A
Diamond in the Rough:
Eli Balas Wins Third Gold Bracelet at
2004 World Series of Poker
--
Israeli-born poker pro becomes newest
“Millionaire.”
In the 35-year history of the World Series
of Poker, exactly 43 players have won
three or more gold bracelets. This select
group includes legendary names like Chan,
Brunson, Hellmuth, Moss, Ungar and other
top names everyone will recognize. Now,
we can add ELI BALAS to the elite club.
In
fact, BALAS joined an even more select
group when he won the $2,500 buy-in Limit
Hold�em event at this year�s World Series.
His $174,440 in prize money for this event
means that he has now won over one-million
dollars at the world�s longest-running
and most prestigious poker tournament.
He is the 35th player to join the �Millionaires�
Club.�
BALAS
was born in Israel. He worked many years
as a diamond merchant before joining the
ranks of the touring pro. Today, BALAS
lives in Henderson, NV and plays mostly
in the biggest tournaments � primarily
in Las Vegas and California. He can also
regularly be seen playing in cash games.
The
final table lasted five hours and broke
down as follows:
10th
� PATTY GALLAGHER: She was second in the
ladies tournament in 2001 and finished
third in the $1,500 Limit Hold�em event
in 2002 and 15th 2003. Gallagher took
a horrible beat when she had A-K against
A-Q, flopped two pair, and lost to a straight.
Gallagher received $6,540.
9th � �MIAMI JOHN� CERNUTO: The former
air traffic controller crashed and burned
with pocket 8s against Eli Balas� pocket
Qs. Cernuto has now made two final tables
at this year�s WSOP. The three-time bracelet
winner has made the money 27 times. He
inched one step closer to the million-dollar
mark and now has over $900,000 in lifetime
WSOP winnings.
8th � JOHN OETKER � The 25 year old poker
player from Marshalltown, IA went out
with A-10 against K-J. A jack on the flop
gave Oetker 8th place prize money of $16,360.
7th
� DANIEL NEGREANU � The popular former
Canadian won twice previously, for the
Pot-Limit Hold�em event in 1998 and the
SHOE event in 2003. Negreanu had plenty
of chips when he came to the final table,
but ran cold during his stay. He took
a bad beat when his Q-Q lost to A-J. K-10
came on the flop and the last thing Negreanu
wanted to see was another queen for trips,
since he�d lose to a straight. Bingo!
A queen on the river nailed Negreanu and
put him on the rail with $21,800 for finishing
seventh.
6th
� JAMES MCCLENDON � The local poker player
went out with J-9, which lost to 5-5.
McClendon took $27,260 for 6th place.
5th � HOWARD LEDERER � The �Professor�
has won twice here at the WSOP � for $5,000
Omaha High-Low in 2000 and $5,000 Deuce
�to-Seven Lowball in 2001. He�s become
one of the most respected and highly-visable
players in the game. Lederer lost with
top pair on one hand, then lost his final
hand of the night with A-K against (no
typo coming) 10-8 suited. Of course, the
board flushed, and Lederer came up short
on his bid to win his third gold bracelet.
$32,700 softened the sting of defeat,
just a little.
4th
� PAUL MAXFIELD � This was the underdog
of the day, who ended up barking and biting
several of his opponents. Maxfield arrived
at the final table the lowest player in
chips by far (with just 2 percent of the
chips in play). He somehow managed to
climb five places up the money ladder.
A-K again proved to be the �dead man�s
hand� at this final table, as he became
the third player to lose with big slick.
Maxfield made the final table of the Omaha
High-Low event a few days ago, making
this his second final table in 2004. Maxfield,
from England, received $38,160.
3rd
� PATRICK NICHOLS: He came in second in
chips, and ended up as the third-place
finisher. Nichols, from Washington State,
lost with 8-8 to a straight. He collected
$49,060.
2nd
� STEVEN SHKOLNIK: The runner up is a
location manager for major Hollywood studios.
He was scouting a victory in this event,
but came up with an empty lot when he
was unable to match Balas� more aggressive
tendencies. Shkolnik received $95,820
(officially), although a deal was reported
struck between the two finalists.
THE
WINNER: BALAS� two previous WSOP wins
were in the $5,000 buy-in Limit Hold�em
event (1992) and the $1,500 buy-in Omaha
High-Low event (1999). He has also finished
second four times and has made the final
table 12 times.
SECOND-CHANCE
NIGHTLY TOURNAMENTS
– ONLY AT THE HORSESHOE!
Every
night at 10:45, the Horseshoe is hosting
a $225 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Tournament.
This is the only late-night poker tournament
in Las Vegas. So far, the Second-Chance
Tournament has attracted seven former
World Champions, including the reigning
champion, Chris Moneymaker. Prize-money
for first place has exceed over $10,000
on most nights. Normally, two tables (18
places) are paid. “Late Night at
the World Series of Poker” is hosted
by the sweet-tempered Warren Karp.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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