21-Year-Old Student Ryan Lenaghan is Chip Leader
At Final Table of WSOP Tunica Grand Championship
Ryan Lenaghan, a student at Louisiana State Univerisity, holds the chip lead going into the final day of the $5,000 championship event at the WSOP circuit tour at Grand Casino Tunica.
This event reached the final table when the field was narrowed to nine players at 12:30 a.m. With 10 players left, Steve Murphy was all in with pocket 9s against Glyn Banks' pocket 9s. After Banks flopped a set, Murphy was down to three chips. 'You guys don't stand a chance,' he warned his opponents.
Ignoring his warning, several players called when he put in his last chips on the next hand. The pot was checked down. Murphy, with Q-5, paired his 5, but his queen kicker was edged by an A-5, and the table was set.
Because of the late hour, final-table action was changed to 1:45 p.m. on October 4 instead of noon.
All the players at the final table got into the main event via satellite.
The Final Table
Seat 1: Jae Chang
Austin, TX
Chip Count: 262,000
Jae Chang, 39, is a restaurant owner from Seoul, Korea, now living in Austin, Texas. “I have the best Japanese restaurant in Austin,” he declares. “So come by. Drinks are on me.” Chang, who is married with two children, has been playing poker for 10 years and playing in the WSOP circuit events for two. His hobby is golf, and he attended grad school.
Seat 2
Harold Mahaffey
Anderson, SC
Chip Count: 132,000
Harold “Big Daddy” Mahaffey, 42, is from Anderson, South Carolina, is self-employed and has been playing poker for two years. He polished his skills at the World Poker Tour Boot Camp. He is married (“I have the best wife,” he wants the world to know) with two children. Making the championship final table is his biggest poker accomplishment to date.
Seat 3
Hoyt Lance
Ringgold, GA
Chip Count: 169,000
Hoyt Lance is 46 and from Ringgold, Georgia. He is a real estate developer who is married with five children. His hobbies are coaching and fishing. The self-described family man has been playing poker 12 years, learning by playing with friends. This is his first WSOP event. He has no major poker highlights prior to tonight’s accomplishment.
Seat 4
Mark Smith
Georgetown, KY
Chip Count: 130,000
Mark “Pegasus” Smith is a 54-year-old horse breeder from Georgetown, Kentucky. He is now single, has three children, and his hobbies are breeding and racing thoroughbreds. He’s been playing in home games for two years, and this is his second final table in this tournament series.
Seat 5
Manelic Minaya
Tampa, FL
Chip Count: 305,000
Manelic “Manny” Minaya is 54 and works in billing and collections. Originally from the Dominican Republic, he how lives in Tampa, Florida. He’s playing poker for 40 years. He’s played in the circuit for two years with no wins, but last year he made five final tables overall and finished 61st in the World Series main event, winning $145,875. He also has a third in $500 no-limit at this year’s Circuit tour at. Harrah’s New Orleans. He is married with five children and learned to play poker back in his home country.
Seat 6
Jody Stanfill
Paragould, AR
Chip Count: 317,000
Jody “Slick” Stanfill will start the final day in second chip position. The 26-year-old is from Paragould, Arizona and owns a used car dealership. He taught himself poker four years ago, and also played chess as a child. He won a few rebuy tournaments at the Horseshoe here and made a final table in a second chance event. Stanfill, who has one child, would like to change professions and become a professional poker player.
Seat 7
Ronald Huerkamp
Germantown, OH
Chip Count: 56,000
Ronald “Huerko” Huerkamp is 64, from Germantown, Ohio, and is self-employed as a locksmith. He’s been playing poker for 55 years, learning the game as a child. Huerkamp has eight children. His hobby, besides poker, is fishing. He has no other major poker accomplishments to date.
Seat 8
Glyn Banks
Smithville, TN
222,000
Glyn “Rachet” Banks is a pro player from Smithville, Tennessee who previously was an oil well/construction worker and had also been a plant manager at a meat processing company. Banks, 46 is married with no children, and his hobbies are golf and fishing. He’s been playing in home games for 30 years and on the Internet the last two. Earlier here he won $40,066 for finishing second in a $500 event. Last year he also won $56,831 for finishing 10th at a Commerce/WPT championship event, and $46,245 for finishing 169th in the WSOP main event.
Seat 9
Ryan Lenaghan
Baton Rouge, LA
Chip Count: 373,000
The chip leader at this final table will be Ryan Lenaghan, a 21-year-old student at Louisiana State University. Lenaghan, who is from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, learned poker three years ago playing with friends. His hobbies are sports and movies. This tournament is the highlight of his poker career.
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