| Note: 11th through 72nd places were paid prize money ranging from $275 up to $1,780
Rollin' on a River:
Local poker player Chris Wehlen (a.k.a. 'The Riverboat Hustler') rips up record
tournament field at WSOPC New Orleans' first event
Las Vegas is the gambling capital of the world, and Los Angeles likes to bill
itself as the poker capital of the world. But, the popular card game that's
now played by more than one hundred million people worldwide actually has its
roots on paddlewheel steamboats that ran up and down the Mississippi River during
the early 1800s. If the birthplace of poker is in the Deep South, then New Orleans
is most certainly the cradle.
Now two-hundred years later, it's fitting that the world's longest-running
and most prestigious poker tournament would return to the city where it all
began. New Orleans hosted the final stop on the 2005 World Series of Poker Circuit,
which runs May 18-28. The first event -- a $200 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament
-- attracted a record number of entries for any WSOPC event held this year.
A whopping 833 players filled Harrah's New Orleans to full capacity. Given the
high level of interest and intense pubic demand, it's fair to say that this
event could easily have sold over 1,000 seats.
After a long first day, the ten finalists returned for the final table on Day
Two. Proving the incredible popularity of the game amongst younger players,
of the ten finalists -- six were in their 20s. But the chip leader was one of
the elders, by contemporary standards. Don Mullis, age 41, was making his 5th
final table appearance in just seven event starts, dating back to the WSOPC
Lake Tahoe tournament, which was completed earlier this month. No other tournament
player is hotter right now than the good-natured poker traveler from North Carolina.
Mullis arrived on the second day with a huge chip stack - 192,000. As for his
rivals, only Chris Wehlen, a 22-year-old New Orleans local, had over 100,000
in chips. The rest of the pack would have to play great poker, or get very lucky
to dislodge the two chip leaders. As it turned out -- as many expected -- Mullis
and Wehlen would eventually go heads-up and compete for the championship.
Seventy-two places were paid. With $161,602 in prize money at stake, players
were eliminated as follows:
10th Place - Only 15 minutes into play, Don Mullis hit a quick and easy
parlay. Two players were eliminated when Mullis flopped top set. Dennis Perry,
who was very short-stacked, missed his draw and ended up going out in 10th place.
Perry, who made it to the final table of the championship at Harrah's Rincon
(San Diego) had a short miserable stay at the final table. It was pouring down
rain outside and Perry might as well have stayed in the parking lot without
an umbrella. The retired iron worker from Kentucky melted down with $1,780 in
prize money.
9th Place - R.L. Thomas went out on very the same hand. He missed both
a straight and flush draw. Thomas, a 47-year-old poker pro who lives in Pensacola,
FL, had to settle for 9th place, worth $3,230.
8th Place - Only minutes later, Tony Malcien dropped a neutron bomb
on what remained of the final table. Incredibly, he knocked out three players
on one hand when his K-Q caught two pair. After the cards and chips were shuffled
and stacked and the devastation was over, there were only five players remaining,
and it looked as though the final table might end in record time. Ross Romash,
age 29, from Golden Beach, FL was short-stacked and went out with A-Q on the
killer hand. Romash, a real estate developer who has previously appeared at
final tables at the Hard Rock Casino (Hollywood, FL), collected $4,850 for 8th
place.
7th Place - It's rare that a boyfriend-girlfriend tandem plays together
in a poker tournament. It's rarer still when both players make it to the final
table. That's exactly what happened with Ross Romash (8th) and Vanessa Rousso
-- who ended up going out in 7th place. Rousso, a 22-year-old law student at
the University of Miami, had more chips at the start of the final hand and therefore
took the higher payout, worth $6,465.
6th Place - Seth Laroche ended up in 6th place. He had top pair with
kings but lost to Malcien's two-pair. Laroche, a 21-year-old college student
from Houston, received $8,080 for a fin effort. At that point, Don Mullis maintained
the chip lead, but Malcien and Wehlen were close behind.
