Anthony Reategui Dominates a 450-Player Field to Win Event #1 at the 2006
Las Vegas, Nevada -- April 6, 2006 -- Wednesday marked the beginning of the
2006 Bellagio Five-Star World Poker Classic. Bellagio always attracts the
biggest names in the game, with large fields, high payouts, and renowned
tournament director Jack McClelland leading one of the most efficient crews
in the business. In addition, the events take place inside the gorgeous
Fontana Lounge, overlooking Bellagio's famed water fountains. (The musical
fountains were silent on this day, however, due to high winds.) Finally, many poker players consider Bellagio to be their second home, giving them as
much of a "home field advantage" as can be possible in the game of poker.
There was one wrinkle in all of this -- a major tournament was scheduled to
kick off the next day on the opposite coast. The World Poker Tour added a second Foxwoods event to their calendar this season, and most traveling pros
were expected to play in the championship event starting on Thursday. But
you could be sure of one thing -- whenever a big-name player busts out of
that event, they will be heading to the bright lights of Las Vegas to play at Bellagio.
The Five-Star World Poker Classic consists of 12 events, all of which are
no-limit hold'em. This is clearly the most popular game in recent years, and
Jack McClelland switched Bellagio's tournaments to an all no-limit hold'em
format last year. The buy-ins for the preliminary events range from $1,500
to $5,000, leading up to the $25,000 WPT World Championship on April 18.
Event #1 featured a $1,500 (+$70) buy-in, and attracted 450 players. This is
only slightly fewer players than last year's opening event, which attracted
469 without the added competition of a WPT event at Foxwoods.
Even with most top pros headed to Connecticut, there were plenty of notables
in this opening event: Allen Cunningham, Scotty Nguyen, Tuan Le, Nam Le,
Chip Jett, Rob Hollink, Tony Ma, John Gale, Huckleberry Seed, Jean Robert
Bellande, Men "The Master" Nguyen, Layne Flack, Chad Layne, Nam Le, Minh
"PokerHost" Nguyen, Robert Mizrachi, Eric Mizrachi, Scott Fischman, Humberto
Brenes, Joe Awada, Al Ardebili, Melissa Hayden, Harry Demetriou, Tony
Cousineau, Captain Tom Franklin, Tex Barch, Can Kim Hua, David Sklansky, and
"Minneapolis" Jim Meehan. A few hours later, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi
(currently leader in the 2006 Player of the Year race) made an appearance,
and said that he was too tired to head all the way to Connecticut for the
Foxwoods tournament. The Grinder said he'll be playing most of the events here at Bellagio.
With a total prizepool of $654,750, the top 50 finishers (a little over 11%
of the field) would be paid at least $2,515. First place is worth $214,275,
which is a huge payday for a $1,570 investment. In addition, the winner will
also receive a $25,500 entry into the WPT World Championship on April 18.
The players each started at 12:00 noon with 3,000 in chips, and blinds at
25-50 (with one-hour levels). The structure encouraged a lot of early
action, and one-third of the field was eliminated during the first two
levels. An hour later, the field was already down to half its original size.
Only 145 players reached the second break, when all of the players finally
found themselves seated in the Fontana Lounge. (With 24 tables, the total capacity is 240 players, but many of the tables broken early were used for the very popular satellites ).
They returned from their break to Level 5, with blinds at 200-400, with a 25
ante. It was during this level that we took our first chip count to assess
the notables in the field, and how they compare to the current chip leader Tony Martin.
Tony Martin - 53,000
Dennis Waterman - 29,500
Chad Layne - 25,000
Anthony Reategui - 22,000
Tex Barch - 15,000
Jeff Rine - 11,700
AVERAGE (125 Players) - 10,800
Rob Mizrachi - 8,500
Nam Le - 8,000
Allen Cunningham - 8,000
Chip Jett - 7,000
John Esposito - 7,000
Don Zewin - 6,000
Joanne J.J. Liu - 5,500
Anthony Cousineau - 5,500
Jeff Shulman - 5,000
Mark Cole - 4,500
Rob Hollink - 4,500
Aaron Katz - 3,500
Dan Alspach - 3,500
Kenny Goldstein - 3,500
Halfway through Level 6 (300-600, 50 ante), we reached the 75-player mark
(average chip stack: 18,000), meaning two-thirds of the remaining players would reach the money.
The third break took place before Level 7 (400-800, 75 ante), and there were
just 64 players remaining. Anthony Reategui had a huge chip lead at this
point, with 95,500. Nobody else in the field had even half as much.
In just over 90 minutes, he turned his above-average stack of 22,000 into a
field-dominating of nearly 100,000. That must have been some hour and a half.
At 7:42 pm, the 52nd-place finisher was eliminated, and the field was one
spot away from the money. Play switched to a hand-for-hand basis, and the
bubble hadn't burst by 7:55 pm, when the blinds increased to 600-1,200, with
a 100 ante. There was a five-minute break to color up the green (25) chips,
and then hand-for-hand play resumed.
