Mizrachi Twins in 1-2 Finish!
Some sort of world's record was set when two fraternal twins, both pro players, got heads-up in a major tournament. After 56 hands of give-no-quarter play, Michael 'The Grinder' Mizrachi, currently number one in Card Player magazine's Player of the Year standings, outlasted his younger (by two minutes) brother Eric 'E-Wee' Mizrachi to win the 22nd event of Winnin' o' the Green 2006, $1,000 limit hold'em. 'If he beats me, I'll never hear the end of it,' Michael said, at one point even faking his brother out of a pot with a misleading 'pump' movement of his arm. Adding to the fun, Michael's wife Aidiliy was also sitting at the table and kibitzing.
And if that weren't enough, they were three-handed against John Bonetti, who provided nonstop hilarity. When he discovered his opponents were siblings, he demanded his bodyguard. 'Call Paul Vinci,' he said.
Final-table action started nine-handed at 10 p.m. with limits at a low 300-600. 43:50 left. Michael had the chip lead, 20,625. Since only five places would be played, Bonetti suggested paying the bottom four $1,000 each, with $2,000 taken from first place and $1,000 from second and third, and it was agreed.
In early going, Elvin Davoudi got a 10-minute f-word penalty, and Bonetti recounted again how he got thrown out for that offense. 'What did you say?' Thor Hansen asked provokingly. Bonetti responded by giving him the New York arm signal for that word.
On hand 18, pre-flop betting was capped in three-way action and 'Super Mario' Esquerra was all in with pocket 5s. Bonetti had Q-Q, and Esquerra collected $1,000 by agreement, though officially out of the money.
Two hands later, with the board showing A-4-3-7, poker player Duke Lee moved in with A-Q. Bonetti had two pair with A-7 and claimed his second knockout. As play continued, Eric Mizrachi was getting much more than his share of pocket pairs, winning two consecutive hands, first with queens, then kings. The ever-entertaining Bonetti, as usual complaining about his hands, said that if he got two pairs in a night he felt good. 'I if I get three, I get an orgasm.'
At the break, Michael, with about 20,500, enjoyed a slight lead of about 1,000 over his brother, and about 5,000 more than Bonetti. Limits became 400-800. A very unusual hand came up when three players split a pot, all holding A-Q. Then Corey Bierria, a pro player with two seconds in WSOP circuit events, finished seventh on hand 35 when he was all in with pocket 9s. Michael had A-4 and flopped an ace. Two hands later, Hansen busted out. He bet all in with A-J on a board of 10-5-3-5. All Michael had was 8-3, but the small pair was enough.
Limits went to 600-1,200. Eric continued to get pairs repeatedly. When he got queens and then 9s successively, Michael said we should have seen him at the second table, where he set a 'world's record' for pairs. Next out was Davoudi. He flopped an open-end straight draw, missed, and lost to Jack Gevshenian's ace-high. On hand 55 it got down to three when Gevshenian, all in, futilely paired a six on the river, of little use against Michael's pocket aces.
Limits went to 800-1,600. As Bonetti's chips dwindled, he complained about his lack of cards. Someone tried to give him hope by saying that good cards came in bunches. 'The only thing that comes in bunches for me,' Bonetti groused, 'is bananas.' Bonetti then continued his usual diatribe against dealers, nominating one at the table for a 'Congressional Dealing Medal,' and noting that when he got ejected for cussing, 'four dealers' ran up from nearby tables to say they heard him. He finally finished third when he had 10-8 to Mizrachi's A-10 and the board came A-K-9-K-3.
The two brothers, fairly even in chips, now went at it. Eric continued to get great starting hands while Michael got amazing boards, making numerous straights and a couple of full houses. On hand 127, Eric got crippled. He had Q-10, made three queens on a board of Q-6-3-7-Q, only to see Michael turn up Q-J.The war of the brothers ended two hands later when Michael, holding 10c-7c to Eric’s K-8, won when the board came A-7-4-Q-A. -Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
Michael 'The Grinder' Mizrachi, 25, started playing poker as a teenager, following his older Brother Robert. His nickname derives from his solid, consistent play. He's been having an extraordinary 2006. His cash-outs include $1,173,373 for winning the WPT championship event at Borgata; $566,352 for second in the WPT championship at Tunica; and $124,402 for second in $2,500 no-limit hold'em at the LAPC. His numerous cash-outs last year include $1,859,909 for winning the LAPC/WPT championship, $273,040 for a win at Five-Diamond World Poker Classic $2,000 limit hold'em; and $203,700 for winning the $1,500 heads-up championship at the Mirage.
He said he originally hadn't planned on playing this event, but eventually decided to do so in hopes of accumulating more Card Player points. He found playing against his brother an interesting experience, but frustrating in earlier action when Eric was getting such good cards. 'Every time I raised, he would re-raise me. He would beat me all the time.'
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