Robert Campbell
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Law Student Capture Omaha!
By Max Shapiro
In a sudden ending, Boston law student Robert Campbell
took first place in Big Poker
Oktober's fifth event, Omaha Hi-Lo, when the four finalists agreed
to carve up the prize
pool by chip count. Campbell, with a substantial lead, was declared
the winner.
Only eight finalists started because three players got knocked
out simultaneously at the
last two tables. "Jim B," an attorney and bridge champ,
was all in with 3-4-5-7, and
Steve Elghanayan with A-2-2-Q. Ann Brown, a poker player, had
A-3-K-10. Nobody
hit anything until a river 10 paired Ann, giving her all she needed
to scoop. At the same
time, Jeff Niedelman was being shut out at the other table. Earlier,
Avner Levy may
have set some sort of record by going all in 12 times before finally
settling for 16th place.
At the final table, George Villarreal got in trouble on the second
hand when his straight
was beaten by Ricardo Abraham's full house. A hand later, the
same players were closely
matched: A-2-6-J for Villarreal and A-2-4-K for Abraham. But the
board came Q-A-J-
10-5, giving Abraham a straight and eliminating Villarreal, a
pharmaceutical distributor.
Dell Cabot, a full-time player who started with the fewest chips,
briefly survived an all-in
encounter on the next hand when he scooped Campbell with trip
sixes. One hand after
that he was all in for $3,900 in the blind with A-2-4-J. But he
missed everything and was
beaten by Abraham's heart flush.
Jim Mann, who plays keyboard at parties and weddings, began skating
on thin ice after
he bet his remaining chips with A-4-5-Q into a board of 7-9-2-10-8.
He got quartered
by professional Can Hua, who also had the same number two low
and an A-K for high.
Mann recovered after getting Hua to fold on the river shortly
after, and then scooped
plumbing contractor Duane Reed with a wheel and small flush. But
he couldn't stay
out of trouble, and eventually went all in six times before finally
playing his last song.
With limits raised to $3,000-$6,000, Reed risked his last chips,
but stayed in action
when his A-2 got there for low, while Abraham took the high end
with aces. Brown,
a native of Oklahoma now living in L.A., was next to walk the
all-in tightrope, but
stayed alive by making trip nines to chop with Hua's low. The
professional player, who
has the distinction of playing at the Hustler Casino's first two
weekly tournaments and
finishing last in the first one and first in the second, was eliminated
two hands later.
In three-way action with Reed and Abraham, she started with A-2-7-J
and diamonds
and made a diamond flush, but a paired 10 on the river gave Abraham
queens full.
Mann, meanwhile, finally played his swan song when he was dealt
what some players
feel is the best starting Omaha hand: A-2-3-4 with a suited ace.
He went all in on a flop
of 6-2-10 and two diamonds when Campbell bet out with A-4-9-J.
An offsuit jack and
queen then fell, and two puny jacks put Mann out of the tournament.
This gave Campbell
a nice chip lead of $52,400. Hua had $38,600, Reed had $35,700
and Abraham trailed
with $6,900. They do a deal and then call it a night.
Biography - Robert Campbell
Robert Campbell, 33, lives in Boston and began playing
poker seriously about 12
years ago. He plays mainly at Foxwoods and has won several major
tournaments,
including an Omaha contest at Commerce's L.A. Poker Classic. He's
also won
tournaments at the Normandie and Orleans plus numerous other smaller
events.
However, he's had to cut down his poker schedule now that he's
studying estate
planning law at Suffolk Uniiversity Law School.
Tonight he was down to $5,500 at the second table when he went
on a rush.
He scooped twice in a row when he picked up A-A-5-K and A-A-2,
and then
chopped the next pot. The key pot for him, he says, was when Mann
missed
his huge draw and he beat him with jacks to end the tournament
and pick up
enough chips to get the win and the most prize pool money. |
