The Changing Face of Poker
23-year-old aspiring poker pro, Scott Clements seizes victory in Lake Tahoe' $1,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em championship
Poker is not the same game it was a few years ago. Sure, the cards, chips, and rules are all the same. But the composition and nature of poker games has changed dramatically. A decade ago, poker rooms were filled with mostly middle-aged men passing the time away. In today' poker room the average player age is probably somewhere in his (or her) late 20s. Indeed, there far are more young people playing poker today than at any time in history - a trend that is certain to continue as the game spreads across college campuses.
The consequences of the 'youth movement' are truly revolutionary. Cowboy hats have been replaced by ipods. No-limit hold'em, a dinosaur only a few years ago, is now poker' most popular game. Everyone, it seems now wears sunglasses. The influx of young, smart, assertive poker players can only mean one thing - more young poker champions. Ladies and gentlemen -- meet Scott Clements.
Clements is a 23-year-old aspiring poker professional from Mt. Vernon, WA. He works for a mortgage company, but has seen his poker earnings increase to the point where he now believes he can make it as a professional. Most poker dreams end up on the ash heap of one' own imagination. But at least for one shining moment, on a cool crisp Sunday night at Harveys Lake Tahoe, one poker player' dream came true. Clements won first place and $45,745 in the $1,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em championship - the fourth event in this World Series of Poker Circuit tournament. It was a mix of obvious determination, good timing, and even a bit of luck that determined the outcome.
There were 131 entries. Day One resulted in the elimination of 122 players. The nine finalists returned on Day Two, with Tony O'Hagan from Las Vegas, NV holding nearly a 2 to 1 chip lead over his closest rival, Christopher Cue. Few in the crowd or at the table expected much out of the young man quietly perched in Seat Eight, who was one of the lowest in chips. Finalists arrived with the following seat positions and chip counts:
SEAT 1 Earl Odom Pinole, CA 21,400
SEAT 2 Carlos Ramirez Cameron Park, CA 21,800
SEAT 3 Daniel Flanigan Sunnyvale, CA 15,600
SEAT 4 Gerald Cheatham Philadelphia, PA 15,100
SEAT 5 Larry Satterwhite Houston, TX 20,900
SEAT 6 Stuart Spear Reno, CA 34,400
SEAT 7 Christopher Cue Burlingame, CA 42,300
SEAT 8 Scott Clements Mt. Vernon, WA 18,200
SEAT 9 Tony O'Hagan Las Vegas, NV 72,400
Players were eliminated as follows:
9th Place - Larry Satterwhite is many things, perhaps best described as a 'jack of all trades.' Just 15 minutes into Day Two, the poker player/real estate agent/used car dealer from Houston started his final hand with pocket 10s, but was eliminated by A-J when a jack rained down on the turn. Satterwhite earned $3,810 for 9th place.
8th Place - Gerald 'All In' Cheatham, true to his name, wasn't afraid to push chips into the pot. He moved 'all in' with Q-10 after the flop came 1<0-7-7 and was practically beat into the pot with his chips by Earl Odom, who had flopped a monster full-house with 10-7. That essentially ended Cheatham' stay in the finale. Gerald Cheatham, an engineer from Philadelphia who finished 5th at a WSOP event last year, collected $5,085 in prize money.
7h Place - Stuart Spear, a general contractor from nearby Reno, arrived third in chips but was ultimately condemned to a 7th place finish. On his final hand of the night, Spear was impaled by Tony O'Hagan' diamond flush. Spear has several impressive finishes, including final table appearances at tournaments in Reno and Las Vegas. Seventh place was good for $6,355.
6th Place - Daniel Flanigan (another 23-year-old) appeared to be in a great position to double up when he was dealt pocket kings. After the flop, Flanigan moved 'all in' and was called instantly by Tony O'Hagan, holding J-10. O'Hagan had flopped a pair of jacks and when another jack fell on the turn, Flanigan was drawing very slim. A blank sealed Flanigan' fate - a 6th place finish and $7,625 in prize money.
