Eitan Nisali Captures No Limit Title
A turnout of 342 players for the $300 + $40 No Limit Hold’em tournament and an additional 404 rebuys catapulted the prize pool to $223,800 with almost $84,000 going to the champion at the end of the night. The final table was set at 2:20 am after a wicked AA vs. KK cooler hand was resolved with the Aces holding up and sending our 11th place finisher to collect $2,795.
The final table didn’t take much time before sending its first player to the rail. On hand #1, short stack George Yutuc, an investment banker from Manhattan Beach, CA, pushed in with his Kc-6c and was re-raised by the big blind Steve Lanier who got the small blind to fold. Steve showed an A-J and the board read 3-7-Q-8-4. Neither hand improved and Steve wins with an Ace-high. George Yutuc finished in 10th place and earned $2,795.
The next elimination occurred on hand #8. Henry Minasyan raised to 12,000 and Parth “Spiderman” Data re-raised to 23,000. Henry made the call and showed A-9. Spiderman had dominating As-Qs. The flop was J-5s-Ks. The turn 6 and river 4 of spades gave Spiderman the flush and sent Henry Minasyan home in 9th place and $3,355 richer.
Four hands later, Trish “Corp Mom” LeBlanc raised all-in and got two callers. Trish had Ac-Jc, Eitan Nisali showed an A-K and Spiderman has the best hand with 7-7. The board was Td-5s-4d-9c-As. The Ace on the river gave Eitan the best hand with his King kicker. Trish LeBlanc was eliminated in 8th place and collected $4,475.
On hand #22, Moises “Diablo” Lopez, a plumber and frequent final table player, raised all-in and got called by a short stack Martin Oganov. Diablo showed A-6 and Martin had K-8. The board helped no one with a J-7-4-10-2. Diablo’s Ace high wins and Martin Oganov called it a night in 7th place and cashed in for $5,595.
The next elimination occurred during hand #33 when Sang Chun tangled with the chip leader Eitan Nisali. Chun called Nisali’s all-in and found himself dominated. Chun had A-10 and Nisali had suited Big Slick (Ac-Kc). The flop was Tc-4c-2c and Nisali has Chun drawing very lean. The turn deuce was the first runner that Chun needed but the river Queen eliminated Sang Chun in 6th place for $7,835.
Fausto Apodaca may have had a read on Spiderman in this following hand or just wanted to give him a bad beat. Spiderman raised all-in from the small blind for an additional 34,000 to the big blind of 8,000. Fausto thought about it for a minute and made the call with 10-6 offsuit. Spiderman showed A-6 and the board was no help to either player and Spiderman’s Ace high more than doubled him up. On the very next hand #49, Fausto raised all-in blind against Diablo’s big blind (1,500 additional). Diablo made the call blind and they each showed their respective hands. Fausto had 3h-4h and Diablo had 7s-8s. The board favored the spades with a A-K-9s-As-4s. Diablo made the flush and Fausto Apodaca finished in 5th place and took $10,070 in prize money.
The last bust out of the event occurred on hand #58. Spiderman made another raise all-in from the button. Despite his small stack, his frequent all-in raises were enough to take down several pots. On this hand he got called by the chip leader and had to show his A-2. Eitan Nisali showed his pocket Jacks. The board provided some good news for Nisali when he flopped a set. The board was K-J-10-9-2. Eitan built his stack even higher and Spiderman, in his second consecutive final table, finishes in 4th place earning $13,430. The final 3 players agreed to a chip count deal and Eitan Nisali was the chip leader and was declared the winner.
-Jay “Bugsy” Siegel
BIOGRAPHY
Eitan Nisali has only been playing No Limit Hold’em for several months. He has played and cashed in several tournaments in Los Angeles and Las Vegas over the last few months. Eitan is returning to home to Israel soon and is eager to show his trophy off to his friends and family. Eitan was supported by several of his friends including Shay Malka, a strong tournament player and no stranger to final table play. Congrats to Eitan on his aggressive play and table presence. Perhaps another final table is on his agenda before he flies back home.
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