Underdog Wins Ladies Event!
When a four-way deal was made in tonight's $200 no-limit ladies/LIPS event, Denise Goldstein had only 13,000 chips while her opponents had 70,000-80,000. But then, playing for the remaining 10 percent of the prize pool plus a tournament package, she quickly recovered, played strongly and went on to win this 13th event of Winnin' o' the Green. The package, deducted from the prize pool, consisted of a $1,000 buy-in for the WSOP ladies event, and $500 for buy-in and expenses for the LIPS tour championship event at Caesars Palace in May. Goldstein, fairly new to tournament poker, is in management at a garment manufacturing company.
Blinds were 1,000-2,000 with 300 antes when final-table action got underway with 14:35 left. Chip counts ranged from 15,900 for Melissa Nelson to 37,000 for Margaret Santoro. Pro player Jenny Kang was the only familiar face at the table, and the rest appeared to be recreational.
The first player left on hand four. On a flop of K-J-A, Jean Gluck went all in with K-8, in very bad shape and losing to Jenna Craven's K-J. Craven gave some chips back on the next hand when her A-J lost to an all-in Deborah Service's 6-6 after five rags hit the board.
Craven, however, did not lose her faith in that hand. Two deals later she opened for 7,000 with A-J. Laura Adell raised 22,000 more and Craven moved in. Adell turned up pocket queens and had the lead until a bullet hit the river. Adell finished ninth, and Craven now was chip leader with about 80,000. (Interestingly, the first name of last year's ladies event winner also was Jenna, but the coincidence ended there as this Jenna would finish fourth.)
Blinds went t 1,500-3,000 with 500 antes. On hand eight, on a flop of J-10-9, Goldstein put in her last chips with A-J (is that the only hand these women play?) and survived after Craven called with Q-4.
On hand 16, Julie Cunningham moved in for 7,000 with A-4, was crushed by Margaret Santoro's pocket kings, and we were quickly down to seven players. A few hands later, Kang moved in. Craven stared at her cards in indecision for a long time. She'd been getting that hand all night long and it had served her well, she said, but she finally tossed in her pocket treys.
Sholin Dass busted out a couple of hands later. She called for her last 15,000 with A-Q after Goldstein moved in with pocket 8s. 'Come on, ace or queen,' she called out futilely as the board came 10-6-6-8-J. Two hands after that, Kang raised to 15,000 with pocket 10s and called all in when Santoro moved in for 35,000. 'I've got queens,' Santoro announced. They prevailed, and Kang cashed sixth.
Blinds went to 2,000-4,000 with the same antes. On the first hand, Service, a therapist and clinical director at a substance abuse center, took a lot of chips from Goldstein and moved into the lead, in a hand that Goldstein folded on the river. Right after that, Nelson was all in with A-7 against Craven's pocket 6s. She looked to be in good shape when the flop came A-K-2, but then Craven hit a two-outer 6 on the turn to leave Nelson in fifth place.
The chip-count deal was now made with Service leading with 86,500, followed by Craven with 80,000; Santoro, 71,500; and Goldstein, 13k. Seven hands later, Goldstein began her recovery when she moved in for 12,500 with pocket 7s and beat Craven's pocket 5s. Craven departed after blinds went to 3,000-6,000 and 1,000 antes. She was all in from the big blind with J-5 and lost to Service's K-4.
On hand 69, with a board of Ah-5d-4d-10c Service pushed in her last 24,000 with 7-5. Santoro had Kd-10d and broke her with a river diamond flush.
Heads-up, Goldstein enjoyed a better than 2-1 lead, and the match quickly ended. On the final hand, with a 6-5-3-10 board, Santoro bet 30,000 with 5-4, then moved in for 55,000 when a 9 came. Goldstein had K-10 for a bigger pair, and nailed down her win.
- Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
'I can't believe I won after being so low,' an elated Denise Goldstein said as she was handed her trophy. Goldstein is operations manager for a local garment manufacturer. She emphasizes how much she loves poker, and while she has been playing in home games for a long time, she's only played casino poker for about two years. She's played in three open events, once finishing on the bubble, and once winning a $100 no-limit event at the Bike. In side action, she plays $100 or $200 no-limit and $4-$8 limit hold'em.
Tonight, she said she had been doing pretty well until she began to be chopped up at the final table. Her style of play, she explained, is pretty much like a rock until she gets heads-up, when she becomes aggressive. 'I don't like to go in with weak hands, and I don't bluff a lot.'
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