championship at Harrah's Atlantic City last month. And Chang did get lucky on the final hand when he made two small pair to beat Racener's pocket 9s.
Chang, 40, is originally from Seoul, Korea. Playing for 20 years, he honed his skills in a home game in Houston, playing against the likes of T.J. Cloutier, David Williams and Kiddo Pham. He discovered tournaments three years ago and took an immediate liking to them. "Cash games are brutal, but tournaments are fun," he said. Chang, who is married with two children, is kept busy running his Japanese fusion restaurant, Beluga, but tries to play a couple of tournament events a year. He describes his play as "solid," and won entry to this tournament with a satellite split.
This was the final event before the start of the four-day Championship. Second-day
play began with blinds of 4,000-8,000 and 1,000 antes, 8:55 left. Racener was well in front with 742,000 of the 2.15 million chips in play.
Seat 1. Jeff Gibralter 89,000
Seat 2. Dale Gesner 108,000
Seat 3. John Racener 742,000
Seat 4. Stuart Fox 64,000
Seat 5. Jae Chang 428,000
Seat 6. Don Barton 204,000
Seat 7. Jack Ward 84,000
Seat 8. Mike Baas 323,000
Seat 9. Robert Harris 105,000
On the first hand, Jeff Gibralter moved all in with A-9 and stayed alive when he hit a 9 to beat Don Barton's A-Q. Blinds went to 6,000-12,000. On the ninth hand, Mike Baas opened for 50,000. Robert Harris re-raised all in, and then Gibralter also raised all in. Barton folded, Gibralter turned up pocket aces and Harris, with pocket queens, finished ninth for $6,235 after the board came 9-5-4-J-3.
Harris, 47, is an entrepreneur/poker player from Ft. Worth, Texas who's been playing poker "forever," two years at this level. He's had 11 prior cashes and six final tables in Circuit and other events. Harris, married, is a movie buff and also enjoys car audio and home theater.
On the final hand at this level, Racener raised pre-flop to 33,000 from the button. Stuart Fox moved in from the small blind, Chang called from the big, and after some thought, so did Racener. The board of Q-9-6-K-2 was checked down. Fox turned over A-2, and Racener's pocket 10s held up. Fox collected $9,120 for eighth while Racener now moved into an enormous lead with about 1.1 million.
Fox, 35, is from Miami, Florida, is married with five children, has been playing 17 years, and this is his first Circuit.
Play resumed with 8,000-16,000 blinds and 2,000 antes. Hand 37 brought a flop of 9-8-7. Holding 6-4 for a draw to the low end of a straight, Mike Baas moved in. With a 10-9, Racener was way ahead of him, with a pair and a draw to the high end. A jack turned giving Racener his straight, and Baas, drawing dead, took out $12,143 for seventh.
Baas, 59, is retired and from Houston, Texas. He's been playing for 10 years, enjoys golf, and his poker highlight was winning a $2,000 buy-in Wynn classic event.
Four hands later Don Barton was all in from the big blind with just 10-2. Dale "Butch" Gesner had him covered and dominated with pocket jacks, and Barton, unable to make anything, received $15,168 for finishing sixth.
Barton, from Pahrump, Nevada, offered no details about himself, but a database search showed he has over $1 million in cashes, including $242,745 for a win in the Five Diamond World Poker Classic, $104,000 for a second in 7-stud at the WSOP, and $70,000 for a 10th in the WSOP championship five years ago. (Unless there's another Don Barton from Pahrump, Nevada, that is.)
The next level, with blinds of 10,000-20,000 and 2,000 antes, brought immediate action. Racener raised to 50,000, and then both Jack Ward and Gibralter moved in. Racener called too. He had A-8, Gibralter had A-10, and Ward had pocket 8s. The 8s held up after the board, checked down, came K-5-2-2-K, Ward took in the pot, and Gibralter, finishing sixth, took in $18,168.
Gilbralter is a pro from Rockwall, Texas, who's been playing five years, learning from home games and entering his fifth Circuit. He describes himself as a consistent cash game player. His poker highlight was finishing 30th in a $1,500 no-limit event at the WSOP last year. He's married with the "greatest wife and kids (two) any man could hope for."
As action went on, pocket 8s were also good to Gesner. All in for 110,000 against Tran, he made a set of 8s against Tran's set of 4s. The level ended with Racener still way in front with 1.062 million, followed by Chang, 646,000; Ward, 235,000; and Gesner, 188,000.
Blinds became 15,000-30,000 with 3,000 antes. On the second hand, Ward moved in from the button for 271,000 with pocket 9s, and Gesner followed him in with pocket 6s. Racener joined the fun with A-Q. A flop of Q-J-9 gave Ward a set. A king turned, giving Racener a straight draw, and then another king filled Ward. He hauled in the pot and Gesner went out in fourth place, worth $21,216.
Gesner, 66, is a realtor from Rockford, IL He learned poker 40 years ago by watching his mom and dad. He's married with three children, this is his fourth Circuit, he "loves the challenge" of poker, and he also likes to hunt.
On the 78th deal, the flop showed Jh-7d-2s. Chang bet out 80,000, Racener came over the top for 115,000 more, and Chang moved in for 559,000. Racener, folding, now dipped behind Chang in chips. He regained the lead by taking down two of the next three pots, once forcing Chang to fold on the flop, then making queens and jacks against Ward. Then Chang took over again when he bet 250,000 with the board showing J-6-6-8-5, and after several minutes of thought, Racener folded. Chang now owned about 1 million of the chips.
Blinds now were 20,000-40,000 with 500 antes. After a dozen hands of play, Chang moved into a commanding lead when he knocked out the next player. Chang, on the button, raised to 100,000 with Ac-8s, and Ward, with Kd-9h, moved in for 245,000. A board of 10-8-4-3-5 left Ward in third place for $27,264.
Ward, 58, is a poker player from Gulfport, Mississippi whose numerous cashes include a second in $3,000 pot-limit hold'em and a 92nd in the main event at the WSOP. He learned poker from his father, and also enjoys golf and music.
Heads-up Chang had 1.5 million to 650,000 for Racener. The match-up lasted all of one hand. Racener, on the button, had pocket 9s, an 83 percent favorite against Chang's 7-5. The flop came 5-3-2. Racener bet out 90,000 and Chang moved in. He seemingly had top pair, but in fact was still nearly a 4-1 underdog. A king turned, and then a river 7 gave Chang his winning two pair.
Racener, from Tampa, Florida, has been a pro all his young adult life. In addition to his Atlantic City championship win, which paid $379,372, Racener also had six-figure cashes for a third in the HAC Circuit championship the year before (on his 21st birthday) and an eighth in the Borgata Winter Open/WPT. Racener, who taught himself poker, also likes sports and night life.
-- by Max Shapiro
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