5th Place - Down to the final five, it seemed that Tony O'Hagan was primed to run away with the tournament. O'Hagan catapulted up over 100K, and had nearly half of the total chips in play. But that would be O'Hagan' high point of the tournament. The next hour brought a dismal run of cards for O'Hagan that a stock trader might describe as a 'poker correction.' After a steady stream of big cards, pairs, and flushes - O'Hagan couldn't win a pot.
Christopher Cue knew the pain all too well. Cue moved 'all in' before the flop with A-3 and was called after some hesitation by Scott Clements, holding 3-3. Clements decided he had to gamble, and made a gutsy call at just the right moment. The flop gave Cue both a straight and a flush draw, but two successive blanks on the turn and river allowed the pocket 3s to drag a large pot. Clements was now a force to be reckoned with while Christopher Cue got to watch the rest of the tournament from the rail. Fifth place paid $8,895.
4th Place - Meanwhile, Tony O'Hagan couldn't win a hand. Every move at the pot brought a re-raise from someone. Every draw was missed. O'Hagan made his final stand of the night with A-8 and predictably, was completely dominated by Scott Clements' A-10. A ten on the river sealed O'Hagan' fate - 4th place and $10,165 in prize money.
3rd Place - When play became three-handed, Scott Clements was in total command of the final table. His chip lead was approximately $200K to only about 30K each for his two opponents, Carlos Ramirez and Earl Odom. It was deja vu all over again a few hands later for Clements, who called an 'all in' raise with a dominant hand over his opponent. Earl Odom was dealt A-9 and Clements had A-K. Although it wasn't needed, a king flopped and the effectively ended Odom' evening. Odom, a safety consultant from the Bay Area, slipped and fell in 3rd place. He received $13,975. Odom also made it into the money in last year' WSOP championship event, against a record 2,576 players.
The heads-up duel between Scott Clements and Carlos Ramirez began with Clements holding what seemed to be in insurmountable 8 to 1 chip advantage. Ramirez staged a brief rally when he doubled up in the unlikeliest fashion with 9-2 offsuit, which made two pair against Clements' pocket aces. But that would be the lone moment of suspense in a duel almost totally devoid of excitement.
The end came when Clements was dealt J-2, normally not much of a hold'em hand, but certainly playable heads up with a big chip lead. Ramirez raised 'all in' with Q-10. Clements called. The final board showed A-8-7-2-8 giving Clements a little pair of deuces and his first major poker tournament win.
The runner up was Carlos Ramirez, a private-practice physician who has previously worked as an obstetrician, surgeon, pediatrician, and in a hospital emergency room. Ramirez hopes and expects to play in many more tournaments and can certainly be proud of his finish in this event. Second place paid $25,415.
The most ironic thing about Scott Clement' tournament victory is that it almost didn't happen. In fact, he was very fortunate to be sitting at the final table so late in the day. When play was eight-handed, Clements was severely short-stacked. He looked down and found A-Q. The pot had already been raised enough to cover Clements, and he had a very tough decision to make.
Clements decided to call and was 'all in.' When Clements saw that his A-Q was dominated by A-K, he stood up from the table ready to walk away. But the poker Gods smiled upon the Clements on this day and with all the emotional impact of a lightning bolt, a queen saved Clements.
Indeed, it takes several qualities to make a poker champion!.skill, courage, conviction - and a little luck.
Report by Nolan Dalla - World Series of Poker Media Director
World Series of Poker Circuit Director - Ken Lambert
World Series of Poker Tournament Director - John Grooms
Harveys Poker Room Manager - Vince Contaxis
Harrah' Full Service Games Manager -- Steve Schorr
Today is a $1000 Buy-in No Limit Hold em Tournament. There are 292,000 chips in play between the final nine
players. Resuming play from yesterday, they pick up with blinds at 400/800 and an ante of 100.
The games began with 131 players looking for their share of $127,070.
