Poker Tournament Results

Harrah’s Atlantic City Poker Tournament - WSOP Circuit Event

Ari Engel

Tournament Report

The Empire State Ari Engel Demolishes the Opposition in Extraordinary Final Table Performance Brooklyn poker pro knocks out 6 of 7 players in two-hour bloodbath Atlantic City, NJ (March 8, 2007) - File the name 'Ari Engel' away as someone to watch in the future. The 23-year-old poker pro from the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, NY absolutely annihilated everyone at the final table and made a near-mockery of the notion that 'anything' can happen in a poker tournament. Not since Jamie Gold's win in the main event at last year's World Series of Poker has a single player dominated the final table of a major tournament with such certainty and made the tribulation seem so effortless. The $300 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament (Event #3) held at Caesars Atlantic City attracted 778 players. Through the first three events of this World Series of Poker Circuit tournament series, nearly a million dollars has been awarded in prize money, to date. Interestingly, with Ari Engel's most recent victory, all three events thus far have been won by poker players from New York State. The last two players have been from Brooklyn. This was the most impressive performance of all as Mr. Engel knocked out 6 of his 7 opponents at the final table, in slightly less than two hours. No one could have foreseen the ending that was to come on the previous day, least of all the winner - who has never played in a live tournament at this level before. After 769 players were eliminated over the first 17 hours, nine survivors returned to play the final table on day two. King 'Ari Engel' Kong started with a formidable chip lead (1,013,000). He possessed about a third of the total chips in play. It was a position he held the entire way, in what some might describe as a one-sided, anti-climatic final table. Peter Horenstein ranked a distant second with 513,000. Seating positions and chip counts began as follows: Seat 1: Tony Erekat 278,000 Seat 2: J.T. Moody 108,000 Seat 3: Peter Horenstein 513,000 Seat 4: Ari Engel 1,013,000 Seat 5: Mike Beasley 349,000 Seat 6: Bruce Wayne Miller 143,000 Seat 7: Francesco Sale 113,000 Seat 8: Clayton Matthews 217,000 Seat 9: Chris Bonham 358,000 Blinds started at 10,000-20,000 with a 2,000 ante. Mike Beasley came in fourth in the chip count. But he was to find out quickly and rudely what a formidable force Ari Engel would be the rest of the way. Mr. Beasley was the first to get the axe, with Mr. Engel's palms planted firmly on the handle. On his final hand of the tournament Mr. Beasley was dealt A-Q, normally a strong hand worthy of a raise. However, Mr. Engel woke up with pocket kings and was delighted to call the raise. Mr. Engel's K-K versus A-Q held up, and one player was guillotined with seven more necks starting to get sweaty. Mr. Engel surged to over 1,400,000 in chips. Meanwhile, Mike Beasley ended up as the ninth place finisher. The Hollywood, FL poker pro made it to five final tables last year, including back-to-back finales at the Harrah's WSOP Circuit event held in Atlantic City. He collected $4,668. Mr. Engel took a break on the next elimination, and let Chris Bonham do his dirty work. About 20 minutes into play, Anthony 'Big Cat' Erekat moved all-in with K-10. Mr. Bonham called holding A-10. An ace on the flop essentially ended things for 'Big Cat,' who fittingly works as a funeral director. 'Big Cat' was de-clawed and buried in eighth place - good for $7,002. Meow. Next, Ari Engel returned to his wicked ways. J.T. (J-Sleeze) Moody was getting desperately low on chips and tried to make a move holding Q-J. With blinds and antes escalating, two picture cards seemed more than enough to make a steal. But sneaky play doesn't work when the opponent holds pocket rockets. Mr. Engel called the raise in a flash with A-A. Any suspense on the hand abruptly ended when the flop came A-5-5, giving Mr. Engel an instant full-house. Whack! Another player was gone. J.T. Moody received $9,336 for seventh place. By now, a pattern was starting to develop. At the start, based on his chip count, Peter Horenstein seemed the most likely to knock Mr. Engel from his high chip castle mountaintop. Instead he slipped and fell, ultimately crashing down to a less-than satisfying sixth-place finish. Mr. Horenstein was getting low on chips and made a raise with K-J. The unstoppable force Engel called with Q-5 suited in hearts (by now, it almost didn't matter what cards Mr. Engel was dealt - he played virtually every hand). On the turn, everyone in the audience was shaking their heads in disbelief, with Mr. Horenstein muttering some discontented commentary. With four boards cards revealed to the players and audience alike, three hearts matched the two in Mr. Engel's hand - good for a flush. Mr. Horenstein was left