Truck Builder Gary Jacobi Given
Win After Event Ends in Near-Tie
Some 28 hands had gone by three-handed and it was after 2 a.m. when Shyam Madiraju finally asked, 'Are we going to play all night?' A chip count was taken and it showed that Madiraju led with 268,000 chips to 267,000 for Gary Jacobi and 188,000 for Mike Ruter.
With just one chip separating them, Jacobi gave up some money and Madiraju allowed him to get the win and trophy in event six of Hustler Casino's Grand Slam of Poker 2005, $100 no-limit hold'em. 'I wanted to show my family that it's not all about money,'Jacobi explained. The trophy is more important.”
Jacobi builds custom trucks in San Diego. A poker player for just one year, he has prior wins at the Oceanside Open and Hollywood Park's National Championships, and a couple of final tables at Legends of Poker. He describes himself as an aggressive player, and that's exactly how he played tonight.
Madiraju was playing for the first time at Hustler Casino. He is a writer/director of commercials who is now working on his first film, based on a true story of an Indian family coming to America. A poker player for only three years, he plays mostly tournaments because 'That's where the thrill is.'Previously, he made a final table at Hollywood Park's Poker Derby and finished 12th at Commerce's Heavenly Hold'em.
Ruter, a player for just two years, now teaches poker online, and this is his sixth final table. He also had a cash-in out in a $1,500 event at this year's World Series of Poker.
Jacobi took a big lead on the first hand of the final table and held it until late in the tournament when Ruter doubled through against him and took a slight lead. In the final few hands, Shyam, choosing his spots, picked up a couple of pots and edged into the final lead.
The last table started with 2,000-4,000 blinds and 500 antes, 16:36 remaining. There were four big stacks: K.C. Yi with 127,000; Stuart Grant with 104,500; Karl DiBona with 103,500; and Jacobi with 102,000. On the first deal, Jacobi opened for 15,000. DiBona called and Alan Bailey, a barber, put in his last 500 from the big blind with K-8. When the flop came 9-7-2, DiBona bet with A-9 and Jacobi moved in with pocket kings. DiBona took the lead when a 9 flopped and an ace turned, but a river king gave Jacobi a winning set and a sizeable lead, while Bailey finished 10th.
DiBona was left with 1,500. Three hands later he was all in for 500 with just 8-4. Jesus Jiminez, with K-4, put him away when a king flopped.
Earlier, at the second table, Jiminez missed a chance to pick up a lot of chips when he laid down jacks against one raiser who had kings and another with aces, only to see a jack hit the board.
He went out on hand 10 after blinds went to 3,000-6,000 with 1,000 antes. Jacobi opened for 20,000 with Kh-Jh and Jiminez moved in with Ad-Qd. A queen flopped, but so did a king, and seven players were now left.
A hand later, manager/producer Jamie Gold, making his 16th final table this year, followed him to the cashier. He was left with 10,000 the hand before when Ruter moved in with pocket 10s and Gold called for 45,000 with 7-7. On the next deal he put it in with K-5 on the button and lost to Ruter's A-10 after an ace flopped.
Yi, the starting leader, had taken a big hit earlier when he moved in with A-K and lost 88,000 to Stuart Grant, who had K-K. By hand 17 he was down to 17,000. He moved in holding A-Q. Jacobs called with Kh-Jh. A king came on the river, the real estate broker departed, and half the field was gone.
We were playing with 2,000-4,000 blinds and 1,000 antes now. As play continued, Jacobi still had a big lead and was putting pressure on the other players with re-raises. Then on hand 31, veteran pro Sirous Baghchehsarie got knocked out. He moved in with Jh-9-h and Jacobi, also moving in, got heads-up with him holding pocket kings. A board of Q-7-3-5-4 changed nothing and Sirous cashed out in fifth position.
Grant, an advertising director, became very aggressive, raising 30,000 or 40,000 nine times in 13 hands. But Jacobi kept coming over the top, re-raising all in four of those times. The first three times, Grant folded. Finally, on the fourth hand, he took a stand. 'This time I'm gonna call,'he announced. It was the classic confrontation: Q-Q for Grant, A-K for Jacobi. Grant's small edge was overcome when a king flopped, and then a turn-card ace put him away in fourth place. 'I had a monster against you every time,'Jacobi assured him.
After 47 hands had gone by, Jacobi still had a big lead with close to 400,000 to 215,000 for Madiraju and 112,000 for Ruter. By hand 59 he was down to just over 315,000. Then Ruter took nearly half his chips when he moved in for 149,000 with pocket 5s and flopped a set.
Play continued for another nine hands. There were no major pots, but Madiraju managed to slip into his 1,000 chip lead and the deal ended the evening. —Max Shapiro
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