Finally, at 8:50 pm, the bubble burst. Here were the chip counts for some of the notables left in the field:
Anthony Reategui - 130,000
Robert Mizrachi - 54,000
Frank Mariani - 37,000
Tony Martin - 35,000
Connie Kim - 24,500
Chris Hinchcliffe - 24,000
Tex Barch - 19,000
Allen Cunningham - 16,000
Tony Cousineau - 5,000
At 9:00 pm, the remaining 47 players took a 70-minute dinner break. One of
the perks of playing at Bellagio is the fact that everyone who reaches the
dinner break gets a complimentary seat at the buffet. Some people might
cringe at the word "buffet," but this is Bellagio, and it's closer to a
cafeteria-style gourmet restaurant.
After dinner, play continued late into the night, until the field reached
the final ten players, who would return the next day to play down to the
winner. Here were the official chip counts at the end of Day One:
1. Anthony Reategui - 455,000 (seat 4)
2. Danny Fernando - 201,000 (seat 7)
3. Michael Navarro - 197,000 (seat 10)
4. Lonnie Alexander - 127,500 (seat 1)
5. Andy Miller - 93,000 (seat 3)
6. Dennis Waterman - 82,000 (seat 8)
7. Matt Sterling - 64,500 (seat 6)
8. Gioi Luong - 55,000 (seat 2)
9. Robert Mizrachi - 40,000 (seat 5)
10. Al Ciaglia - 36,000 (seat 9)
Anthony Reategui was still sitting comfortably on top, with more than twice
the chips of his nearest competitor as they went home for the night.
At 3:00 pm on Thursday, the blinds started at 3,000-6,000, with a 1,000
ante. Al Ciaglia, as the short stack with 36,000 in chips, had to make a
move early. Unfortunately, he went up against Lonnie Alexander, and it
didn't work out for him. Al Ciaglia was eliminated in tenth place, earning
$7,550.
Robert Mizrachi was also starting with a dangerously low chip stack (just
40,000), but an early double-up took him out of the danger zone. Gioi Luong
looked to be the next one headed to the rail when he was all in preflop with
pocket fours against Michael Navarro's pocket aces, but the flop of 10-9-4
brought a cheer (and a set) to Luong. The board brought running threes to
give him a full house to crack Navarro's aces, and he doubled up.
Dennis Waterman was all in preflop with Kd-8d against the Ah-10d of Navarro.
The flop of Q-9-6 brought two diamonds, giving Waterman a flush draw. But
the last two cards were black, falling 2c-10c, giving Navarro a pair of
tens. (A-10 treated Navarro better than A-A had just a few minutes earlier.)
Dennis Waterman was eliminated in ninth place, earning $8,810.
In the first 30 minutes, we had already lost two players. But the next 20
minutes would be quiet, with no big action until Mizrachi was all in preflop
with Ad-Qs against Alexander's dominating Ac-Kd. Mizrachi was looking for a
queen, but the flop came 10d-6s-2h. The 2d on the turn paired the board,
giving Mizrachi additional outs to a chop if the board double-paired. Sure
enough, the last card was the 6c, giving both players two pair (sixes and
deuces) with an ace kicker. Mizrachi let out a quick cheer as he reclaimed
his chips.
Ten minutes later (at 4:00 pm), Mizrachi was all in again, this time
dominated with Ah-5c against the Ac-Kd of Navarro. The flop came Jd-6c-6d,
and Mizrachi was openly hoping for another double-paired board to save him.
The turn card was an 8, and the river card was -- a 5! Mizrachi not only
survived, but made a pair of fives to win the pot, doubling his stack to
about 115,000 in chips. Navarro was knocked down to about 185,000.
The next hand, Andy Miller was all in with As-10s, but he dominated Lonnie
Alexander's Ac-4s. (A lot of A-x hands today.) Miller solidified his lead
after a flop of 10c-7c-6s, making a pair of tens. The turn card was the Kh,
and Alexander was drawing dead. (The meaningless river card was the Ah.)
It was time for the blinds to increase to 4,000-8,000, with a 1,000 ante.
Five minutes later, Mizrachi was back in the pot with pocket jacks (Jc-Js)
against Anthony Reategui's As-4c. The board came 9d-4d-2d-10s-5s, and
Mizrachi doubled up to about 250,000 in chips, but Reategui was still on a
comfortable pile of about 400,000.
Five minutes later, there were fireworks. There was a three-way all-in
situation, with Alexander's A-9 offsuit against two players with A-Q offsuit
-- Matt Sterling and Gioi Luong. Alexander had the most chips, so if he
could suck out here, he'd bust two players on one hand. The flop came
9c-7s-4d, and Alexander clapped his hands as he took the lead with a pair of
nines. The last two cards were Js-4h, and Alexander gave the killing blow to
two players at once. Matt Sterling (who had fewer chips at the start of the
hand) was eliminated in 8th place, earning $10,070, and Gioi Luong was
eliminated in 7th place, earning $12,585.
Just 70 minutes into the match, we were already down to the final six
players.
