John Brandenburg, Who Played With
The Legends of Poker, Wins $500 PLO
John Brandenburg goes a long way back. As a kid, he played with, and learned from, such poker icons as Puggy Pearson, Stu Ungar, Johnny Moss and their ilk, playing at the Dunes and Flamingo in Vegas. In 1992 he moved to Texas to tend to his terminally ill father, cut back on his poker, and now works in a Ford plant in Kentucky. But he still plays often enough, and well enough, to play with the best. Tonight he proved his mettle again by taking first place in the seventh event of the WSOP Circuit tour at Caesars Indiana, $500 pot-limit Omaha. First place paid $20,320, though he chopped it evenly with runner-up Mohammad Yennes when they were close in chip counts. In 2005 he collected $55,560 for placing second in a $1,000 no-limit Circuit event here.
Moss was especially nice to him, he recalls, advising him to concentrate on $30-$60 games, and when he could beat them, then move up.
Brandenburg, 42, now lives in Louisville, is partial to stud games, and plays a tournament now and then. The very first tournament he played, in fact, was five-card stud, at the Bicycle Casino, and he came in third.
The second-day final table got underway at 2 p.m. with blinds of 600-1,200 and 42 minutes left at level 10.
Here were the starting chip counts:
SEAT 1 Kenneth Auker 23,700
SEAT 2 Vinh Ho 52,500
SEAT 3 Larry Kozlove 18,400
SEAT 4 Mitch Michener 4,400
SEAT 5 Michael Sanders 11,200
SEAT 6 Jeffrey Jones 20,800
SEAT 7 John Brandenburg 61,900
SEAT 8 Mohammed Yennes 106,400
SEAT 9 Ben Ponzio 19,800
Starting as chip leader, with 106,400, more that twice his nearest competitor, was Yennes. Mark Mitchener arrived with the fewest chips, 4,400, and was first out. On the seventh hand he was all in from the big blind with J-8-10-K. Ben Ponzio's pocket aces were sufficient for the kill, but a flopped ace gave him a set for good measure.
Mitchener is from Bonner Springs, Kansas, but provided no other information on his bio sheet. In any event, he left $1,693 richer for placing ninth.
Ponzio had the same pocket aces a few hands later when Jeffrey 'Slick' Jones was all in with A-J-8-5, but this time a board of 10-8-5-8-10 let Jones escape with a full boat.
Next out was Michael 'Nutcracker' Sanders. On the 21st deal he had A-10-6-3 and put in his last chips on a flop of 9-8-6. He had two callers. The pot was checked down, and Yennes, with Q-Q-5-4 took the pot with his pair and left Sanders in eighth place, which paid $2,258.
Sanders, 22, is from Russelville, Arizona. He's single and enjoys pool and reading. His poker highlight was winning a tournament in Norman, Oklahoma, never being at risk of going out. He also praised his father who raised him alone with no money since he was nine and got him into gambling/cards. 'I'm going to make his post-retirement wonderful,' he said
On the 33rd hand, Kenneth Auker was all in from the button on a flop of 7-7-6. He held K-K-J-4, up against John Brandenberg, who also had pocket kings, but also an ace. An ace turned and Auker was drawing dead, finishing seventh and collecting $2,822.
Auker, 54, nicknamed 'Santa,' is from Rock Island, Illinois, where he owns a bar and restaurant. He's married with fve children, is a college grad, and enjoys golf. A poker player for 40 years who learned from his father, his highlight was once having Johnny Chan all in with the best hand, only to lose on the river. He also put in a plug for his restaurant: 'Best pizza in the country!' This is his second year playing Circuit events, and his seventh-place finish was worth $2,822.
Five hands later, Jones, playing his first pot-limit Omaha tournament, went out on a tough beat. Holding A-4-3-2, he was all in when a board of J-9-2-3 gave him two pair, as well as a flush draw. Brandenburg had K-K-8-3, and when a 9 hit the river, that gave him the better hand of kings and 9s.
Jones is a 34-year-old pro from Rolla, Missouri, and was a business owner before turning to poker. His poker highlight was cashing in four out of eight tournaments here last fall. Jones, who is married with three children, also enjoys racing. Sixth place tonight paid him $3,387.
After 45 hands, the players took a long break while a nearby table was set up for the final table from yesterday's $500 no-limit event. They returned to blinds of 1,500-3,000. Soon after, Vinh Ho, who earlier had lost a big pot to Larry Kozlove, now got his revenge on a big draw-out. Holding A-A-10-8, Kozlove flopped a set when the flop came A-K-6. Ho, all in with J-10-9-8, then let out a big 'Hee-yaw' when a queen turned to give him a Broadway straight, leaving Kozlove with only about 3,500.
Despite that hand, Ho would eventually be next out. Holding pocket kings and drawing to a flush, Brandenburg bet, and Ho, with pocket jacks and a smaller flush draw, raised all in. The cowboys prevailed, and Ho was out in fifth place.
'You should have given the money to me,' Kozlove said peevishly.
Ho, 34, originally from Vietnam, now lives in Cincinnati where he is self-employed. He learned poker from friends, has been playing poker for two years, learning the game from a friend. Fifth place paid $3,951.
To this point, Yennes had been playing very tight, holding onto his chips and his lead. Earlier, Kozlove had bet a hand and tried to coax Yennes into calling, saying 'You have plenty of chips.' Yennes declined the invitation, prompting Brandenburg to crack, 'He's just getting bored.'
Ben Ponzio finished fourth. Holding K-J-10-8, he had a straight draw when the board showed 10-4-4-Q. Brandenburg, with pocket aces, bet the pot and Ponzio re-potted all in, missed his draw and was eliminated.
Ponzio, who lives in Elwood Park, Illinois, is 31, married with one child, and works in radio sales. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois and learned poker from his father 20 years ago. This is his third year looking for a Circuit win. Fourth place was worth $4,516.
Kozlove finished third when he held 7-5-3-2 and a flop of 10-6-5 gave him both a straight and a flush draw. He moved in, and found himself up against a set of 10s held by Yennes, with 10-10-7-7. Kozlove missed and picked up $6,209 for third.
Kozlove, 61, whose nickname is 'Wizard,' is a banker living in Louisville. He's been playing poker 'too many years to remember,' but pegs it at 50 years. He has a dozen cash-outs in major events, the largest being $46,095 for winning a $500 pot-limit Omaha event at a Circuit tournament here two years ago. He was educated at the University of Louisville and his other hobby is contract bridge. He cashed in for $6,209 tonight for finishing third.
Heads-up, Brandenburg enjoyed a chip advantage of about 175,000 to 144,000 for Yennes. As play continued, however, Yennes pulled about even and the two agreed to chop the remaining prize money and play for the ring.
Brandenburg later had Yennes on the ropes when he made a straight to beat Yennes' pocket aces. But Yennes recovered, and when blinds went to 2,000-4,000, the count was about 216,000 for Brandenburg and 100,000 for Yennes.
On the final hand, Yennes raised all in on the river with two pair, losing to Brandenburg's higher two pair.
Yennes, 63, is originally from Jordan and now lives in New Albany, Indiana, where he owns a floor covering business. He's been playing poker for many years, likes to play a variety of poker games, and has another final table at Tunica. —Max Shapiro
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