The Art of the Deal
Eric V. Abate Deals Way to First Major Tournament Victory
Five finalists agree to financial arrangement and split prize money
Valley Center, CA - Deal making is a fundamental truth in tournament poker. As long as players post the lion's share of prize money, they are (usually) free to discuss financial arrangements and construct deals amongst themselves as was way of deciding a tournament winner and the order of finish.This is precisely what happened at the second event at this year's World Series of Poker Circuit held at Harrah's Rincon, near San Diego.The five final survivors agreed to a deal of unspecified terms and played out the final hands in what turned out to be an inconsequential run of cards and hands in the final stages of the tournament.
The official 'winner' was Eric V. Abate. He is a 44-year-old real estate professional from St. Paul, Minnesota. Mr. Abate has been traveling around the country playing tournament poker in recent months. Poker has taken him to Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Tunica, Los Angeles, and finally San Diego. Perhaps it was his second-place finish last month in a $500 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament that motivated a deal in this event. Mr. Abate came up just short of winning his first major prize at the Grand Tunica Casino in Mississippi. However, that disappointment was cured today as Mr. Abate won a gold ring, presented to each WSOP Circuit winner, as well as a large chunk of the $29,228 top cash prize (Note: The World Series of Poker does not officially endorse nor sanction any deals. All players are responsible for their own payouts and are awarded the official money in the order of finish.
However, for the sake of accuracy in reporting, it must be made clear that a deal was made which affected play in this tournament).
The $500 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament attracted 186 entries. After 177 players were eliminated on the first day, the nine finalists returned to play on day two. All nine were competing for their first WSOP win. Eric Abate arrived with a comfortable chip advantage - something he would never surrender in the tournament's final hours. Seating at the final table and chip counts were as follows:
Seat 1: Juke Jukich 16,600
Seat 2: Ray Blodgett 13,400
Seat 3: Darius Hastings 36,400
Seat 4: Steve Yamamuro 41,500
Seat 5: Joseph Griffith 51,500
Seat 6: Eric Abate 93,300
Seat 7: Cheddar Palm 46,600
Seat 8: Mike Parshall 38,300
Seat 9: Al King 36,200
Play was overly cautious from the start. Nearly an hour passed before the first elimination. That moment came when Al King busted out with a pair of sevens. A few minutes earlier, Mr. King had lost most of his stack to pocket kings. One the hand that sealed his fate, he ran into pocket kings -- which also held up. Allan King, a 62-year-old poker player from San Diego, collected $1,804 for ninth place.
Steve Yamamura hit the rail shortly thereafter when he made two pair, but lost to a straight. Mr. Yamamura was dealt K-1O and was all-in on the turn with a pair of kings. However, Joe Griffith held A-J and completed a Broadway straight when the final board showed Q-9-5-K-10. Steve Yamamura went out as the eighth-place finisher. The Los Angeles-based entrepreneur received $2,706 in prize money.
Seventh place went to Ray Blodgett. The consultant from Riverside, CA moved all-in on a spade flush draw, but missed. Mr. Blodgett's 15,000 in chips went to Eric Abate, who was starting to pull away from the field with what amounted to a 2 to 1 chip lead versus his closest rival. Meanwhile, Ray Blodgett's payout amounted to $3,608.
Play entered the third hour when Mike Parshall found himself low on chips. With his last 8,500 he moved all-in with A-5 suited, and was immediately called by Eric Abate holding pocket queens. The royal ladies held up which paved the way for Mr. Parshall's exit. Michael Parshall, a 36-year-old special education teacher, collected $4,511 for sixth place.
At that point, play stopped. The five remaining players agreed to a financial deal and played out the remainder of the tournament. Fifth place went to Darius Hastings. The personal trainer from Paris, TN collected $5,413 as his official payout. This was his first time to play in a WSOP-related tournament.
Michael 'Juke' Jukich was the fourth-place finisher. He made quite a leap up the money ladder, as he began day two in eight place. Juke had previously won a poker event in Atlantic City. He picked up $7,217 for this effort.
Third place went to Brandon 'Cheddar' Palm. The Lake Elsinore (CA) poker dealer turned the tables this time and shuffled away with $9,021 as his official payout.
The runner up was Joe Griffith, a 55-year-old retiree from Dallas. Interestingly, Mr. Griffith holds the rare distinction of having four children - one born in every decade since the 1960s (ages 37, 30, 27, and 12). This was his fifth final table in tournament poker. Second place officially paid $15,336.
Eric V. Abate was declared the champion. Encouraged by his good showing in recent WSOP Circuit events, Mr. Abate says he plans to play several more tournaments this year. 'This might be the start of something big,' he said.
In his spare time, Mr. Abate enjoys traveling, which is consistent with his many days spent recently on the poker tournament trail. He also collects rare musical recordings. 'Name it, and I probably have it in my collection,' Mr. Abate declared. He stated that he specializes in keeping live recordings of all kinds of music. Yet on this cool winter night, the thrill of winning his first major poker tournament, collecting nearly $30,000 in cash, and putting on a WSOP gold ring - that was music to Eric Abate's ears.
by Nolan Dalla
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