Poker Tournament Results

Harrah's Atlantic City Poker Tournament - WSOP Circuit Event

Bruce Bartfeld

Tournament Report

Spectacular Hands Galore as Pet Store Owner ‘Dragon' Bartfeld Wins Event 2 Now He'd Like to Turn Full-Time Pro; Anyone Like to Buy his Pet Shop Business? Atlantic City, NJ — The second event of the WSOP Circuit tour at Harrah's Atlantic City had all the excitement one could ask for. The final table saw any number of amazing hands, stunning draw-outs and abrupt chip-lead changes. Fueled by more than his share of amazing cards, Bruce 'Dragon' Bartfeld, a Churchville, Maryland pet shop owner and pro player who got his nickname from breeding dragon lizards, pulled out a win in the $300 no-limit contest. Victory brought him $56,781 and a gold trophy ring. Perhaps his most breathtaking hand came when he was lowest-chipped with eight players left. He moved in from the small blind with J-5, ran into pocket aces and survived by flopping two more jacks. Though his business is pets (he owns the largest full-service pet shop in Maryland) and breeding, Bartfeld says he spends most of his time playing poker and would like to dump his store and play full time. He's made numerous final tables and once won a Ferrari in a tournament. Bartfeld, 54 is originally from the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn (where the winner of the first event, Mircea Ionescu, now lives). He's been playing 30 years, three as a pro. He'd been playing stud and draw all his life until his brother-in-law made him learn hold'em. Tonight he said he played patiently, taking advantage of the right situations. He paid tribute to his final opponent, 21-year-old accounting student Edward Sabat, as an aggressive, excellent player with a great future in poker. This second event drew another very strong turnout of 701 players. The final table of 10 assembled at 4 p.m. and a half hour later reached the official nine when Aaron Kidder, holding Q-10, flopped a straight to knock out Walter Hartung. Play began with blinds of 8,000-16,000 and 2,000 antes, 9:24 left at level 15. Sabat, with 748,000 chips, held a big lead. Here were the starting chip counts: Seat 1. Jeff Perzan 201,000 Seat 2. Aaron Kidder 598,000 Seat 3. Derek Dempsey 114,000 Seat 4. Glenn Davis 218,000 Seat 5. Trevor Savage 159,000 Seat 6. Edward Sabat 797,000 Seat 7. Bruce Bartfeld 248,000 Seat 8. Mark Hoke 341,000 Seat 9. Henry Olszewski 125,000 As the level ended, Mark Hoke took a big hit when an all-in Glenn Davis flopped an ace to his A-Q to shoot down Hoke's pocket cowboys. With blinds at 10,000-20,000 and 3,000 antes, we lost our first player on hand 13. Henry Olszewski, who started second-lowest in chips, moved in from the small blind holding 7-6 after after a flop of 7-6-4 gave him two pair. It wasn't enough because Jeff Perzan had flopped a set of 6s, and Olszewski cashed ninth for $4,206. Olszewski is 57, from Poland, and now lives in New York City. He's married with three children and has played poker for 30 years. Right after that, Hoke and Bartfeld locked horns in two truly spectacular back-to-back hands. On the first, Bartfeld moved in for 142,000 with Jh-9h and Hoke called for his last 50,000 with pocket 5s. A flop of Jd-7h-6c gave Bartfeld the lead with a paired jack. Then a 5h turned to give Hoke a set. The river brought a 6h, giving Bartfeld a heart flush...but also filling Hoke! On the next deal, Bartfeld, all in, flopped those trip jacks against Hoke's A-A. 