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World Poker Finals / WPT Event Season 5

Event #5 - Omaha Hi/Lo

November 1, 2006 at 10:00 AM
Foxwoods Resort Casino
Tournament Schedule

Buy-In	$530 + $70
Prize Pool	$147,945
Entries	284
Report Available

Joe Simmons

Place	Name	Prize
1	Joe Simmons (Philadelphia, PA, USA)	$51,041
2	Bennett Greenstein (Newton, MA, USA)	$25,891
3	Jason Eichner (South Windsor, CT, USA)	$14,424
4	Stanley Latimer (New York, NY, USA)	$8,877
5	Keith R Laflam (Essex jct, VT, USA)	$6,658
6	Robert Mangino (Plantation, FL, USA)	$5,178
7	Ming Reslock AKA "Joy" (Atlantic City, NJ, USA)	$4,438
8	Michael Luciano Polera (Poughquag, NY, USA)	$3,699
9	Andrew J Kelley (Rehoboth, MA, USA)	$3,329
10	John Hoang (Elk Grove, CA, USA)	$2,958
11	Alan Winton (Yonkers, NJ, USA)	$2,811
12	David Sacks AKA "TRK" (Ventnor, NJ, USA)	$2,663
13	John Francis O'Neil (Smithtown, NY, USA)	$2,515
14	Joseph Cutri AKA "Jo Jo" (Southampton, PA, USA)	$2,368
15	Brent Neville (Vernon, CT, USA)	$2,219
16	Michael Perry AKA "mike" (Oakland, ME, USA)	$2,071
17	Jerome T Belcastro (Leominster, MA, USA)	$1,923
18	Kirk Loberman (San Diego, CA, USA)	$1,776
19	Steve Hohn (Overland Park, KS, USA)	$1,627
20	James T Namiot (Bronx, NY, USA)	$1,479

Tournament Report

A field of 284 Omaha players began the quest for the title and Joe Simmons of Philadelphia, PA, was crowned the Champion for 2006.

The prize pool for the $600 Omaha Hi-Lo (8 or Better) event was $147,945 and Joe took home the Championship trophy, a commemorative leather jacket and First Place prize money of $51,041.
The final table began a little after 4 PM and it did not take long before there was a 10th place finisher. After surviving three all-ins, John Hoang the final table short stack from Fountain Valley, CA, was not able to pull it out against Jason Eichner's two pair. John collected $2,958 for his efforts.
Andrew Kelley of Rehoboth, MA, was the first of three to leave in rapid succession. Andrew also survived several all-ins until losing in three way action with Joy Reslock and Stan Latimer.
Joy and Stan split the pot and Andrew would take home $3,329 for 9th place. Michael Luciano Polera, who was at his second final table of this year's WPF (he won the $600 7-Card Stud), had 10's up but lost to A's up. He would return home to Poughquag, NY, with $3,699 for 8th place.
Joy Reslock, who hails from Atlantic City, NJ, was in 7th after Bennett Greenstein turned over a set of Q's to top her set of J's. Joy left the table with $4,438. Bob 'Buzz Saw' Mangino would finish in 6th position. Buzz Saw had earlier lost a large pot to Keith Laflam and survived several all-ins. Finally he was all-in in three way action with Stan and Bennett.
He had a set of 7's on the flop but Stan caught a flush on the river and the low was chopped. Buzz Saw would return home to Plantation, FL, with $5,178. Keith Laflam of Colchester, VT, went all-in after the flop with a set of 2's but would collect $6,658 for 5th after Jason hit a flush on the turn. Stan Latimer pushed all-in at least half a dozen times before succumbing to the 'smell of the cards.' He had J's up but Joe relegated him to 4th with A's up. Stan, a resident of Pound Ridge, NY, took home $8,877.
With three players remaining, the chip advantage was in Joe's favor. He had slowly but surely built his position with judicious play. Jason Eichner of South Windsor, CT, tried to stave off the inevitable by picking his spots but with the limits at $20,000/$40,000 he was down to the felt.
In the end, his 9's were no match for Joe's Q's. Jason took 3rd place money of $14,424. Heads up play began with Joe having a 6 to 1 chip advantage over Bennett. Bennett was able to claw even but Joe defended his position and with the limits at $30,000/$60,000 wide swings happened each hand.
The final hand was typical: Bennett held 2488 and Joe had 33J7. The flop came J83 giving each a set and Bennett was all-in. The turn was a 10 and the river a 9 giving Joe the straight. As Joe said, 'I needed ‘runner, runner, gut shot' to win and that's what I got!' Bennett would return to Rehoboth, MA, with a 2nd place finish and $25,891. And Joe Simmons was the 2006 WPF Omaha Champion!
Reported by Jeffrey A Toth for Foxwoods Resort Casino