Massoud Setayesh has Easy Win in First-Ever 6-Player TV-Style Event
Tonight's event was a first for land-based poker tournaments: six players to
a table in the style of the televised events that set off the current poker
boom. It was the innovative brainchild of Hustler Casino tournament director
Jan Holubowicz, and it proved an instant hit.
"The players like it because it's fast and it's fun," Holubowicz reported.
"It forces action since players can't just sit and wait for a big hand." In
fact, the six-player format will now be adopted for Hustler's Thursday tournaments.
The winner was Massoud Setayesh, a former garment manufacturer and smog-check
businessman who turned to poker four years ago, specializing in moderate-limit
tournaments. Setayesh's biggest official win to date was $93,150 in an L.A.
Poker Classic no-limit event at Commerce Casino last year, though most of the
money had been chopped in a five-way deal.
He arrived with the chip lead and , climbed steadily upward as he knocked
out three of his five opponents to roll to a convincing win in event number
7 of Grand Slam of Poker 2005.
"If they keep using this, they will get a lot of players," Setayesh predicted.
"Short-handed, you can make more moves. And," he added, "there's more room for
your coffee."
In any event, six-player tables would be a boon for tournament writers, because
it would allow them to get home a little earlier.
The event indeed went quickly, at least at first. It took only about two hours
to go from 11 tables to four. But then a series of double-throughs slowed things
to a crawl, with only two players eliminated in more than an hour.
It was nearly midnight before the six players arrived at the final table.
They got there after a player finally busted out in seventh place. Vu Pham was
all in with 8-7 against pocket 7s held by David Almiquist and couldn't do anything
with a board of K-J-2-J-10.
Opening blinds were 1,000-2,000 with 400 antes, and eight minutes later went
to 1,500-3,000 with 500 blinds. Setayesh arrived with 109,000 chips, while Almquist,
a Riverside college water polo instructor, was second with 90,400. Earlier,
it was a different story. With about 10 players left, Gary Jacobi, going for
his second-straight win, looked like he would get there with a huge lead of
more than 150,000 chips.
"He is so lucky. He wins everything," marveled Parth "Spiderman" Data. But
then some players doubled through against him, and he arrived at the final table
only in third place with 71,100. Jacobi ultimately finished fourth as he passed
Param Gill to take the all-around points lead with 135 points.
Play started off cautiously. It took a dozen hands to see our first flop.
By hand 22, Steve Nissman, an investment adviser, was down to 17,000."If I could
just get one hand...but no such luck," he complained. He got the one hand he
asked for and doubled through, but two hands later he moved in again with pocket
8s. Lawyer/poker player Harvey Doncev called with A-Q and flopped an ace to
cut the field to five.
Jacobi, the custom truck builder, drove into a wall on hand 26. Spiderman
made a small trap raise to 10,000. Jacobi moved in with Q-J. Spidey quickly
called with pocket kings and hit a set on the turn, leaving Jacobi with about
22,000.
But, on the following hand, it was the spider who got exterminated. He raised
to 20,000, Satayesh re-raised for 20,000 more, and Spiderman moved in. He had
A-Q and Setayesh crushed him with pocket queens.
Two hands later, Jacobi was down to 15,000 and pushed in all his chips holding
A-6. Once again Setayesh took the challenge. This time he had pocket 10s, and
when the board came Q-J-6-K-5 we were down to three players.
It was becoming a rout, because at this point Setayesh had more than 300,000
of the 390,000 chips in play, and he could seem to do no wrong.
Three hands after blinds went to 2,000-4,000 with 500 antes, Doncev went broke.
He tried an all-in move with A-2 for his last 25,000. "Good call," he said as
Almquist called and turned up A-7. The board came Q-10-7-J-9, and Almquist's
paired 7 left Doncev in third place.
Satayesh still had a very commanding lead, and the outcome seemed inevitable.
After some chips went back and forth for a few hands, Almquist moved on hand
45 for 63,500. It was the same two hands that were turned up when Satayesh broke
Doncev: A-7 for him, A-2 for Almquist. But Almquist was luckier and got a brief
reprieve, splitting the potwhen the board showed Q-9-3-K-Q.
A couple of hands later, Almquist doubled his 41,500 when his A-K held up
against Satayesh's J-8. But it was only a matter of time. Five hands later,
Setayesh raised to 20,000, Almquist made it 40,000 and Satayesh moved him in.
He was a big favorite with J-8 to J-2 for Almquist. The board came J-8-7-3-2,
and Satayesh's two pair took the pot and the tournament.
And it looks like these six-player no-limit tournaments might be around for
a while.
-Max Shapiro | 
