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Contractor has Close Win
Haim Ifrach was one $500 chip ahead of Mario Valenzuela when a six-way deal ended event 19 of Winnin' o' the Green, $300 limit hold'em But that was sufficient, and he was declared the winner. Ifrach, who divides his poker time between tournaments and live action, has one previous tournament win at Hollywood Park. Official pay-out for first place was $22,400.
Though he was the official winner, Ifrach agreed to let Valenzuela have the trophy. It was an intriguing 1-2 finish. Ifrach is a building contractor, and Valenzuela is a demolition contractor. One builds 'em, and the other blows 'em up.
Play commenced at the final table with 400/800 limits and 13:43 left. On the third hand, short-chipped George Shahrezay became pot-committed with A-K, and the realtor was blown away when Abraham Barbarian, with K-J, made trip jacks. He got $840 for 10th place. For the next 22 hands it was 'paint-drying' time as nobody was willing to go out, though Ming Huang, who started lowest chipped with 1,400, tried by going all in a couple of times. Finally, Sang Tran, a dealer, had 10c-9c and threw his last chip in on fourth street, going for a flush. He missed, Abe Barbarian won with trip aces and we were down to eight as Huang got $980 for ninth.
Right after that, Ifrach picked up a lot of chips by flopping a set of 7s and filling against Gary Do. He then gave a lot back to Do when he had pocket kings and Do, with As-4s, turned an ace. Ifrach would later increase his lead when he was in the big blind with 5-4 and made a straight.
The most dramatic hand of the night came down on the 30th deal when three fours flopped. Valenzuela had a filly with pocket 6s, but he was nearly dead to Scott Silverman's pocket aces. Then a 6 rivered, and a stunned Silverman watched Valenzuela rake in a big pot.
When the players returned from a break on hand 35, we were playing with limits of 1k/2k. Ifrach led with 26k, with Valenzuela and Larry Ross tied for second with 17k apiece.
We were now playing with blinds of 500/1,000 and limits of 1,000/2,000. On hand 47, Huang, going all in for the fourth time, finally succumbed. He had the lead with J-10 when a 10 flopped, until Barbarian, with K-Q, caught a river king. Huang's eighth-place finish paid $1,120.
On hand 57, Valenzuela showed A-9 after the board came 7-7-2-9-K. Silverman, down to 3k, mucked. Silverman later went all in twice, but won and built back up to 16.5 k by the time the event ended. Do, owner of a janitorial service, was swept out on hand 61. He was all in pre-flop with Q-10. Molina had A-J, and ace-high took it. Do picked up $1,400 for seventh.
As hand 64 and 4 a.m. approached, the players began talking deal. Behind Ifrach and Valenzuela were Molina, 23k; Silverman, 16.5k; Barbarian, 13k; and Ross, 12k. After long discussion, the deal was done. Valenzuela got an official $10,640 for second. Taxi driver Molina, making his second straight final table, got $5,320 for third. Barbarian, an electric sign salesman, was paid $3,360 for fourth. Ross, retired from the men's wear retailing business, was paid $2,520 for fifth, and Silverman got $1,960 for sixth.
-Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
Haim Ifrach came to this country from Israel 18 years ago. His business is constructing medical facilities such as surgery centers. He has been playing poker for 'a few years,' and divides his time between live games and tournaments. In cash games he prefers $100-$200 7-card stud, but also plays no-limit hold'em, both at the Bike and Commerce Casinos. In tournaments, he'll play up to $500 buy-in events.
Ifrach describes his style of play as aggressive, and that's how he got his chips in this event. Tonight, he said, he was in good shape throughout the evening. 'I got a lot of good flops,' he smiled. The pot where he lost of chips with pocket kings hurt him, he recalled, but otherwise he had no real problems. Ifrach said he has been playing four or five tournaments a month, but with this win under his belt, he 'definitely' planned to step up his participation.
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