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A
Vicarious Victory:
Brett Jungblut Tops World-Class Field
in Omaha-High Low Championship
--“The
Crew” wins third gold bracelet as
father watches with pride
At
11 pm on a Wednesday night in Las Vegas,
a father watched his 25-year-old son playing
in a poker game. Not just any poker game,
but one of the biggest poker games of
all � the final table of a world championship
event Art Young watched with fatherly
pride as his son Brett Jungblut was playing
heads-up against one of the best tournament
players in the world, a three-time gold
bracelet winner named �Miami John� Cernuto.
Art
Young knew the feeling of playing heads
up for a world championship. Twice before,
he had taken his seat at the final table
under the bright lights in Las Vegas.
And two times, he had walked away from
that final table with a feeling of disappointment.
A feeling of pain. A feeling of sadness.
Sure, a second place finish is worth a
lot of money. But nothing beats the thrill
of victory.
For
poker players, the coveted WSOP gold bracelet
given to the winner is the benchmark that
demarcates �world class� status and peer
respect. For all his in-the-money finishes
and years in tournaments and cash games,
Art Young was just another poker player
standing along the rail inside the second
floor ballroom of the Horseshoe Casino
� except for one thing: His son was sitting
down at the final table, playing for the
World Championship.
The tournament was billed as the �Omaha
High-Low World Championship,� since it�s
the event with the highest buy-in of three
Omaha High-Low events at the 2004 World
Series of Poker. The tournament began
with 121 entries, and 112 were eliminated
on day one. The final table consisted
of nine players. The finalists were eliminated
in the following order:
9th
� Karen Longfellow, a retiree from Plant
City, FL was eliminated by the thinnest
of margins. She went all �all in� with
her last $12K with two pair � Qs and 7s.
Longfellow was inched out by Erick Lindgren�s
two pair � Qs and 8s.
8th
� Minh Nguyen was making his third final
table at this year�s WSOP. The two-time
gold bracelet winner (2003 Pot-Limit Hold�em
and 2005 Omaha High-Low) fell short in
his bid to join Scott Fischman (who has
won teice) in this year�s bracelet battle.
Nguyen started the day low with just $18K
and failed to establish any momentum during
his hour in the finale. The key to winning
in Omaha High-Low is �scooping� pots,
not splitting them. Nguyen didn�t scoop
all day. He received $17,060 for 8th place,
and remains the points leader in the race
for Best All Around Player.
7th
� Thor Hansen is one of several Norwegians
at this year�s World Series. He�s easily
the most widely known Scandinavian player
� having won two gold bracelets (1988
Seven-Card Stud and 2002 Ace-to-Five Lowball).
Lowest on chips, Hansen was forced to
go in with a dog hand, which failed to
bark. Hansen, who now lives in Los Angles
and plays most of the big events, finished
in 7th place with $22,740.
6th � Erick Lindgren came to the final
table second in chips, but was never able
to establish any momentum. He split most
of the pots he was involved in, and saw
his stack slowly dwindle from $115K at
the start of day two -- to just over $15K
on the final hand he was dealt. Lindgren�s
A-3-6-Q was hammered by Huck Seed�s full
house, which meant a 6th place finish.
Lindgren received $28,440.
5th �Mike Wattel � Despite being cheered
on by recent gold bracelet winner, Cyndy
Violette, Wattel had a rough day. Wattel,
a 33-year-old poker pro from Phoenix,
began as the chip leader. But much like
Lindgren who also had chips early, he
watched helplessly as his chip stacks
slowly disappeared. Wattel missed a low
draw on his final hand of the night and
ended up with 5th place prize money --
$34,120.
4th � Huckleberry Seed won the world championship
in 1996. He�s been through some ups and
downs since that breakthrough victory
eight years ago. His bid to win this event
came up short when he suffered a horrible
last hour at the final table. He went
from a stack size of about $120K down
to the felt, and on his last hand made
two pair (aces and kings) � which lost
to Brent Carter�s flush. Seed took $45,500
for 4th place.
3rd
�Brent Carter has been one of poker�s
most consistent performers over the past
decade. He�s made countless final tables
and has finished in the money as much
as anyone who plays tournament poker full
time. For all his achievements, Carter
hasn�t won a gold bracelet in ten years
and was determined to break the streak.