When I tried to take some pictures before the event, it was apparent that several were either talking with their higher
power, or meditating. We start off pretty slow, with some all in bets and no calls. Gerald Cheatham seems to like the all
in steal, and I am just wondering when he is going to get caught. John Grooms, who is announcing the play by play, is
calling him all in Cheatham now because that is the name he put on his bio sheet. He has been playing tournament
poker for three years spreading his skill around with No Limit Holdem, 7-Card Stud and Omaha. His accolades include
fantastic finishes in a WSOP event, the Stud Championship at Foxwoods and at the Plaza just last week. Gerald would
like to see the tournaments gather momentum by honing the organization aspect of the events.
Just a side note, while we wait for a crucial hand, I have been visiting South Lake Tahoe since 1985 and lived here for
a short year in 2002. God was certainly having a remarkable day when he created this area. If any of you ever get a
chance to spend some time here, there is a plethora of things to do. I have always had an affinity for Harveys although
there are five casinos here from which to choose. Snowcapped mountains frame the lake year round. The skiing in the
area is superb, the food out of this world, the summer activities abound and you can ALWAYS find a poker game.
We have had a couple of all in plays. One was between Gerald and Daniel Flanigan. After they pushed all in and
flipped their cards, it was comical as they both held suited A8. Needless to say, they split the pot to only start over
again. Daniel is a 23-year-old student from Sunnyvale California. He has been sharpening his play over the past four
years and plays mostly high stakes No Limit Hold em online. Speaking as a salty 23 year old, Daniel thinks the game is
more popular than ever and the games are better than ever. He plans to put himself through college and grad school by
playing.
Scott Clements and Tony OHagan had the first really scary scuffle of the afternoon. Preflop Scott bets all in. It took
Tony quite a while to decide, and finally calls his bet. Tony has a ton of chips to Scotts small stack. Scott shows an AJ
of diamonds with Tony possessing 88. The board came 5d 4d 5s, a miracle Ah on the turn and an absolutely useless Kh
on the river. Scott doubles up and barely puts a dent in Tonys massive mound of chips. Scott says his only thought
about poker is that he plans to win more than he loses. Scott is only 23 and if he can institute that plan, he has a lot of
fun and adventure ahead of him in the poker world.
There have been 3 hands in a row that have resulted in an over pair beating a made hand. Each over pair win
presented the all in player with a double up affair. It happened again for yet the 4th time. Carlos Ramirez and Larry
Satterwhite came to fisticuffs with Larry all in. Larry held Th Ts with Carlos holding Ad Jh. Once again, the board proved
fatal for Larry as it came A 5 6 2 5. Larry picks up a 9th place finish taking home $3810. Larry Satterwhite has way too
many cash finishes for me to begin to list. He is a great player and nice man. Carlos Ramirez lives only 1.5 hours from
here in Cameron Park, California. He is an emergency room physician and makes Harveys his home casino. Carlos has
placed in a $500 event in Reno, and multiple places in Harveys tournaments. He placed in the money in 11th place in
one of the WSOP events this week and made the final today. He started playing No Limit only 3 months ago.
WOW!
Hah, John Grooms just asked Gerald Cheatham if he had any trouble as a professional poker player with a last name
like that. It isn't all in AND Cheatham silly John. Well, good thing John got to make his funny. It just wasn't a good
day for Gerald as he held a TQ and Earl held a 7T. They were the only two players in the pot. Earl was the big blind and
Gerald just called preflop. The flop came T77, Earl checked and all in Cheatham did just that, went all in. He was sick
when the cards were uncovered to see Earl had flopped a full house. Gerald made his way to the rail pocketing $5085
and 8th place for his ride on this merry-go-round. Earl finished in the money in last years WSOP main event, and made
a final table at a WSOP Pot Limit Tourney. He has also won a couple of online tournaments for a pretty nice chunk of
change. He had two words to say about poker Unreal Explosion.
The first break is in order. Everyone split and headed one direction...including me. The blinds have increased to
500/1500 with a pot builder 200 ante.
