Michael Aberle Knocks Out 3 Players With 3 Small-Pair Sets, Wins Event 11
Finishing Second is Dena Leath, Only Second Woman to Make Final Table Here
Tunica, MS-The cards were pretty good tonight to Michael Aberle, a 62-year-old
tobacco store clerk from Wonder Lake, Illinois. Three times he called all-in
players with small pairs, and each time won by making sets. This was the major
factor as he won event 11 in the Grand Casino Tunica Circuit tour, $500 no-limit
hold'em.
He had an enormous lead at one point but was only a few chips in front when
he was heads-up with Dena Leath, who turned pro a few months ago, and who had
been at the same table with him through much of this tournament. "You're
a better player than I am," he said, offering a generous deal, $27,000
for her, $23,000 for him, and play for the remainder.
"I just got good cards," Aberle modestly said. Perhaps, but this was
only his second Circuit event, and he took third the other time in a $1,500
event at Caesars Indiana. "I got even luckier that time," he insisted.
Aberle, who says he is still learning the game, is married with two children
and has been playing for three years. First place paid an official $38,178.
The final table began with 2,000-4,000 blinds, 500 antes and 10 minutes left
at that level. Aberle led with 203,000 chips.
Here were the starting chip counts:
Seat 1 Charles Poindexter 161,000
Seat 2 Robert Workman 180,500
Seat 3 Dena Leath 92,500
Seat 4 James Naifeh 45,500
Seat 5 Michael Aberle 203,000
Seat 6 Dennis Phillips 60,500
Seat 7 Thomas Hover 62,500
Seat 8 Isaac Borrero 84,000
Seat 9 Jack Sweesy 92,500
Immediately after blinds went to 3,000-6,000, we lost a player. "I'm
in trouble," Dennis Phillips said after he moved in for 45,000 with pocket
8s and saw Aberle's pocket 10s. The board changed nothing and Phillips went
home with $2,386 for ninth as Aberle increased his lead..
Phillips, 52, from Cottage Hills, IL, is a commercial account manager with Ford.
His nickname is "Fordman." He's played 30 years and this is his first
Circuit event.
Play tightened after that. There were numerous all-ins, three in a row at one
point, but nobody was interested in getting involved, and there was nary a flop
in sight. Get out the WD 40!
On the final hand at that level, we finally saw action. Aberle raised with A-10
and Isaac Borrero came over the top, all in for about 50,000. Borrero had a
dominant A-K, until a 10 flopped, leaving him in eighth place, which paid $3,579.
Aberle now owned 323,000 of the 980,000 chips in play.
Borrero, originally from Mexico City, lives in Dalton, Georgia. He is 39, self-employed,
married with two children, enjoys basketball, and has played poker for three
years.
The next hand, blinds went up and Jack Sweesy went down. He pushed in with A-6
and Charlie Poindexter pushed him out with A-Q on a board of 9-9-8-J-A.
Sweesy, 56, is a pro formerly in the oil and gas exploration business. He's
played for 30 years, has a "January Jam" win at the Winstar Casino
and has a fifth at the Wynn Classic this year. He's from Aubrey, Texas, and
cashed for $4,772.
As play continued with blinds of 4,000-8,000 and 1,000 antes, Aberle made his
first set and his third kill. Thomas Hover moved in for 45,000 with pocket 10s.
Aberle called with pocket sixes. The board came 3-3-8-K-6, and now five were
left.
Hover, 59, is a gambler from Las Vegas. He's played for three years and this
is his second Circuit entry.He had three cashes at the WSOP this year, along
with six final tables at various L.A. area casinos. He is married with two children,
and will bring them home $5,966 for his sixth-place finish.
After Charles Poindexter re-raised all in for 188,000 on the next hand, Aberle
flashed his fearsome pocket 6s again, but this time caution prevailed and Poindexter
folded.
Dena Leath, only the second woman to make a final table in 11 events, had picked
up some chips with raises in early action, but had been in few pots after that.
Now she came to life by moving in for 75,000 with Ad-7d, escaping by outdrawing
Aberle's A-9 when runner-runner diamonds gave her a flush.
On the next hand, Aberle made his second set and fourth kill. This time he had
pocket 7s against Robert Workman's A-4, and turned a 7 to move over the half-million
chip mark.
Workman is 62, in home sales, and lives in Greenup, Kentucky. Married with two
children and a golfer, he has played in 12 Circuit events and this is his third
final table. Fifth place earned him $7,159.
Incredibly, Abele then pulled his set trick off again eight hands later. This
time James Naifeh went all in for 55,000 with pocket queens. Aberle had pocket
5s, flopped a set and filled on the river to knock out his fifth player.and
climb to 560,00.
Naifeh, from Memphis, is 40, and a bond trader. He's been playing for three
years, and this is is his second Circuit event. He's now two for two, making
a final table earlier here. For finishing fourth, he received $8,352.
When blinds later increased to 6,000-12,000 with 2,000 antes, Aberle still led
with about 550,000 to 275,000 for Poindexter and 150,000 for Leath. Poindexter
made a big jump upwards later when he moved in on a board of A-K-2-A and Aberle
folded with 0ver 200,000 in the pot. Leath was next to go all in, surviving
again when she flopped a 10 to her Q-10 to beat Aberle's K-Q.
By the time limits went to 8,000-16,000, the highest they have been in this
tournament series, Aberle still was ahead with about 380,000, while Leath had
moved into second place with 335,000, and Poindexter had 265,000. Three hands
into this level, Poindexter pushed in with K-9 for 240,000, and Heath saw him
with pocket 8s. Borrowing a page from Aberle's playbook, she proceeded to flop
a set, knock Poindexter out in third place, and suddenly move into a sizeable
lead with about 600,000 chips.
Poindexter, 54, is a retired air traffic controller from Oakland, TN. He is
married with two children, plays golf, and has been a poker player for five
years. This is his sixth Circuit event and he took home $10,738 for third place.
Heads-up, Aberle began to close the gap. On hand 103, with the board showing
Q-10-4, he bet 100,000 into a pot that had 148,000 chips, and Leath gave it
up. When he had retaken the lead with 497,000 chips to 485,000 for Leath, he
made his offer and play resumed.
He picked up more chips by making two more six-figure bets and had a lead of
about 50,000 chips when the final hand came down. He raised with Q-J, Leath
re-raised with J-10, and Aberle put her all in, winning when the board came
A-9-4-6-5.
Second paid her an official $20,999.
Leath, who is from Wichita, Kansas, and enjoys anything outdoors, was an operations
manager for a landscaping company when she began playing poker three years ago.
Four months ago she decided she was "cheating myself, my job and poker"
by trying to do both, so she did the honorable thing and went for poker. So
far, so good, since she has made five final tables in 15 tournaments, including
a $58,000 win in a $1,000 tournament at the Scotty Nguyen Classic at the Cherokee
Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
-Max Shapiro |