It didn�t happen. Carter had a terrible
run of cards in his final half-hour �
the key hand losing with a straight to
Jungblut�s full house. Third place for
Carter, the former racehorse owner and
trainer originally from Chicagoland. He
collected $56,860.
When heads up play began, the chip counts
were as follows:
BRETT
JUNGBLUT: 375K
�MIAMI JOHN� CERNUTO: 230K
The
heads up match was an interesting contrast.
It was Cernuto�s age and experience versus
Jungblut�s youth and determination. Although
Jungblut had made final tables before
(and won an event a year ago in California)
nothing could match the pressure of playing
heads-up at the World Series of Poker.
Furthermore, Jungblut faced the player
who is widely acknowledged to be one of
the top five Omaha High-Low tournament
players in the world � Cernuto. The former
PATCO air traffic controller from Miami
who went out on strike in 1982 and was
fired by President Ronald Reagan, turned
to poker and became rich and famous in
the process. He�s won three gold bracelets
in his storied WSOP past. Gee thanks,
Mr. President.
Back to the final table: The duel lasted
about 90 minutes. Cernuto desperately
tried to make headway against the tough
and aggressive Jungblut. But each time
it looked like Cernuto might seize the
chip lead, he lost a key hand and then
struggled to protect his stack. He wavered
between a 3 to 1 and 4 to 1 chip disadvantage
most of the match, and at one point seemed
to realize that he would not be able to
overcome Jungblut�s dominant position.
The
final hand was dealt at about 11 pm, with
Art Young watching ten feet away. Down
to just $40K, the hand developed as follows:
JUNGBLUT:
10-9-5-3
CERNUTO: Q-10-8-2
The
final board showed 9-9-8-J-3. Cernuto
made a queen-high straight. But Jungblut
had a full-house, 9s over 3s and won the
last pot of the night.
The
room literally exploded with cheers when
the hands were revealed. Many in the audience
were clapping because a relative newcomer
to the tournament scene (Jungblut) had
managed to overcome the odds and defeat
one of the most formidable lineups in
poker. Recall, when play was three handed,
Jungblut faced Huck Seed, Brent Carter,
and �Miami John� Cernuto � not exactly
the pushovers at the poker table. Others
in the room were standing and cheering
too, namely �The Crew� from Los Angeles,
which includes two-time bracelet winner
Scott Fischman. The Crew, which originally
started out with six players sharing a
house, now has three of the 22 gold bracelets
that have been won at this year�s World
Series. But there was one man who was
happiest of all. His name was Art Young,
Brett Jungblut�s father.
�The support I had was incredible,� Jungblut
said afterward. �The Crew is here. My
father is here. My mom, too. The support
I�ve had is huge and that means a lot
of me.�
�There
is a huge sense of camaraderie with all
of us. I was thrilled to see Scott (Fischman)
win. But I also realized that now, he�s
got two bracelets more than me. And these
(gold bracelets) aren�t the easiest things
to win. Well, now, he�s one ahead of me.�
Jungblut,
who stands at well over 6 feet tall, went
to college on a basketball scholarship.
However, he realized he would never become
a pro player. So, he turned to poker to
satisfy his competitive instincts. �Poker
fueled a competitive void that I had after
college,� Jungblut said. �Poker ended
up what I fell in love with � I can�t
get enough of it.�
Jungblut
said he plays poker online, under the
screen name GANK. Hence, his unusual nickname.
Incredibly, of the three Omaha High-Low
events at this year�s World Series, Jungblut
has cashed in all three.
�Omaha
High-Low is my best game. Right now, I
think I can play with anyone in the world.
I�m out to prove I�m the best in the world
at this game.�
Maybe
it�s in the blood. Or, maybe it�s in the
name. Later, it was revealed that Art
Young named his son Brett after a certain
mythological poker player from the old
west � Brett Maverick.
�I
would really have loved to have won back
when I was there,� Art Young told a group
of reporters gathered around the final
table. But honestly, I don�t think anything
beats seeing your son win the championship.�
Call it a vicarious victory.
-- Official Report
by Nolan Dalla, Media Director -- 2004
World Series of Poker
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