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LA Poker Classic / WPT Event Season 4

Event #25 - Shootout - No Limit Hold'em

February 12, 2006 at 3:30 PM
Commerce Casino
Tournament Schedule

Buy-In	$500 + $40
Prize Pool	$198,850
Entries	410
Report Available

Chris Bigler

Place	Name	Prize
1	Chris Bigler (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$67,190
2	Manfred Jaschkowitz (Lexington, KY, USA)	$35,790
3	David Rheem AKA "Chino" (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$17,100
4	An "The Boss" Tran (Westminster, CA, USA)	$11,930
5	Matthew Milliken (Madison, WI, USA)	$8,150
6	Martin Bader (UK)	$6,165
7	Chris Bjorin (London, UK)	$4,970
8	Khanh Hua (El Monte, CA, USA)	$3,975
9	Tom Birmingham (Bristol, UK)	$3,190
10	Hung La (Manhattan Beach, CA, USA)	$2,385
11	Garrett Moran (Winnetka, CA, USA)	$2,385
12	Tony Abesamis (West Covina, CA, USA)	$2,385
13	Tim Derosa (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$1,785
14	Joon Tag Cho AKA "JT" (Silver Hill, AR, USA)	$1,785
15	Rick Muniz AKA "Reno" (Corona, CA, USA)	$1,785
16	Talio Khio (Chicago, IL, USA)	$1,390
17	Charles Doumitt (Jackson, TN, USA)	$1,390
18	Greg Wynn (Phoenix, AZ, USA)	$1,390
19	Johan Storakers (Stockholm, Sweden)	$1,200
20	Tom Macex	$1,200
21	Frank O'Dell (Denver, CO, USA)	$1,200
22	Ken Goldstein (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$1,200
23	Gioi Luong (Westminster, CA, USA)	$1,200
24	Robert Schulz (Southaven, MS, USA)	$1,200
25	Bedo Danayan AKA "Peter" (Pasadena, CA, USA)	$1,200
26	Sam Simon (Sherman Oaks, CA, USA)	$1,200
27	Fred Wolf (Chatsworth, CA, USA)	$1,200
28	David Levi (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$990
29	Payman Arjang (Woodland Hills, CA, USA)	$990
30	Nicholas Dileo (Boston, MA, USA)	$990
31	Richard Sparks (Beverly Hills, CA, USA)	$990
32	Anton Ulker (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$990
33	John Hoang (Elk Grove, CA, USA)	$990
34	Chuck Barker (Richardson, TX, USA)	$990
35	Ellas Alawi	$990
36	Jon Peck (Sherman Oaks, CA, USA)	$990
37	Patrick Wachs (Simi Valley, CA, USA)	$800
38	Fred Dak (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$800
39	Mike Laing (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$800
40	Paramjit S Gill (Diamond Bar, CA, USA)	$800
41	Jenny Kang (Portland, OR, USA)	$800

Tournament Report

CHRIS BIGLER IS THE LAST MAN STANDING IN SHOOTOUT EVENT
Chris Bigler, a transplanted Scandinavian who now makes his home in Las Vegas, was declared the winner of event 25 of 2006 LAPC, $500 no-limit hold’em shootout, after a four-way deal ended the proceedings.
At the end, Bigler had 25,100 in chips and collected $37,730. Manfred Jaschkowitz, a Kentucky nightclub owner, had 20,500 and took home $33,000. David “Chino” Rheem, a Miami poker player, had 19,300 and earned $31,770. And An Tran, a pro player from New York, had 17,100 and collected $29,510. As a bonus, Tran got to keep the custom designer sunglasses accompanies the Remington “Bronco Buster” trophy that Bigler took home.
In explaining his strategy, Bigler said he played very, very solid poker to win his first table, and then just played good poker at the final table. “It was a good table, not too crazy,” he observed. He said he had great confidence in himself, but also admitted he got lucky when he almost got knocked out with A-J versus A-Q, but survived with a “big suck-out.”
Bigler is a veteran pro. Among his numerous cash-outs are a win in $2,500 no-limit at the Mirage Poker Showdown, and two seconds in Professional Poker Tour events, along with a fifth in the World Series championship event. Europe was also represented by Chris Bjorin and Thomas Birmingham, both from England. (And this wasn’t even a pot-limit event.)
The final table started with blinds of 300-600 and 13 minutes remaining. Tran had 20,550 chips, making him the starting leader.
It took only eight hands for the first player, Hung La, to be knocked out. In the classic match-up, he raised all in for 6,200 morewith A-K, and Bigler, with Qd,-QH, also moved in. The queens would have done the trick, but four diamonds also fell to give Bigler a flush. Tenth place was worth $2,385.
Birmingham was crippled when he had A-K and lost to pocket aces that made a flush. Soon after, he was all in with Ks-Qs. A queen flopped, but Rheem, with A-Q, had the bigger kicker and Birmingham finished ninth, cashing out for $3,190.
After blinds went to 400-800, recreational player Khan Hua was knocked out by a pro player, Matthew Milliken. Hua had A-9 to A-Q for Milliken, and finished eighth after the board showed A-Q-J-5-4. Eighth place paid $3,975.
Bjorin went out in seventh place. He had pocket 9s and Jaschkowitz, with A-J, flopped an ace. Bjorin, whose cash-outs include pot-limit Omaha wins at the British Open and European Poker Championships, and a third in a limit hold’em event at LAPC in 1994, picked up $4,970 for seventh.
Then Bigler got lucky when he was all in with K-9 against Jaschkowitz’ A-J, and flopped a straight. Building chips, Bigler now knocked out another player. Martin Bader, a San Diego patent attorney, moved in for 1,500 with K-Q and ran into Bigler’s pocket kings. Sixth place was worth $6,150.
Blinds now moved up to 500-1,000 with 200 antes. Immediately after, Milliken checked out in fifth place. He had Q-2 and flopped a queen, not much use against Rheem, who had A-10 and flopped two more aces. Milliken’s payday was $8,150
Four players are the largest number of players allowed to make a deal, since all get 50 points in the all-around points race, and do not become a factor in negotiations. The four finalists now made their deal, and Bigler took the title and trophy. —Max Shapiro