"Super Mario Esquerra"
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Mario Does Super in Omaha!
By Max Shapiro
"Super Mario" Esquerra, the 71-year-old physical marvel of the poker word, came to the
final table with the chip lead and never relinquished it as he played and talked his way to
victory in the 12th event of Big Poker Oktober, Omaha hi-lo. The heads-up finale was a
toss-up in the vocal department, with runner-up Rusty Bagaygay, a premier screamer,
matching Mario decibel for decibel. Mercifully, the yelling contest lasted just three hands.
But Rusty had something else to shout about as he moved into the points lead.
The noted German pro, Matthias Rohnacher, finished third, and Don Larrimore came in
fourth. Larrimore, a veteran journalist and former writer for the World Series, was driven
to distraction at the second table by the chatter of Men "The Master" Nguyen and Pat Fleming,
and the increased noise level at the final table caused him even worse pain. Time and again,
in the blind and all in, he would stand up, obviously anxious to go home, only to stay alive.
He went all in eight times before getting his wish.
At the final table, The Master lasted two hands. First he missed his flush draw and lost to Esquerra's higher aces-up, then missed his wraparound straight draw as Larrimore filled up
on the river. A few hands later, Las Vegas poker player Al Newell started with A-K-Q-5 and
check-raised Mario on a flop of K-9-9. But Mario, holding A-10-10-4, hit a 10 on the end to
bust his opponent. The chips kept flowing Esquerra's way when he made three jacks to
demolish Michael Roth, who lives and works at Crystal Park casino. Roth started with a
great starting low hand, but his A-2-3-6 never developed.
Larrimore pulled his first escape when he put up his last $400 in the big blind with a A-3-3-Q
and made a set for the high end in a three-way pot. The next hand he started with A-2-3-3, went
all in again and quartered Bagaygay. Vince Burgio, who couldn't hit his draws, held A-5-6-10
when Rohnacher bet a flop of 7-2-Q and Vince put in last $700. He missed his low as two
running ladies gave Rohnacher a full house.
Larrimore, once again depleted in the big blind, didn't look at his cards as Bagaygay and day
trader Everett Jolly checked down a board of 8-10-3-3-2. Jolly had a full house, Bagaygay a
number two low. "He'll find something," Rusty predicted as Larrimore finally turned up his cards. He did: the number one low. "Hard to kill that man," Rohnacher commented on the next hand
after he and Jolly ganged up on him again, only to have Larrimore scoop with just two deuces.
Later, Jolly went out in fifth place when his A-2 didn't make a low and Rusty won with
two pair. With limits at $3,000-$6000, Larrimore, who's won big tournaments at the Hilton
and Gold Coast and numerous medium ones, finally underwent a mercy killing with a near-hopeless 5-3-3-9. He lost to Rusty's three aces and departed with $1,360 and a
headache. Right after that, Matthias, winner of the '97 World Series pot limit Omaha event,
went quietly. Down to his last $400 with 3-3-Q-10, he was nipped by Rusty, who paired
a five on the river.
Heads up, Mario lost the first pot to Rusty, who started with 4-5-6-7 and settled for three
fours. With a chip lead of $43,100 to $35,400, Mario agreed to a deal and they played for
the trophy. Mario won in two hands, first making a flush and a low, and then winning
with an ace kicker when both made kings and tens.
Biography - Mario Esquerra
Mario Esquerra's enviable tournament record includes a best all-around at Commerce's
Heavenly Hold'em two weeks ago and third place in total Legends of Poker Events, even
though he hasn't done much in Legends the past three years. But Mario, a Mexican-born
real estate agent who's a testament to what healthy eating and exercise can do for your
body and stamina, is most proud of his accomplishments as a family man. He has
10 children, all college graduates. The oldest is general manager at the Gold Country
Casino near Sacramento.
In this event, he said he had to play a little more aggressively than usual because all his
opponents were gambling. "I had to adopt myself to the game," he explained. He said
he never had a problem during the tournament and never went all in, as he built up his
chip count to about $50,000 early at the final table.
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