5th Place - Matt Overstreet took a few beats and was getting low on chips.
He made his final stand with Q-J and took another terrible beat when Don Mullis
faded Overstreet's 'all in' raise with J-9, which spiked a nine on the river,
sticking a fork in Overstreet. Fifth-place prize money ($9,695) was paid to
Overstreet, yet another 22-year-old up and coming poker player.
4th Place - Alex Todd went out next when he was forced to commit his
final chips with K-9, which lost to Chris Wehlen's A-K. It was an interesting
final hand, because it jolted Wehlen close to Mullis in the chip count. Mullis
had A-Q. Wehlen had A-K. Todd was in trouble with a dominated hand - K-9 and
needed plenty of help. The final board showed 10-4-4-5-Q. A queen on the river
had apparently given Mullis the huge pot. But, three spades matched Wehlen's
A-K of spades, and the spade flush put Wehlen neck-a-neck in chips. Meanwhile,
Todd - an engineer from nearby Kenar - ended up derailed with $11,310 for 4th
place.
3rd Place - After an initial burst during the first hour, Tony Malcien
was unable to generate any momentum at the final table. Like a comet, he shined
early then fizzled out like cosmic dust. He was slowly grinded down and decided
to make his final stand on a semi-bluff. Malcien was dealt 4-5 in the blind
and when the flop came A-6-5, he pushed his final chips forward on the outside-straight
draw. Chris Wehlen was thrilled to make the call with two pair, 7s and 6s. A
seven on the turn gave Wehlen a full house and left Malcien drawing dead. Malcien,
who owns a car shipping company in Wisconsin, collected $12,930 for 3rd place.
The heads-up duel between Don Mullis and Chris Wehlen began with the early
chip-leader holding a slight 478,000 to 465,000 chip advantage. It took about
10 minutes for Wehlen to seize the chip lead, and then another ten hands or
so to end the tournament on the final hand.
Wehlen was dealt 9-9 and raised up to 50,000. Mullis had A-8 and moved over
the top for 200,000 total in chips. Wehlen thought for a moment, then moved
'all in.' Mullis was pot committed at this point and made a crying call. Mullis
did not like what he saw. The pocket nines were the favorite. Mullis cried out
desperately for an ace, but the prayer to the poker gods fell on deaf ears.
All blanks fell. The final board showed K-J-6-5-4. Wehlen's pocket nines was
the winner, and Mullis was left to ponder what might have been.
The final table was played at a lightning fast pace, clocking in at 2 hours
and 20 minutes. Afterward, it was obvious that the $22,685 in 2nd-place prize
money was utterly meaningless to Mullis. The Event #1 runner up has been traveling
around the country in a new motorhome, during the last six months - mostly playing
poker. He says he plays for the thrill of competing and winning more than for
the money. To his credit, Mullis now has a 9th, 7th, 9th, 1st, and 2nd place
finishes in the last seven WSOPC events he has entered. That record is unequalled
by anyone.
The winner was Chris Wehlen, a 22-year-old college student who is now studying
to become a building contractor. He was cheered on by a large gathering of friends
and family who celebrated the victory. Wehlen says that he plays in many local
poker games here in New Orleans -- mostly in bars, private games, and casinos.
He prefers no-limit cash games, although he also admits that tournaments have
become a target. Wehlen also plays poker online. His nickname, appropriately
enough is - 'The Riverboat Hustler.'
Which now begs the question - is Wehlen a direct descendent of Maverick or
the Commodore?
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
Arrived in New Orleans today around 1pm. Made my way to the Hilton and then to Harrah's where the New Orleans WSOP Circuit event kicked off yesterday with a $200 + $25 buy in. The event drew 833 players so the first place prize will be over $40,000. The final table is today.