At 4:30 pm, Danny Fernando was all in preflop with Ad-10h against Andy
Miller's Ac-Ks. Fernando was dominated, until the flop came Jc-10c-2s. Now
he was in the driver's seat, and Miller was looking for a queen (for a
straight) or a king (for a higher pair) to bust Fernando. The turn card was
the 3s, and the river card was -- the Kh! Miller pulled the reverse suck-out
to eliminate Danny Fernando in sixth place, earning $17,620.
Here were the approximate chip counts for the final five players at that point:
1. Anthony Reategui - 375,000 (seat 4)
2. Lonnie Alexander - 300,000 (seat 1)
3. Robert Mizrachi - 280,000 (seat 5)
T-4. Andy Miller - 180,000 (seat 3)
T-4. Michael Navarro - 180,000 (seat 10)
By 4:50 pm, Mizrachi had taken a chip advantage over Reategui, and they were
involved in a big hand. With the board showing J-8-6-8 on the turn, Mizrachi
bet 75,000, Reategui moved all in, and Mizrachi called with pocket kings.
But Reategui showed 9-8, giving him the lead with trip eights. Only a king
on the river could give the hand to Mizrachi, but the last card was -- a
queen. Reategui doubled up back into the chip lead, while Mizrachi was
knocked down to about 140,000.
At 5:00 pm, Alexander was all in preflop with 9d-8s, but he was incredibly
dominated by Reategui's pocket nines (9c-9h). The flop came Ah-Qs-6s, and
Alexander needed something runner-runner to survive. The Jd on the turn gave
him a gut-shot straight draw, and he could double up with a ten. But the
last card was the 6d, and Lonnie Alexander was eliminated in fifth place,
earning $25,170.
That was the last hand before the players took a 15-minute break. When they
returned, the blinds would be 6,000-12,000, with a 2,000 ante. Here were the official chip counts:
1. Anthony Reategui - 925,000 (seat 4)
2. Robert Mizrachi - 156,000 (seat 5)
3. Michael Navarro - 145,000 (seat 10)
4. Andy Miller - 124,000 (seat 3)
Shortly after the break, Navarro was all in preflop with pocket fours
(4c-4s), but he was up against the pocket aces (Ad-As) of Anthony "I Have
Almost All The Chips" Reategui. The flop came Ah-10s-6h, further
strengthening Reategui's dominance with a set. The turn card was the 9s, and
Navarro was drawing dead. (However, as they shook hands across the table,
the dealer put out the meaningless river card -- the 4h. If it weren't for
that ace on the flop ...) Michael Navarro was eliminated in fourth place,
earning $34,625.
Reategui now had 1.16 million in chips, compared to about 135,000 for
Mizrachi and about 115,000 for Miller. It appeared to be a battle for second
place.
It wasn't long before Miller was precariously low, and he was all in preflop
with Kh-2d against Mizrachi's pocket fours (4c-4h). Mizrachi was favored to
eliminate Miller and clinch at least a second place finish. But the cards
didn't cooperate. Miller pumped his fist after the flop of Ks-8c-5d, and his
pair of kings held up when the last two cards were Qc-10d. That brought the
two short stacks back to nearly even, with about 130,000 for Mizrachi and
about 125,000 for Miller.
A few minutes later, Miller was all in again, this time with Ks-Jd against
Reategui's Kc-Qh. (This seemed to be a final table of dominating hands, with
few race situations.) Miller was looking for a jack, but the board came
10d-6c-5d-6d-5s. The two players shook hands as Miller prepared to leave,
but the dealer pointed out that it was a chopped pot -- they both had two
pair (sixes and fives) with a king kicker. Miller was still alive.
The next hand, Miller was all in again, but he was a slight favorite with
Ac-2s against Reategui's Kd-9h. But the flop came Ks-Qc-7c, and Miller was
way behind, needing an ace or something runner-runner to survive. The last
two cards were 9s-4d, and Andy Miller was eliminated in third place, earning
$59,780.
Here were the approximate chip counts as they entered heads-up play about 5:40 pm:
Anthony Reategui - 1,275,000
Robert Mizrachi - 75,000
Almost immediately, Mizrachi was all in preflop with Qs-6c against
Reategui's pocket deuces (2c-2d). But the pocket pair held up on a board of
8s-7s-3h-Ad-Js, and Robert Mizrachi was eliminated in second place, earning
$113,265. It was an incredible comeback for the Mizrachi brother, as he
started the final table dangerously low in 9th place.
But the winner of the first event of the 2006 Bellagio Five-Star World Poker
Classic was Anthony Reategui. Reategui took a dominating chip lead before
dinner on day one, and carried that momentum to the finish line. He lost the
chip lead at the final table to Mizrachi at one point, but reclaimed his big
lead by doubling up with trip eights against Mizrachi's pocket kings. He
never looked back after that.
Reategui won $214,275, a $25,500 seat in the WPT World Championship, and a
gold-and-diamond Bellagio bracelet. During this event, he was wearing the
World Series bracelet he won last summer on his right arm; now he has
something for his left. Not a bad resume for a poker player who turns 30
years old later this week. |
