| Two boys from Brooklyn, Adam Roberts and Sal Dimiceli, battled heads-up for nearly two hours in the fourth event of World Series of Poker 2001, seven card stud. Dimiceli had his opponent all in three times, but in the end Roberts' greater experience prevailed and he took home $146,430.
The 37-year-old Roberts, now living in Las Vegas, is a semi-pro "and a lot of other things," including a musician and teacher. A stud specialist, he essentially chopped, but officially came in second, in two prior WSOP stud events, against Roger Moore in 1994 and Maria Stern in 1997.
He gained experience playing the game in Brooklyn, where he says a lot of top stud players first learned their trade. By contrast, this was the first World Series event for Dimiceli, a retired postal worker now living in Arizona. His happiness at winning $75,190 was slightly tempered by his annoyance at missing his flight back to Phoenix and the need to hire a private driver in order to make an important meeting.
This tournament had more than its share of exciting twists and turns. For a long time the center of attention focused on well-known pro Sam Grizzle. Badly short-chipped with only $19,000, he overslept, missed 15 hands and arrived to find the $400 antes and $1,000 bring-ins had cut his stack to $10,000. He promptly doubled-up on the first hand and a while later went on an unstoppable rush, piling up so many chips that he seemed an odds-on winner before falling back and eventually finishing third.
Limits at the final table started at $3,000-$6,000. In early action, full-time player Bobby Schwing, a 1980 WSOP stud winner, went all in a couple of times but escaped. So did noted pro Kevin Song, who stayed alive when his three aces beat Roberts' trip nines.
Late-comer Grizzle then made trip tens to reclaim his missing chips. On the next hand, poker player Wing Wong went all on sixth street with tens and nines and was eliminated by Song's three jacks. Three hands later Schwing put in his last $2,000 with A-high, missed everything and lost to Song's kings.
A few hands later, Grizzle started his drive. Twice in a row he bet with a pair showing and twice got Bill Tracy to fold. He now had $45,000. Right after that, limits went to $4,000-$8,000, and Tracy, a CPA, immediately departed when his kings-up succumbed to Bill Gibbs' aces-up. A few hands later, Gibbs had pocket aces against Grizzle's split sevens, then went broke when Grizzle caught a second jack on the river.
Now on a rush, Grizzle took down a $60,000 pot when he made an open pair of aces on sixth street, causing Roberts to fold, then got Song to fold when he caught a second ace on fifth street. He now had the chip lead, won a couple more uncalled bets and then surged into a huge lead when he made aces-up against Song in an $80,000 pot. He finally lost a hand against Song, then hauled in another big pot of nearly $100,000. Roberts, with three queens, confidently bet into Grizzle's board of 5-A-7-A, and was jolted when Sam turned up 2-3-4 for a wheel. "I thought I was playing razz," he cracked.
Song then slowed Sam's runaway locomotive when he made a gutsy call on sixth street against Grizzle's four-heart board and won with pocket kings. But Kevin had been suffering mostly frustrating beats. He finally put in his last $6,700 with split eights against Dimiceli's pocket kings. Sal made two pair and Kevin, dead to a third eight or an ace, failed to catch either.
Three-handed, it was now a horse race. Grizzle, with close to half the chips on the table earlier, had been cut down to about $153,000 while Dimiceli had around $140,000 and Roberts, $115,000. Later, with $900 antes, a $2,000 bring-in and limits at $6,000 and $12,000, Grizzle lost a $75,000 pot that left him talking to himself after his three queens lost to fours-full made by Dimiceli. Sal now took over the lead with about $200,000. Grizzle then took two pots to retake the chip lead, losing it again when Sal paired an open three, forcing Sam to fold.
After that, it was mostly downhill for Grizzle, who finally went all in but survived briefly with an eight-high straight. Three hours into the final table, after limits went to $10,000 and $20,000, Grizzle was down to about $50,000 while Dimiceli had soared to nearly $300,000. At last, Sam put in his last $18,000 and made nines and fives, only to be blown away by Roberts' rolled-up queens.
The battle of the boys from the borough of Brooklyn was now joined, with Dimiceli leading, about $250,000 to $150,000. After a couple of laydowns by Dimiceli and a couple of wins by Roberts, first with a full house, then a pair of nines, there was a reversal of fortune as Roberts surged into a big lead. He had his opponent on the ropes and all in, but Sal escaped with a straight on the end. The see-saw continued. Sal made three fives and re-took the lead. Adam went all in and he too escaped with a straight.
After more back-and-forth battling, Adam finally took the lead and held it.
On the final hand, Dimiceli went all in on fifth street for $39,000 and ended up with kings. Roberts missed his spade flush draw, but settled for a winning two pair, sevens and deuces, to end the struggle and allow Sal to leave for Phoenix.
Max Shapiro
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