John Quinlan Surprises Himself by
Winning Caesars Indiana Event # 6
John Quinlan is a 24-year-old, small-limit player who generally plays in neighborhood games. He came here with a couple of buddies, decided to take a shot at his first major tournament, and surprised himself by coming in first in the sixth event of the WSOP Circuit tour at Caesars Indiana, $500 no-limit hold'em. The win was worth $64,367.
The key hands for him came when he was dealt pocket aces in rapid succession which let him knock out two players at the final table.
Quinlan is from Oak Lawn, IL, is single and works in mortgage sales. He also played a couple of small tournaments at the Iowa Riverboat Casino, winning one of those. He said he has no particular style of play except to put all his chips in when he thinks he has the best hand. He also said he was lucky tonight in getting cards when he needed them. And he had high praise for how well he felt this tournament was run.
Second-day action resumed at 4 p.m. today, two hours after yesterday's pot-limit Omaha players returned for their final table. Blinds were 4,000-8,000 with 1,000 antes, 50 minutes remaining at level 14. Chip leader, with 191,000, was Don Bostick. Only eight players returned for the final table because two were knocked out in the same last hand the night before.
Here were the starting chip counts:
SEAT 1 Ed Bashuk 136,000
SEAT 2 Freddie Russell 66,000
SEAT 3 John Quinlan 145,000
SEAT 4 Thomas Smith 76,000
SEAT 5 Larry Bueter 121,000
SEAT 6 Daniel Quade 98,000
SEAT 7 Don Bostick 105,500
SEAT 8 Michael Walker 33,000
Play started with a lot of all-ins but no calls until hand 23. On the next deal, Bostick raised 25,000 with pocket kings and Freddie 'Rico' Russell came over the top all in with pocket 8s. A bunch of meaningless baby cards hit the board, and Russell departed in eighth place, which paid $6,437.
Russell, 51, is from Corbin, Kentucky, and is self-employed. He learned to play a year ago in tournaments at Club Cody. He enjoys basketball, and his poker highlight was winning a $340 event in February. For eighth he took home $6,437.
With blinds at 6,000-12,000 and 2,000 antes, we lost our second player on the 37th deal when Daniel Quade busted out.
Quade has been having an excellent run here so far, finishing third in the first $500 event, and winning a second chance tournament. 'I'm livin' it right now,' he wrote on his bio sheet. Tonight he settled for seventh when he moved in with As-8s and lost when Michael Walker filled with his pocket jacks after the board came Q-J-7-Q-K..
Quade is a professional from St. Paul, Minnesota, who's been playing poker three years. He quit his job as an assistant golf pro a year ago to play full time. His nickname is 'Quads 420,' and this is his first stab at Circuit events. He was paid $8,582 for seventh.
A few hands later, Ed Bashuk was close to the cloth after his A-K couldn't catch Bostick's pocket 9s. But he steadily kept building up his stacks by moving in repeatedly without being called until Bostick warned him, 'The next time I don't care what it is, I'll call.' Bostick was never able to carry out his threat, because he was next out. He moved in for 70,000 on hand 55 with pocket 10s and was crushed by Quinlan, who held pocket aces.
Bostick is an engineer from Plain City, OH, who started playing poker 25 years ago, two years in Circuit events. He has one child and enjoys golf and hockey. Sixth place was worth $10,728.
Two hands later, Quinlan was dealt his second pair of bullets, gunning down Bashuk, who moved in for the last time, this time with pocket 9s. A board of J-8-6-2-5 didn't do him any good, and he took home $12,873 for fifth.
Bashuk is 35, from Atlanta, and he bought into the event, and that was the extent of the information he provided on his bio sheet.
An eyeball count showed that Quinlan, thanks to the aces, had moved into the chip lead with around 425,000, followed by Walker with 360,000, while Larry Bueter and Thomas Smith each trailed badly with about 90,000 and 50,000 chips respectively.
Play resumed with blinds of 8,000-16,000 and 2,000 antes.
On hand 70, Bueter began his recovery. Down to 37,000, he tripled up against Quinlan and Walker when he made a desperation all-in move with Q-4 and made two pair.
Smith had no such luck. He moved in with A-5 for his last chips, and Quinlan chased him down with 10h-6h. The flop came Js-4h-2d, and then runner-runner hearts gave Quinlan a winning flush.
Smith, who pocketed $15,019 for fourth, is a consultant from Barbarville, Kentucky. He's 48, married with two children, has been playing poker six years, two years in Circuit events, and his only hobby is work.
On the very next hand, we got down to two. The flop came Js-10h-5h. Looking for a flush, Walker moved in with Kh-3h. Bueter, with Jh-4h, called. Bueter didn't make his flush draw, which would have lost, but his paired jack held up after an offsuit deuce and 10 came.
Walker collected $17,164 for third. He is 48, from Cicero, Indiana, works as an appraiser, has been playing poker for two years, and is married with two children. The high point of his poker life was getting to play with 'Men the Master' today.
Heads-up, Bueter had largely closed the gap and had 420,000 to 464,000 for Quinlan. The two went off for a long time to discuss a deal, but did not disclose if any agreement was reached.
The final match-up lasted eight hands. Quinlan began chipping away at his opponent with several big bets and all-ins that went unanswered.
On the final hand, the board showed Q-10-J-4. Both players held a 9 for open-ended straight draws, but Quinlan also held a queen. He bet 30,000, Bueter raised 60, Quinlan moved in, and Bueter couldn't catch him.
Second place paid $34,543 for Bueter, 68, who lives in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and is in real estate. He's married with four children and has been playing poker, his main hobby. This final table is the highlight of his game thus far. —Max Shapiro
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