Saved by a Straight Flush Board,
Noel Castro Runs Over Final Table
By all rights, Noel Castro should have been eliminated early in this tournament. With about 12 tables left, he had pocket queens in the big blind when the board came 10d-9d-7d. His opponent, with a nut flush draw, bet 3,000 and Castro moved in for the rest of his 10,000. A 6d turned to give his opponent the nuts. But then an 8d on the river made a straight flush on board.
The pot was split, Castro was saved by the one-outer miracle, and by the time he got to the final table, he had the chip lead with 86,000.
From that point on he was a one-man train wreck, knocking players out left and right as he kept increasing his lead. By the time the table was three-handed, Castro had more than 70 percent of the chips in play, and the two other players were more than happy to make a chip-count deal.
Castro, previously an inventory manager, used to play more than he does now, and has three prior tournament wins. However, in a mid-life career change, he is now studying to be a pharmacist and has less time for poker. His main game now is $9-$18 and $15-$30 hold'em, and he also likes Hustler Casin's popular Thursday tournaments.
The final table began with 1,500-3,000 antes and 500 blinds, 26:55 remaining. For the first dozen hands, nothing too much happened except for Eddie Gharibeh, starting shortest-chipped with 17,800, doubling through when he caught an ace to his A-10 to outrun Sean 'Nan's pocket 7s.
The first casualty came on hand 13. Seung Li was in the small blind when he raised all in with his last chips holding just J-4. David Daneshgar, in the big blind, decided he would call with any ace. He found Ac-3c and the ace-high won when the board came K-7-5-3-8.
On the next hand, blinds inched up to 2,000-4,000 with the same blinds. Two hands later, when the flop came 9-8-3, Gharibeh, a finance manager, couldn't manage his finances when he tried to take the pot by moving in with A-K. Castro called with pocket 7s and busted him in ninth place when no ace or king came.
And just two hands later, we lost our third player. First, Castro raised 30,000 in late position holding K-Q. Edward Shikyoo, a corporate banking analyist, called with pocket 4s. When the flop showed 9-8-3, Shikyoo moved in. He had the lead, but then a queen turned and a king came on the river, and suddenly only seven were left.
By now, Castro had a big lead with more than 200,000 chips.
On hand 30, Sean 'Nan had J-10 and hit a good flop of 10-9-6. But Daneshgar had pocket aces. When a 5 and a 9 came, an all-in 'Nan ended up in seventh place.
Anthony 'Big Bad Wolf' Guadagni has been a familiar face in this tournament series. This was his fourth final table. He would have the all-around points lead, but one of his tables was in a shoot-out event which did not carry points, so he currently trails Gary Jacobi by five.
Sixth was as far as the Torrance pro could go tonight. On the hand after 'Nan departed, Guadagni was all in with A-Q, in bad shape against who else but Castro, who held A-K. A flop of A-K-9 pretty much left the Wolfman for dead.
Continuing his rampage, Castro (no relation to Fidel, as he emphasized on his bio sheet), claimed yet another victim when he disposed of Eric Arreca. The young pro, who was card-dead at the final table, was all in from the big blind with a puny 7-4. Castro went after him with As-8s, and won easily when the board came A-Q-4-9-K.
On the next deal, Castro actually lost a pot when his Qs-Js ran into Jerry Capalad's pocket aces, but the loss hardly put a dent in his massive stacks.
Daneshgar now requested a chip count for a possible deal. Castro had 309,000 to 115,000 for Daneshgar and 70,500 for Capalad, while Hasrouni, an engineer, trailed with 51,000. But the boys couldn't come to terms and action continued.
Daneshgar, a venture capitalist, lost most of his chips on hand 37. He raised 10,000 pre-flop with A-4 from the small blind and Hasrouni called with Q-9 from the big. A flop of 9-7-4 gave each player a pair, but Hasrouni's was bigger. He moved in for 41,000 and Daneshgar called. A deuce and then a 7 couldn't help him, and Daneshgar finished in fourth place.
Another chip count was called for, and this time the three finalists agreed to accept the count. Castro had 369,500, Hasrouni had 123,000, and Capalad was down to 18,000. The deal was done, and the aspiring pharmacist wrapped up a convincing win in the ninth event of this series.
—Max Shapiro |
