3rd Time is Charm for Chris
Chris Cellery, making his third final table at Legends 2005, hit pay dirt this time as he captured event 19, $500 limit hold'em. He came to the final table with a big chip lead of $70,700, surrendered it to Robert Nehorayan, and then knocked out the last two players in two consecutive hands to pull into a huge lead and take the title in a three-way chip-count deal. It's the biggest cash-out to date for the ex-dealer, who's been playing poker for only two years. The win also gives him the all-around points lead.
It was 2 a.m. when the final table started, playing $200 antes, $800-$1,600 blinds and 34:51 left at level 12. Nehorayan was lowest-chipped with $13,300, but in just 15 hands he had roared into a huge lead with $86,000. On the first hand he moved in wth pocket aces and doubled through after Ted Tsimboukis called with Q-Q. On hand 14 he moved in again, this time beating Cellery, 8-8 versus A-J. And the third time he took the pot when he moved in on a flop of A-7-7.
Kerri Tyler, meanwhile, only got to hand five. She pushed in for $19,000 with pocket jacks. Oren Alkalay, with pocket queens, had her covered, won with a set on the river and Tyler, a business owner and Wyonna Judd impersonator with 'Legends in Concert,' sang 'Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight.'
Blinds moved to $1,000-$2,000. Marc Kang was getting low-chipped when he decided to move in from the cut-off seat for $14,500 with A-J. Thomas Chung, in the big blind, challenged him with pocket 10s. A flop of 10-5-3 left Kang, a mortage company owner, virtually dead, and we were down to eight.
Brett 'Gank' Jungblut put in his last $18,000 six hands later and was called by Cellery. He had pocket 8s and turned a set. Unfortunately, Cellery had pocket 9s and had flopped a set as Jungblut, a CEO and Omaha/8 bracelet holder, cashed out eighth. And just a few hands later, Oren Alkalay opened for $10,000 with A-J. Ted Tsimboukis called. When the flop came J-7-5, Alkalay moved in for $27,000. That was exactly how much Tsimboukis had. He called, but only had J-10, and Alkalay's ace-kicker left Tsimboukis in seventh place.
The players took 10, returning to blinds of $1,500-$3,000 and $500 antes. The chip count was: Nehorayan, 71k; Cellery, 67k; Alkalay, 62k; Chung, 59k; Mats Gevatin, 32k; and Bob Wein, 22k.
Wein, a real estate broker, hadn't seen much action to this point. Four deals into the new level, he tried an all-in button raise with just Qs-4s. Gevatin, a student and poker player from Sweden, called with pocket 8s. Two spades flopped, but no more, and we were down to five.
Suddenly, everything came to an explosive end. Five hands later, Cellery opened for $14,000 and Gevatin moved in for about $50,000 with pocket 9s. Cellery quickly called with pocket queens. The board came A-Q-7-6-A, and Cellery's full house left Gevatin in fifth place.
A chip count was called for, but Chung,who has two WSOP bracelets, would have none of it. He didn't hold things up long, though.On the next hand he was in the small blind and went all in, also for about $50,000, with a medium pair. Cellery had pocket queens and won when the board came J-9-3-3-10. Cellery now had $180.000 to $90,000 for Nehorayan and $42,000 for Alkalay, a computer consultant. A deal was made, and Cellery locked up his first win. -Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
Chris Celery, who is 23, has been playing poker since he was 21. He had been a tournament poker dealer who now 'more or less' plays full time. He won a limit hold'em event at the Hustler Casino's Grand Slam of Poker his first year, and also has a Ho Ho Hold'em win to his credit. He plays all games. In side action, he prefers $25-$50 hold'em at the Hustler Casino, but his poker action mainly revolves around tournaments. How many does he play? 'Whenever they have them.'
His playing style leans toward aggressive, but he likes to mix his play up. Tonight he moved up gradually, and was never in any trouble. He noted that he suffered a setback in early going when he lost to Nehorayan, who moved in with pocket 8s, but was able to stay in strong contention until he surged ahead at the end.
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