With Stuart Spear in little blind, he raises to make it 10K more to go. Big blind folds, and Tony OHagan who was the
only caller pre-flop calls. The flop comes 2d 9h 6h. Both players check. On the turn of Qd, Stuart pushes all in. After
moments of contemplation and intense staring at Stuart, Tony calls. The cards are exposed, with Stuart having the Ah 9h
and Tony holding the 3d 6d. Both players have a flush draw on the river with Tony already holding a pair. Stuart has outs,
but, the only out he got to see was his exit from the table. The river came an 8d. It made Tony a diamond flush, but Tony
had him at hello. He makes 7th today for $6355. Stuart has had several major poker accomplishments at the Reno
Hilton for a $5000 buy in and at the Bellagio for a $2000 event. He took 9th and 7th respectively. Stuart is a youthful 57
and has been playing this game for 20 years. He too says that the bigger poker gets, the more exciting it becomes. He
just hopes to keep finishing in the money.
Two hands later, another one bites the dust. Tony is cleanin house. I missed the beginning of the hand because I
was bidding Vince Burgio a welcome hell. But it finished up like this. Daniel Flanigan is all in with KK and Tony jumps
in with JT. The board ironed out a stiff J Q J A 8. The KK was a beaut preflop, as it often is, but failed to meet its
expectations. Daniel took down a 6th place win and $6355 in cold hard cash. Tony OHagan has become a looming
force at this time. Doesnt seem to intimidate the remaining four players though as they are not afraid to get in there and
mix it up with him.
At the moment, Scott Clements has taken the aggressor lead and Tony is absolutely getting into every pot with him.
Several times in a row Scott has ended up pushing all in on the river, and Tony folds after making the initial bets on the
flop and turn. Tony has played a lot of hands now and it is slowly chipping away at his one time mountain of chips.
As Scott Clements continues his reign, he decides to go heads up with Christopher Cue. Christopher is really getting
short stacked and goes all in from the position of the big blind. Scott had no issue with calling. We all set our eyes on
the hole cards. Scott has 3c 3h and Christopher shows Ad 3d. The flop is Qc 4d 5d. This gives Chris a straight flush
draw. The turn is a 4h. That gives Chris a whole lot more outs to save him. The river is a Ks and Scott takes home the
bacon. Chris then takes home $8895 and a 5th place in todays rivalry.
The chip counts are certainly different than at the beginning of this day. Scott has the lead with 155,000 followed by
Carlos with 49,000. Tony is down to 39,000 with Earl with 29,000. With only four players left, we are at that stage of the
game where the psychology really kicks in. Playing the player is crucial.
Tony has let his stack fall far below what would feel comfortable anymore and is most likely looking for something to
go all in with. He gets an As 8h and butts heads with the chip leader, Scott. Scott is ahead preflop with Ah Th. The
board left many ways for Tony to be resuscitated, but it just wasnt in the stars. 6d 9s 3h 9c and Tc verified his worst
nightmare, as he was eliminated in 4th position taking home $10,165.
As the 3rd place winner goes to collect his $13,975, heads up play begins for all the marbles. Earl chose the combo
of A 9 of spades to make his stand. Scott calls with the Ac Kc. Yikes. I feel his pain, as I have been there too many
times to count. Scott eliminates Earl with the board showing 8h 8c Kd Jh 7c. No hope for the one time chip leader as he
slides into 3rd.
Just moments later, the two remaining competitors face off with what will become the final battle of the day. Scott
has millions of chips and Carlos has just a few. With Scott on the button, Carlos raises and Scott calls. The Flop comes
Ac 8c 7c. Carlos checks, Scott bets 6K and Carlos makes it everything to go. Scott calls Carlos all in move and turns
over killer cards. He has a flush with a J and a 2. Carlos has a Qd and Tc and is out of the ballgame. Carlos is a very
amicable man and was pleased with the 2nd place win of $25,415. Scott gets the honey pot of $45,745 and of course the
bling bling WSOP Circuit ring.
Scott owns a mortgage company with a partner in Washington State. His partner must be the real mortgage guy
because Scott spends a great deal of his time and effort playing the poker circuit. He plays online and live; in fact, he
picked up a $10,000 main event at the WSOP by winning an online tourney. He will be a force to be reckoned with. It
was a really fun game to watch. Congratulations everyone.
Sharla Lehrmann
sharla@pokerpages.com | 
