Hon Le Earns Another
No Limit Hold'em Title
Last night 397 players competed for $89,100 in prize money in event #6, a $300 No Limit Hold';em tournament with no rebuys. A 4:15pm start time finally became 1:30am when the 10-handed final table was set. It was Level 13 with blinds of 1500/3000 with a 500 ante.
On hand #1, the short stack was not wasting any time. Steve Hyung pushed all-in from early position for 10,000 and was called by Kyle Gass in the big blind. Steve showed an 9-6 and Kyle showed A-10. The board was A-J-5-5-7 and Kyle made Aces-up. Steve finished quickly in 10th place and earned $1,115.
On hand #11, Sab Manente pushed for his last 12,000 with A-5 and was called by Tom Mostafa who held Kh-3h. The board was Q-7-2-6-3 and Tom was saved by the river trey and Sab Manente was eliminated in 9th place and received $1,780.
On hand #22, Freddy Legaspi pushed in early position for his last 14,500 with Ac-10c. He was called by both Tom Mostafa (A-5) and Reggie Casasola (9-9). The flop was A-9-6 and Reggie took a big lead with his set. The turn and river J-Q didn';t help anyone and Freddy Legaspi, a local tournament specialist, finished in 8th place for $1,780.
Just five hands later, Joe Schulman pushed all-in preflop with his Js-10s and was called in two spots. Hon Le called with A-8 and Kyle Gass, an actor in Wild Hogs which was just released and a member of Tenacious D, held A-Q. The board was Ks-J-3s-Qs-5 and Joe Schulman turned a flush and eliminated Kyle Gass in 7th place for a $2,225 slice of the prize pool.
Hand #37 was costly for Reggie Casasola, a mortgage consultant, who raised preflop for 16,000 and was re-raised all-in by Joe Schulman. Reggie';s made the call and showed a dominated 9-9 to Joe';s 10-10. The board did not help Reggie (K-J-2-Q-8) and he finished in 6th place and earned $3,115.
On the very next hand (#38), Hon Le applied his usual pressure of raising preflop. Keith Helgevold, from Orange, CA, called for his last 15,500 and showed Q-J. Hon Le';s suited connector 6c-7c was just enough on a board of K-7-5-K-3 to eliminated Keith. Keith finished in 5th place and earned $4,010.
A key pot between the two chip leaders occurred on hand #51 during four-handed play. Joe Schulman raised to 10,000 and Hon Le called. The flop was 9s-8h-4c. Joe had middle pair with his K-8 and bet 30,000. Hon Le had top pair (7-9) and pushed all-in. Joe went into the tank and finally called for most of his stack. The turn and river were Q-5 and Hon Le';s top pair held up. Joe Schulman became the new short stack and Hon Le became the new chip leader.
Hand #52 had Hon Le pushing all-in preflop with Jh-10h and getting a call by short stack Tom Mostafa with K-6. The board was A-10-9-Q-2 and Hon';s pair of 10';s took it down. Tom Mostafa finished in 4th place and took home $5,345 of the prize pool.
On hand #59 Joe and Hon tangled again. Joe pushed with K-5 and Hon called with Ad-3d. The board was 7-6-2-10-7 and Hon Le won with his Ace. Joe Schulman finished in 3rd place for $8,020. Hon Le has just won the last 7 hands with his relentless raising (typically all-in) and putting his opponents for one tough decision.
Heads up play had Hon Le with a substantial chip lead. The play lasted for a total of six hands when on hand #65, Eric Baudry, a home remodeler, completed the small blind and Hon Le checked his big blind. The flop was Q-7-4. Eric went all-in and Hon quickly called. Eric showed K-3 hoping Hon missed the flop as well. However, the flop hit Hon hard and he showed Q-4 for two pair. The turn and river (A-9) did not help Eric and he finished in 2nd place and received $16,480. Hon Le, a local pro and frequent final table player, took 1st place and $33,410, a trophy and another title.
-Jay 'Bugsy' Siegel
BIOGRAPHY
Hon Le is best known as 'The Kamikaze Kid' after his World Poker Tour season 1 runner up finish. His continual raising and betting always leaves his opponent with a tough decision. Sometimes Hon has the goods and sometimes he doesn';t but his opponents just don';t know. Hon came to the U.S. from Viet Nam in 1982 and currently resides in Bell Gardens, CA. Bell Gardens is also the home of The Bicycle Casino where Hon has multiple cashes every year. Hon Le was coached by Men 'The Master' Nguyen and has emerged as a feared competitor at any final table.
| 
