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Fight for Horse Costs Patty Galagher
$26,327 as Raul Paez Wins Hold'em
'A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse.' A horse cost Patty Gallagher not a kingdom, but a king's ransom.
When tonight's limit hold'em event got heads-up, she had a 182,000 to 167,000 chip lead over Raul Paez of Barcelona. She offered an even split of the remaining prize money ($97,310 for first, $48,655 for second), with her keeping the impressive Remington 'Bronco Buster' trophy. Paez wanted to split the cash and play for the trophy, and a lively, entertaining argument then broke out between the Spaniard and the uninhibited, unpredictable Gallagher.
'I want the horse! Who cares about the money?' Patty exclaimed.
'I don't have a car, I need a horse,' Paez responded.
There was no deal and they played it out. After some 40 spirited hands, with a couple of chip-lead changes, Paez prevailed and kept the entire $97,310...and the horse.
Gallagher is known for not favoring deals, and this has cost her dearly before.
Last year she finished third in a $5,000 WSOP event and will always be remembered for the farewell salute she gave to the players, tournament director and the TV crew when she busted out.
Paez splits his time between running his delicatessen and playing poker. Making his first U.S. trip this year, he had a first in pot-limit hold'em at Tunica, and a ninth in pot-limit Omaha.
Final- table action started with $1,500-$3,000 limits, 16:08 remaining. Gallagher had a substantial lead with 74k in chips and soon launched into her super-aggressive, take-no prisoners style of play. In early action, Henry Karwowski bled off a lot of chips by folding hands on the river, then made a comeback, winning two quick pots.
Poker player James Newton started with a mere 9k, and was first out after limits had gone to $2,000-$4,000. He put in his last 1k with A-J and lost to Paez' K-10 when a king flopped. A bit later, on hand 37, Jin Young Sung, all in, mucked her hand and quietly slipped away in a multi-way pot.
Karwowski, a retiree, had a couple of notable escapes. All in for one chip with 5-4, he made a wheel on the river. A few hands later, he had 8-5 against A-8 and flopped a 5. But he couldn't keep it up forever, and the third time he was all in, his 10d-9d couldn't touch Gallagher's Q-Q.
By the time limits went to $3,000-$6,000, Steve Dunning, a semi-retired owner of car dealerships in Alaska, had taken the lead with 125k, followed by Gallagher with 93k. Chip Jett, whose resume includes a Cal State championship, and poker player Ari Charoen were the short stacks.
Suddenly, three players went out in rapid order. Charoen left first when his K-Q couldn't catch Steve Rosling's pocket 10s. A hand later, Erik Gault, a Virginia pro, re-raised with his last few chips on a flop of 10-7-6. Gallagher had 10-9 to his K-Q, and ended up with a straight. And two hands later, Jett cashed out fifth. He raised with pocket 4s. Paez put him in with pocket 9s, and Jett couldn't get off the ground when the board came J-7-3-2-J.
Gallagher now had the lead with about 140k, playing so strongly that Rosling expressed amazement one time when she once folded in the small blind. But then Paez took a lot of chips from her in a pot that was three-bet pre-flop. He filled with pocket 10s when three jacks hit the board.
Down to the cloth, Rosling, who plays and also owns a real estate agency with his wife, went all in a couple of time and lived. He finally cashed out when his A-4 offsuit was beaten by Paez' As-6s.
Dunning, meanwhile, had been doing very well. Three-handed, he had 170k to 95k for Gallagher and 86k for Paez. A deal was discussed but didn't go anywhere: Dunning was reluctant to give up anything beyond a straight chip count division, and in any case, Gallagher decided she felt lucky. Dunning started going down, rivered first by Gallagher when she make bigger aces-up, then by Paez, who paired a 7 on the end to outrun his pocket 5s. But then Dunning caught cards, and by the time limits went to $4,000-$8,000, he had 205k to 76k for Paez and 71k for Gallagher. Dunning had an earlier final table when he played his first ever pot-limit hold'em tournament.
Gallagher had been losing steadily to him. 'Give him an ace, flop an ace. Give me an ace three times, no ace,' she complained. But she brightened up when a new dealer came in. 'My personal dealer,' she beamed. Sure enough, she began beating up on him. 'Unreal,' he said after he had A-J to her 10-8 with a board of A-10-9, only to see her catch a third 10 on the river. Finally down to 6k, Dunning had to go with 8-4 and lost to Paez' pocket jacks.
Now came the horse business, and the heads-up play. Paez started playing catch-up when he made a full house with 7-2 when the board came 8-7-6-6-7. 'God!' Patty cried out. She lost the lead, then got it back, then dropped down to 152k to his 200k when he showed pocket kings.
She was down to about 100k after she paired a king on the flop, only to see him pair an ace on the river. Gallagher kept going down until, with limits of $6,000-$12,000, she had to post her last three chips. She had Q-J, he had 9-4. A 4 flopped, and the man from Barcelona rode off on his horse with $97,310.
Max Shapiro
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