The first person who found me was none other than Don Mullis. Now if you have followed any of my other blogs, you will remember that Don was in Lake Tahoe and made the final table 4 out of 6 attempts and pulled in a first in one of them. He came to New Orleans to try his luck (skill is a proven) again. Last month he had only been playing for 7 months. He is now a salty ole dog of 8 months now and looks like he feels right at home. I was happy to see him, but the most importantly he had a grin from ear to ear because yesterday he got into this $200 event as an alternate (which means barely). He didn't get to start the tournament until after the second round was complete. Well, believe it or not, Don sits here at the final table. Not only that, Don has parked himself in seat 10 as the chip leader.
The first pitch is thrown and the game is on. The blinds are 4000/8000 with a 1000 ante. The only woman at the table, Vanessa Rousso, a beautiful 22-year-old law student has taken her place at the table and is ready to show these guys her true grit. She says she has been playing poker since "before I could read." We won't tell her parents this, but her plans include taking summer breaks from law school to pursue poker professionally.
The second hand of the game just about turned several players gray. What it did do is eliminate two players right off the bat. Dennis Perry from middle position raised to 18K. Don who is in late position calls. R.L. Thomas on the button raises to 35K. This provokes Dennis to push all in for a total of 41K. Don reaaaalllly wants to call. He thinks long and hard and R. L. has John Grooms put Don on the clock. Don took it down to the last few seconds and finally called the 35K. The flop came Qd 3h 5h. With Dennis already all in, Don is first to act and pushes his huge stack in and R.L. doesn't hesitate for even a second and pushes all in too. The pot is really huge and the players turn their cards over. R.L. has the Kh Jh, Dennis the Ah 7h and Don a powerful set of queens. The turn was the As and I could see the hope begin to melt from Dennis's face. R.L. was already getting up because he knew he was drawing dead. The 7d slipped in on the river and it dropped two players wham bam thank you ma'am. Dennis Perry went out 10th for $1780 and R.L. Thomas 9th for $3230.
Now folks we have only been running for 40 minutes and the most amazing thing happened. John says that he has announced over 50 final tables and this is the first time he has seen this. Before the flop we had 5-way action in this melee. Ross Romash in seat 7 and on the button pushes all in. Seth, in seat 8, and small blind follows suit. Vanessa, who was in the big blind was so short stacked; she had to make the play. Don calls the 14K (doh! ... no brainer as he has only 500,000 in chips). Tony in seat 1 was in a side pot with Don now and was all in too. It unfolded like this.
Tony KQ
Ross AK
Vanessa J4
Don 77
Seth AQ
The board ironed itself out with a 6 K 6 Q 9 and three players took their leave. The table suddenly looked terribly empty. Ross took 8th place, Vanessa 7th and Seth 6th. And Tony cleaned up in a big way.
Ross is a Real Estate Developer at age 29 and is Vanessa's significant other. So, with Ross making $4,850 and Vanessa $6465, I'd say they might get to have a pretty good time on a dinner date tonight. Seth made $8080 for his two days play. Seth is also a student and is a babe of 21. He says that his best accomplishment so far in poker is that his wife lets him play regularly. (I bet she really does now!)
Another player ran into the wrath of Don. Matt Overstreet had Q J suited and Don a 9 J suited on the button. Matt was short and felt he had to move in and Don had to oblige. The board was moving along in Matt's favor until Don took him down that wretched river by spiking a 9 and sending Matt home in 5th for $9695. Matt is only 22 (see any trend on this table???) and has already made a $1000 final table at the 2005 Jack Binion World Poker Open in Tunica.
