| Sports Producer Wins Media
Bradley Gold, a TV sports show producer and strictly a home-game player, outlasted
some pretty tough players tonight to capture first place in the 2005 Legends of Poker
media freeroll event. The victory got him a seat in the $5,000 championship event plus
$100. The event was marked by numerous draw-outs where the worst hand won, and
Gold had his share of lucky breaks along the way.
The media event offered a $10,150 prize pool along with the seat, plus a $5,000 donation in the winner’s name to the Lakers Youth Foundation.
This event was covered with a live remote broadcast by an L.A. station, Xtra Sports Radio. Among the better-known names in the tournament were Vince Burgio, Susie Isaacs, Jim McManus (author of the best-selling "Positively Fifth Street"; and now a poker columnist for the New York Times), "Poker Babe" Shirley Rosario, Poker Player publisher Stan Sludikoff and, of course, famed poker humorist Max Shapiro. The room got much quieter when Dirty Wally, co-host of the Bluff magazine satellite radio poker show, got knocked out in early going when his pocket aces lost to a straight.
On hand 10, McManus, all in for $3,000 with A-J, stood up ready to leave when Burgio had A-K and the flop came 8-5-2. But a jack on the turn saved him, and he went on to finish third.
On hand 17, Karlo Gheurabegian tried an all-in move from the small blind with just 8-3. McManus called from the big blind with A-Q and left Gheurabegian, a TV editor and co-worker with Gold, in ninth place when the board came A-K-J-5-4. Gheurabegian has two wins at the Bike’s Mini Series and one in the Turkey Shoot.
On the next hand, Burgio, a well-known pro and writer for Card Player magazine, went out on yet another bad beat. He went all in for $2,200 with A-6. Reed Berglund was in the big blind with just 5-3 and flopped two pair.
The beats continued. Two hands later, Judd Greenagel moved in with A-Q. Gold called with K-8, hit an 8 on the turn, and left Greenagel with just $1,900. Greenager put his last chips in on the next hand with 10d-3d. Glenn “Mr. Gin” Abney called with A-Q. This time the best hand won as the board came J-9-8-A-3, and now six were left. Greenagel operates a business called Chippy Poker Tournaments, which puts on free poker tournaments at bars and other establishments. Greenagel also won the inaugural ”Heartland Poker Tournament” this year.
Blinds now became $1,000-$2,000 with $300 antes. Jeff Clayton, a photographer and another TV co-worker of Gold’s, immediately went out, again with the best hand. He had pocket 10s, McManus had K-6 in the big blind, and McManus beat him with a king on fourth street as Clayton finished sixth. Clayton has a win in a Commerce $100 tournament on his resume sheet.
Now it was Abney’s turn to win with the worst hand. He moved in for $3,400 with K-Q and was called by Reed Berglund A-6. A queen flopped, and “Mr. Gin” was still in…for a while, anyway.
Blinds now became $1,500-$3,000 with $500 antes. The approximate chip count was: Gold, $27,000; Simon “Ace” Trumper, $23,000; McManus, $21,000; Berglund, $16,000; and Abney, $11,000.
On the first hand at the new level, yet another draw-out left Abney in fifth place. He was all in with pocket 9s against Berglund, who called from the small blind with A-3, and flopped an ace.
On hand 28, Gold opened for $6,000 and Trumper, a London pro and journalist for Sportinglife.com, called. Trumper had Q-4 and moved in on a flop of K-Q-10. Needless to say, Gold started with the lesser hand, J-9, but the flop gave him a straight, and now we were down to three players.
One hand later, McManus raised all in for about $20,000 with A-6. Gold called with pocket 5s, which (surprisingly) held up when the board came 10-8-3-K-9.
Heads-up, Gold had about a 3-1 lead over Berglund, and took only four hands to finish him off. The finale came when Berglund moved in with 7d-4d. Gold had a fairly easy call with pocket treys. The board showed K-10-2-A-A, and this second annual media event was over. –Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
For the past three years Bradley Gold has produced a sports highlight show for local TV station KCAL channel 9, and then for channel 2 as well when the stations merged. “I get paid to watch and write about sports,” he says in delight. He’s been playing poker four or five years, but – apart from the Bike’s media event last year – only in a weekly no-limit home game at his residence, mostly after work with station people, including the two others from the station who made today’s final table. They even created their own website, BoldPokerTour.com.
Gold describes himself as an aggressive player – “At least I’m told I am.” His big break in this event came before the final table when called a raise with pocket 6s against a bigger pair and made a set. Another key hand, he said, came when he re-raised Berglund with A-K suited and made him lay down his hand.
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