Poker Tournament Results

Winnin’ O’ the Green

Place	Name	Prize
1	Henry Minasyan (Glendale, CA, USA)	$25,400
2	Matthew Kursar (Long Beach, CA, USA)	$12,700
3	Michael Christian (Riverside, CA, USA)	$6,350
4	Jerard Rechnitzer (Burbank, CA, USA)	$3,810
5	Paul Lee (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$3,175
6	Sirous Baghchehsaraie (Long Beach, CA, USA)	$2,540
7	Domini Hofmann (La Quinta, CA, USA)	$1,905
8	Franco Brunetti (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$1,280
9	Susan Genard (Santa Monica, CA, USA)	$950
10	Annie Lu (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$950
11	Chris "The Armenian Express" Grigorian (Panorama City, CA, USA)	$950
12	James Weston (Hopatcong, NJ, USA)	$950
13	George Rechnitzer (Beverly Hills, CA, USA)	$635
14	Roy Hime (USA)	$635
15	Charles Khoury (Northridge, CA, USA)	$635
16	Vicki Gillett (USA)	$635

Tournament Report

Henry Minasyan: H.O.R.S.E. Champion! The H.O.R.S.E. event attracted 127 players who ponied up $500+$50. The forty-minute rounds would have the game changed every 20 minutes. The 8-handed final table started about 2:45am, the latest of any final table so far. The game was Hold'em and play was very cautious. The first elimination would not occur until Stud Hi-Lo when Franco Brunetti, a winner from Event #14 $500 No Limit Hold'em tournament, found himself all in with a pair of Jacks including his river card and Henry Minasyan had a pair of Queens on the board to win the pot (no qualified low). Franco Brunetti finished in 8th place and earned $1,280. Play slowed during the balance of Stud Hi-Lo as a player raised after the bring-in and everyone else folded. After hand #36, the game switched to Hold'em. On hand #41, Domini Hofmann, a producer for 5 Aces Productions, raised preflop with Ac-9c against Henry Minasyan's pocket Queens. The flop was Qc-9-7c and Henry flat called with his flopped set. The money was all-in by the turn (5d) and Domini still had spade outs with her flopped nut flush draw. The river was non-spade 10 and Henry dragged the pot. Domini Hofmann finished in 7th place and earned $1,905. On hand #47, the game changed to Omaha Hi-Lo and the players made it through two hands before the 'let's make a deal' discussion occurred. The chip count was calculated and presented to the players. In typical fashion, the negotiation began. Sirous, who always seems to be a quality mediator, assisted in getting all the details worked out. It was 4:35am and each player agreed and this tournament is over. Henry Minasyan, the 2nd chip leader entering this final table behind Matthew Kursar, was the chip leader and declared the winner. Matthew Kursar was runner up in 2nd place and Michael Christian placed 3rd. It did not appear that any player was disappointed with their share of the deal, which is unusual. I think the 12-hour duration of the tournament and the 4:30am early morning time had 6 players with money in hand and quickly headed home. -Jay 'Bugsy' Siegel BIOGRAPHY Henry Minasyan, a swimming pool designer, has been playing tournaments for over 10 years. He prefers the mixed events but is comfortable playing any game. He has a trophy from a previous Legends of Poker E.O. event. He plays cash games: Stud H/L, Mixed games, & No Limit Hold'em. Henry plans on playing the $2,500 No Limit event later this week. Henry learned to play poker by playing strip poker in his youth (really!). 'It was quite a motivation to learn poker.', said Henry. He would like to dedicate this win to 'all the players who try hard to improve their game.' Henry said he has worked very hand and it took years to get it into the top form that he can play today. It's been a long time between final tables but this win is very exciting because it's H.O.R.S.E. and you have to be good at all the games to survive the final table.