'And this isn't being televised?' Bartfeld quipped. On hand 23, Hoke pushed in with Ah-Jh. Derek Dempsey called with pocket 6s and filled when the board came K-K-6. When a king turned, Hoke was still alive to a jack or ace, but a deuce came and he took home $6,309 for eighth. Hoke, 38, is from Dover, Pennsylvania, has played five years. He is in sales and is engaged. This is his second Circuit, and he's won some small local events. On the next hand, Trevor Savage was crippled when he had A-K against an all-in Dempsey, who held pocket jacks. The flop gave Savage two pair but also gave Dempsey a set. Savage's last 32,000 went in soon after when he held Ad-4d. Sabat called and then called again when Jeff Perzan raised to 100,000 with pocket 6s. On a flop of Jd-8d-4s, Sabat bet 100,000, then folded when Perzan check-raised all in. Savage, meanwhile, missed his flush draw and took home $8,412 for seventh. Savage, 24, is a 24-year-old pro from Deptford, New Jersey, engaged to a devoted lady who watched him play all day yesterday. He's played poker five years, learning from college buddies, and his poker highlight was chopping a Trump Classic event last year for $15,000. On the final hand of the level, Bartfeld doubled through against Sabat with a set of kings. Then, after blinds went to 15,000-30,000 with 3,000 antes, he hit Sabat again, raising all in and getting him to fold after Sabat had bet into a flop of Q-8-7. Bartfeld now moved into the lead with about 840,000. Hand 45 was Dempsey's last. He tried an all-in move for 108,000 from the button with Q-8. Sabat called with A-5 from the small blind, winning when the board came K-J-9-A-8. Dempsey's sixth-place finish was worth $10,515. Dempsey, also 24, is from Pittsburgh. This is his sixth Circuit, and his poker highlight was winning a Venetian Deep Stack event for $30,000 earlier this year. History repeated itself when, seven hands later, Glenn Davis also made a button-move for about the same amount as Dempsey's, with 10-4. Sabat again made a call, with A-4. The ace played, and Davis got $12,618 for fifth. Davis is a 64-year-old agriculture pilot from Creedmoor, North Carolina. He learned poker 30 years ago and this is his fifth Circuit try. He is married with two children and his other hobby is fishing. Next out was Jeffrey 'Shorty Rock' Perzan. Bartfeld opened for 100,000 with Ad-Kh, Perzan, with Ah-Qd, made it 300,000 to go, and Bartfeld moved in. The board came A-K-J-6-2, and Bartfeld, raking in a 480,000 pot, now had about 1.3 million, while Perzan took home $14,721 for fourth. Perzan, 44, is a sales rep from New York City who's been playing two years. He learned from his mother, who also knocked him out when he came in fourth at a Binion's tournament, his poker highlight. (The highlight was finishing fourth, not getting knocked out by mom.) This is his second Circuit, and his other hobby is golf. Suddenly there was a huge turnaround in chips. On a flop of 7-4-2 and two spades, Sabat bet 100,000 on his 7-4 two pair, and Aaron Kidder, with Js-9s, moved in on his flush draw. Sabat called, making a pot of about 1.4 million. An offsuit 8-2 came, and Sabat took a small chip lead while Kidder was left with 7,000. He survived once when he held pocket treys and flopped a full house, but soon went out when he moved in with 7-5 and couldn't catch Sabat's A-10. Third place was worth $16,824. Kidder, 29, is a paramedic from Lexington Park, Maryland, married with two kids. He's played three years. This is his second Circuit, first final table. His prior highlight: hitting a royal flush to win $3,500 in a tournament. Heads-up, Sabat held a small lead, about 1.46 million to Bartfeld's 1.35 million. Play was cautious the next 10 hands, with Sabat increasing his lead a bit with aggressive play. Then, on hand 71, the flop came 7h-6d-4h. With 8c-6c, Bartfeld made a 200,000 stab at the pot. Sabat, holding K-5 for an open-end straight draw, moved in. Bartfeld called, and when a 5 rivered, he was the one to make a straight. Sabat was now down to about 280,000, and he lost it a few hands later when he moved in with Q-10 and got crushed when Bartfeld flopped a set of kings for the second time. Cashing second, Sabat earned $29,757. Sabat, playing his first Circuit, learned poker from his brother three years ago. This final table is his poker highlight. His other hobbies are ping pong and movies, and he wants everyone to know that he loves poker! —Max Shapiro