Poker Tournament Results

Legends of Poker/ WPT Event Season 5

Place	Name	Prize
1	George Gazelian (Tarzana, CA, USA)	$83,235
2	Gebrehiwet Goitom (Dallas, TX, USA)	$41,070
3	Minh Nguyen (Lake Elsinore, CA, USA)	$19,980
4	Scott Wrelonghby (Raidoso, NM, USA)	$13,320
5	Amir Marmar (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$9,990
6	Michael Simhai (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$7,770
7	Jerry Garver (Riverside, CA, USA)	$5,550
8	Barbar Rahimi (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$4,440
9	Lance Allred (Hollywood, CA, USA)	$3,330
10	Raymond Davis AKA "The Amazing" (Commerce, CA, USA)	$2,775
11	Pogos Simityan (Glendale, CA, USA)	$2,775
12	Zack Stewart (Santa Monica, CA, USA)	$2,775
13	William Bertram (Reno, NV, USA)	$2,220
14	Charles Pacheco (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$2,220
15	Kassab Ama (El Cajon, CA, USA)	$2,220
16	John Hounauian (Panorama City, CA, USA)	$1,775
17	David Marrazzo (Silver Hill, AR, USA)	$1,775
18	Graham Duke (Irvine, CA, USA)	$1,775
19	Jason Katsutani (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$1,445
20	David "Dragon" Pham (Cerritos, CA, USA)	$1,445
21	James Placek AKA "Ace" (Cleveland, TN, USA)	$1,445
22	Eric Arreca (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$1,445
23	Men "The Master" Nguyen (Bell Gardens, CA, USA)	$1,445
24	Fahrhad Kohani (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$1,445
25	Rufino Caceres (Chino, CA, USA)	$1,445
26	Ronald Banco (Laguna Beach, CA, USA)	$1,445
27	Gavin Griffin (Fullerton, CA, USA)	$1,445

Tournament Report

Local Pro George Gazelian: No Limit Winner Event #13 of the Legends of Poker was the 7th No Limit Hold´em event in the series. With 295 players of which half opted for their rebuy, the prize pool reached $222,000 with a first prize payout of $83,235. Play started promptly at 4:15 pm (on-time start is a Bicycle Casino tradition) and finally reached the final table of 10 at 3am. On hand #6, pro player Raymond Davis pushes all-in preflop and is called by Minh "Lyman" Nguyen on the button. Raymond showed his QJ, and Minh showed a dominating AQ. The flop was A-4-5. Minh extends his lead but the turn is a Jack and Raymond has more outs. The river Queen gives Raymond two pair (Qs & Js), but he trails Minh´s higher two pair (As & Qs). Raymond finishes in 10th place earning $2,775. The second and final elimination of the final table occurred on hand #19. Lance Allred, poker pro and current short stack, raised all-in with his KJ. He was called by George Gazelian who had the AQ. The flop was A-10-5, and George increased his lead but gave Lance a gutshot Broadway draw. The turn was another 5 and Lance needs one of three Queens 7%) for the win. The river was a King and George wins the pot with two pair (As & 5s). Lance made his two pair but they weren´t good enough this time. Lance Allred is eliminated in 9th place and earned $3,330. A key hand for George Gazelian was hand #25 with an ante of $1,000 and blinds of $3,000/$6,000. Gebrehiwet Goitom raised $20,000 from early position, and was called by the button, George Gazelian. The flop was 4-6-10, and the betting was check-check. The turn was a 5, and Gebrehiwet bet $25,000 and was called. The river 6 paired the board and it went check-check. George showed his QQ and Gebrehiwet mucked without showing. George drags a $100,000+ pot to make him the new chipleader which he would hold onto until a chip count deal is reached. Hand #34 was the final hand of the final table. After completion of the hand the players elected to have a chip count calculation. The numbers were returned and all players agreed to the 8-way deal at 4:45am. George Gazelian was the chip leader as a result of hand #25 and was declared the winner. George received a Legends of Poker gold ring, first place prize money, and 59 points towards the all-around points play-off. -Jay "Bugsy" Siegel BIOGRAPHY George Gazelian is a local professional poker player who can be seen regularly tearing up the $500 No Limit game at The Bicycle Casino. George also plays occasionally on "Live at the Bike" and enters a tournament from time-to-time. George has been playing poker for three years, P.M. (post Moneymaker of 2003). He got his start in poker from his friends, and in 2003 he won an on-line satellite into the 2003 WSOP Main Event. He played the main event and when I inquired how he finished, he said, "Don´t ask, but I will say after that tournament, I was hooked." George played in the "Road to Millions" tournament on Saturday and won a $1,580 seat to the Mariani/Buss No Limit Event to be played on Thursday, August 24, 2006.