drawing dead and sixth place. The northern New Jersey poker player picked up $11,670 in prize money. Mr. Engel's next victim was Clayton Matthews. Again, the final hand provided almost no drama for the poor miserable loser forced to sit, stew, and watch the horror. Mr. Matthews was dealt K-J versus Mr. Engel's A-3. Bingo! On the flop, ace-ace-blank. To no one's surprise, Mr. Engel's trip aces held up and Clay Matthews walked the gang plank off the U.S.S. Engel. Clayton Matthews, a college football coach (James Madison University), scored for $14,004 for fifth place. The bully played no favorites. He indiscriminately was out to get everyone. Mr. Engel's next target was the short-stacked Francesco Sale, who on his final hand of the night actually started out with the best hand for a change versus the roaring human freight train named Ari Engel. The fellow Brooklynites faced-off with Mr. Sale's A-9 a small favorite over Mr. Engel's K-J. Then, a king on the flop suddenly erased the advantage. Mr. Engel's pair of kings survived two more cards and yet another player was left talking to himself while shaking his head in utter disgust. 'That was total (expletive deleted),' a frustrated Mr. Sale mumbled afterward, referring to something that is normally expelled from a bovine in a pasture. That seemed to be the prevailing view of everyone in the room, except for those in Mr. Engel's camp. Francesco Sale cashed for $16,338. At that point, Mr. Engel had so many chips (over 2,000,000), he divided the ominous-looking towers into two huge arsenals. Ninety minutes of ceaseless raising and bullying had exhausted Mr. Engel's arms by this point, most certainly strained from pushing stacks of chips forward on almost every hand and raking in double-fisted pots of his opponent's former cargo. He would have even more chips to load and stack. Poor thing. Bruce Wayne Miller had arrived at the final table as one of the lowest stacks. He did manage to leap up several spots on the money ladder. But he finally busted out when his 10-4 lost to Mr. Engel's Q-9 (a nine flopped, to rub some extra salt in Mr. Miller's wound). Mr. Miller had been desperately low in chips, and had to play his final hand with less than stellar cards. He later explained that he preferred to play the substandard 10-4 against one player (the third player had folded pre-flop) rather than play a random hand (which would have come next) versus two opponents. The strategy was mathematically correct. But it did not pay off, except to the tune of $18,672 for third place. When heads-up play began, Ari Engel enjoyed a 6 to 1 chip advantage over Chris Bonham. The quiet North Carolinian had survived until that point by allowing the chip leader to slash and burn everything within his grasp. But now, there was no escaping inevitable confrontation - and ultimate doom. With blinds as 20,000-40,000 and a 4,000 ante, the two finalists battled heads-up for about 20 minutes. Then the inevitable conclusion (some might say) came when Mr. Bonham moved all-in after the flop came 8-7-6. Mr. Engel called. Mr. Bonham turned over A-8 for top pair, which was the best hand. Mr. Engel flipped over A-9, for an outside straight draw with an overcard. From the look on Mr. Engel's face, it was as if he knew it was coming. Wham! Bam. Thank you, ma'am. A nine on the turn reversed things and made Mr. Engel into the favorite, good for the higher pair (nines versus eights). Mr. Bonham still had outs with (two) eights and a straight-draw to split the pot, but like all of those who had fallen before him, Mr. Bonham was forced to confront reality. A harmless and inconsequential blank fell on the river closed the casket on the final casualty of the Ari Engel St. Valentine's Day massacre. As the runner up, Chris Bonham collected $33,026.10 in prize money. The 43-year-old accountant from Gastonia, NC probably played as well as possible under the circumstances. He survived long enough to get to second place and did move all-in with the best hand in a heads-up confrontation. That's all any tournament player can ask for. And so, the champion is Ari Engel. He collected $63,018 in prize money and a gold ring awarded to each and every WSOP Circuit event winner. Mr. Engel could be a poster boy for the new generation of poker players who have burst upon the poker scene in recent years with all the subtlety of an earthquake. These twenty-somethings typically invade casinos and poker tournaments not as youthful novices, but as seasoned and experienced veterans cured by hundreds if not thousands of hours of play on their home computers. 'I play (at home) 18 hours a day,' Mr. Engel said. 'I haven't seen the sun in three years.' Appearance isn't everything. Despite looking pale and exhausted, the future looks very bright indeed, for Ari Engel. by Nolan Dalla - World Series of Poker Media Director Send inquiries to nolandalla@aol.com or call (702) 358-4642