When Alex raised all in for 43K, Chris pumped it up to 139K for an all in move also. Don thought and decided to make the call for 139K. This is a crucial play for everyone. Chris turns over the As Ks, Alex the Kc 9s and Don the Ah Qd. So, they waited as the board flopped Ts 4c 4s giving Chris the nut flush draw. Don needed a Q in the worst way and Alex only sought a little ole 9. The turn showed 5c and the river came a Q and for a minute the table sighed thinking Don had caused another train wreck but then realized it was the Qs. Chris became a power to be reckoned with by hitting the nut spade flush and Alex took a hike over for his payout. Alex stopped by and said when it works it works and when it doesn't it doesn't. He said he had pocket aces, kings, and queens four times and lost on 3 of them. The cowboys held up once, but it wasn't enough to keep him afloat. He leaves today in 4th taking home $11,310. Alex is also in his youth, at 26 and by profession is a Control System Engineer.
It is now down to 3 and we have been at it for only an hour and a half. I am remembering last week when we had the final table for the $10,000 event in Tahoe and it went over 13 hours. The two "elders" of the table, Don and Tony will battle it out with the remaining youngster, Chris Wehlen. He is a New Orleans native and is barely 22 years old. He too is a student and says he likes to play for fun, but today may change his mind. Tony Malcein (pronounced mal seen) owns a shipping company and is 38. He has placed several times in other tournaments and has only been playing for a year. He likes 30/60 limit and no limit tournaments.
OK. Lets see if anyone out there has the "anatomy" to do what just happened here. We have Don and Chris heads up. Don is the button and Chris the big blind. Don bets 56K and Chris called. The flop comes 5s 9d 5c. Don bets 50K and Chris calls. The turn is the Kd. Chris bets 200K. Don gets the clock on him again as he tries to make a decision. He said that he thinks Chris has K 9, or maybe K Q or A K. John Grooms counted him down to one second and Don said, "I call". The river comes another 5 and Chris pushes all in with Don right behind him. They turn over their cards and both have a K J suited. I don't know how they could do it. I would have been so long gone you would have only seen my dust. Hmmm...guess that is why they are at the final table and I'm not.
Tony is sitting quietly, hoping not to be seen I think. He is letting the two big stacks hammer it out and hope to fall into a for sure second if not first (in my opinion) by default. We'll see if it develops this way. He has made a few button steals to pad his stack, but is mostly hiding in the bushes. By the way the blinds are now 8000/16000 with a 2000 ante. OK. I was all wrong. The very next hand Tony got all in after the flop while on the button. Chris called. The flop was As 6c 7c. Tony moves all in and Chris was elated to call. Chris shows 6s 7s and Tony an open ended straight draw with the 4d 5d. The turn brought the card from hell for Tony. The 7s made Chris the full house and Tony was drawing dead. However, he does take home $12,930 for his $225 buy-in with a 3rd place finish.
Don has about 478,000 and Chris has about 465,000. It is anybody's ballgame now. This is going to be a tough heads up match. Don is still being very aggressive and seems to still feel quite confident. He did say that he has only been playing for 8 months and is a mullet. (Is that the fish or the hairdo? I think the FISH!) Now the wait. Who will make the move? Back and forth we go with many robberies in progress.
Well, the senior player (that would be Chris, the 22 year old) took the neophyte "final table" 41 year old Mullis out this trip around. Don raised 50K and Chris put him all in thinking he had only an ace with kicker problems. Chris had a 99 and felt heads up he was in good condition. Sure enough, Don made a crying call and had exactly what Chris put him on. Don showed an A 8 and nothing every materialized to make Dons hand. Don took 2nd and pulled in a fine take for the day of $22,865.
Chris is a personable "man child" and appears to have a good grip on this game of poker. He prefers to play 5/5 no limit cash games as he feels he can always make money grinding it out. He calls himself the "riverboat hustler" as his nick on several sites, and I think he actually might just be the new Bret Maverick. Chris works in his family business of pest control and has earned his associates degree in applied engineering. He is very interested in becoming a general contractor and develop his skills in building projects. When asked what he plans to do with his $43,567 he said he would most likely keep about 5K and divvy it up among his friends. He is quite certain that they will do the same with him when the time comes. Oh to be 22 again. Congratulations Chris. I know we will see you again in the winner's circle.
Report by Sharla of PokerPages.com | 
