Francis Vizza, a Former Commodities Trader Turned Semi-Pro, has Easy Win
He Won His Buy-in by Playing Blackjack, Then has Chip Lead All Through the Final Table
Francis 'Azziv' Vizza, a 41-year-old semi-pro from Cold Springs Harbor, New York, normally only plays tournaments of $5,000 or higher. But when he came in early for the main event, he won enough playing blackjack to be free-rolling in tonight's tournament. He came to the final table as chip leader, kept building his stacks with aggressive play, and had an easy wire-to-wire victory .in event seven of the WSOP Circuit tour at Harrah's Atlantic City, $1,000 no-limit hold'em. Victory was worth an official $82,580.
This was the 10th Circuit for Vizza, a retired commodities trader who's been playing poker five years, learning the game from his family. His cashes include an eighth in the United States Poker Championship, a third in the Borgata Open, and a fourth in a Caesars Atlantic City Circuit. He is married with five children and enjoys sports.
Vizza said his big hand came with about 30 players left when he started with Kh-Qh and made a flush. He said he plays pretty aggressively but can change gears, and tonight picked up a lot of good hands and, with so many chips, could also bluff with lesser holdings.
The final table started after Alfonso Pistone finished 10th. He raised all in for 58,000 with A-Q and was run over by Jason Quntana's pocket kings. The final nine started play with blinds of 3,000-6,000 and 500 antes, 15 minutes remaining at level 12. Vizza led with 375,000 chips.
Here were the starting chip counts:
1. Robert Jackson 195,000
2. Than Trien 85,000
3. Marlis Sawicki 130,000
4. Jason Quintana 180,000
5. Mark Roland 161,000
6. Joseph Brattole II 315,000
7. Francis Vizza 375,000
8. Doug Carli 77,500
9. Yarov Radutman 26,000
Marlis Sawicki, meanwhile, was the first woman to reach a final table during this Circuit event.
First out, on the second hand, was Yakov Radutman. Starting with only 26,000, he put in his last chips with A-7 in late position. Roland called with Q-Q, winning when the board came J-10-9-10-9. Ninth paid $5,160.
Radutman, originally from the USSR, now lives in Cliffside Park, New Jersey. He is 46, an office manager, married with two children, and has played two years.
Blinds soon went to 4,000-8,000 with 1,000 antes. A second player went on on hand 26. After Quintana made a small raise under the gun with pocket aces, Robert 'Action Jackson' Jackson pushed in for 34,000 with K-J. He flopped a king, but that was it as he finished eighth, worth $7,740.
Jackson, 46, is an antique dealer from Cheltenham, Pennsylvania. He's married with three children, has been playing 'since birth,' learning by practice, and this is his second Circuit. His poker highlight was beating someone who gave him a hard time.
The level ended on the 46th hand. Apart from the two knockouts, and all-in survivals by Thang Phong 'Phongkytown' Trieu and Doug "Rico" Carli, not much had happened. Play now resumed with blinds of 6,000-12,000, with 2,000 antes, Vizza still leading.
On hand 52, Trieu went out on a freaky bad beat. After Roland opened for 30,000 with Ac-5s, Trieu moved in for about 80,000 with Ah-Kd. The board came Q-8-4-7-A, all spades, and Roland's 5s played as Trieu cashed seventh for $10,320.
Trieu, 30, is originally from Vietnam and now lives in Montreal, Quebec. He's self-employed in high-tech work, and has been playing for just a year.
A few hands later, Sawicki made a questionable all-in raise for 115,000 with 8s-7s, and was punished for her recklessness when she ran into Joseph Brattole's pocket aces. A board of Q-J-7-K-3 changed nothing, and Sawicki was paid $12,900 for sixth. 'Nice hand, sir, well-played, Mark Roland congratulated Brattole.
Sawicki, 40, is from Toronto, Ontario, the second Canadian at the table. She's been playing poker four years and this is her third Circuit. Her best cash is $34,636 for finishing 357th at last year's WSOP main event. But her poker highlight was playing two hands with Daniel Negreanu at the feature table in that event.
Pocket aces showed up again on hand 77, but Brattole got no action. 'I hate you guys,' he said. A few hands later, Mark Roland got the rockets, and action. He opened for 36,000, and Carli, who started second-lowest, played well and hung on this far, made his all-in move with K-Q on the last hand of the level. He looked to escape when a king flopped and another turned, but Roland spiked a third ace on the river, to leave Carli in fifth place, worth $15,480..
Carli, 52, is a retired stockbroker turned pro and a familiar face on the Circuit tour, having played some 70 events, with $1 million in cashes and two wins. Carli, married, learned poker from his father and brother 40 years ago.
Blinds went to 8,000-16,000 with 3,000 antes. Vizza, taking pots with aggressive play, had increased his lead to 670,000. On hand 88, Quintana had a a narrow escape. He moved in for 71,000 with 9-6 and Vizza made a reluctant ('Why me again?') call with 9-5. Quintana survived when his 6 played. Three hands later he moved in with the same unlucky 8s-7s hand that finished Sawicki. He had an open-ender when the flop came 9-6-2, but missed and lost to Vizza's A-9 after an ace and 7 came. Fourth paid $18,060.
Quintana, 26, is in pharmaceutical sales and lives in Bayside, New York. He learned poker in college and has played six years. Baseball is his other hobby. His poker highlight (?) was getting his aces cracked by John D'Agostino in a WPT event.
The players counted their chips. Vizza announced 630,000 to 454,000 for Roland and 310,000 for Brattole. They then made their deal.
Returning from break with blinds of 10,000-20,000 and 3,000 antes, Roland saw that his 140,000 chips weren't sufficient for four rounds, and decided to make an all-in bet blind. 'Wish I had looked,' he said when he turned up 4d-2d. Vizza's A-9 did the job when the board came K-Q-J-7-J, and Roland took an official $23,220 for third.
Roland, nicknamed 'The Omaholic,' is a 25-year-old pro from Atlantic City, and listed 'jockey' as his former occupation. He learned poker 11 years ago in his 'misspent youth,' and has entered eight or nine Circuits. He also enjoys basketball, tennis and movies..
Heads-up, Vizza had just over a million chips to 440,000 for Brattole. They made their final deal, played a meaningless show hand, and this event was over.
Brattole, 22, is a manager and optician at Lenscrafters and lives in Parsippany, New Jersey. He started playing with friends seven years ago. He has a couple of big wins in $5-$10 no-limit cash games, and some small tourney cashes. --Max Shapiro
World Series of Poker Commissioner - Jeffrey Pollack
Director of Poker Operations for Harrah's Entertainment: Jack Effel
Harrah's Atlantic City Poker Room Manager & Tournament Director: John Arthur
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