Khiem Nguyen made his third appearance at the final table in the $225 Limit Hold’em event and sailed into another 1st place finish. Khiem has a commanding lead for Best-All-Around player with 25 points accumulated from two 1st place finishes in limit hold’em and a 2nd place finish in no-limit hold’em. Khiem's mom was at the final table proudly sweating her son and snapping several photos. I spoke with Khiem’s mom after his victory and in her excitement over his recent tournament success she told me, “Khiem has won 11 tournaments this month.”
The $225 Limit Hold’em event drew 99 players. The final table convened at 7:10 with the remaining nine players. They had 10 minutes on the clock at the $600-$1,200 limit with $300-$600 blinds.
Last night’s second place winner, Chris Sinclair was making his second appearance and Don Vines, who won the Championship event was also making his second appearance.
There were no casualties in that 10 minutes and at 7:25 the limit increased to $1,000-$2,000 and the blinds went to $500-$1,000.
Forty-five minutes of play at the final table had past before a player was eliminated.
At 8:00 Jon “Hippie” Andlovec raised all-in and Don Vines called. Jon had K-8 of clubs and Don showed A-K. The flop came 9c-2d-Jc which gave Jon a flush draw but the turn and the river came 9-9 and Jon was the first casualty. Jon took 9th place and $588.
Seven hands later Rob Braden was all-in on his big blind for his remaining $900. Nino Pigato raised and got it heads-up with Rob. Rob turned over 3-5 and Nino showed pocket nines. The board came 4-K-K-4-A and Nino’s nines held up. Rob took 8th place and $706.
Nino didn’t get to enjoy his victory for very long. Three hands later Don raised and Nino called. The flop came 8-K-K, Don bet, Nino raised all-in and Don called. Don had flopped a pair of eights with his A-8. Nino was in trouble with his A-3 and drawing pretty slim. The turn was a queen and the river was a nine. Nino was forced to take 7th place and $862.
On the 50th hand of play at the final table Dave Reed raised and got called by Connie Willson and Chris.
The flop came 6-K-5 of diamonds, Chris checked, Dave bet, Connie and Chris both called. The turn card was a seven of diamonds, Chris bet and Dave called all-in with his remaining $700. Dave turned over pocket jacks and one was the jack of diamonds. Chris showed pocket queens with the queen of diamonds leaving Dave no outs. Dave took home $1,078 for 6th place.
At 8:30 they raced off the $100 chips, raised the limit to $2,000-$4,000 with $1,000-$2,000 blinds.
Fourteen hands later Larry Nicholas raised all-in for $500 more and Chris called on the big blind. Larry had Q-J and Chris showed 8-7. The flop came 8-8-A and Larry needed a miracle to beat Chris’ set of eights. The turn card was a jack and gave Larry a little hope but the river was a king crushing any hope Larry had for a win. Larry finished in 5th place and collected $1,392.
On the next hand Don Vines dropped to $2,000 when he flopped a pair of jacks against Khiem’s pocket kings. Four hands later Don was back up to $9,000 after being all-in three hands in a row.
At 9:00 the limit increased to $3,000-$6,000 with $1,500-$3,000 blinds. Khiem was in the chip lead with $41,500, Chris was in second with $27,500, Connie was hanging on with $15,100 and Don had clawed his way back from $2,000 to $14,500.
Twelve hands later Chris raised, Connie reraised, Chris raised again and Connie called. The flop came 2-5-5, Connie checked, Chris bet, Connie raised all-in for $2,000 more and Chris called. Chris rolled over pocket tens and Connie showed pocket rockets. The turn card was a nine and the river was a four. Chris was reduced to $4,500 in chips and Connie was back in the game with $20,000.
On the next hand Chris had the big blind and after posting was left with $1,500. Khiem raised and Chris called with his remaining $1,500. Chris showed 6-2 of clubs and Khiem turned over Q-9 of clubs. The flop came K-J-10 and Khiem flopped a straight sending Chris home in 4th place with $1,862.
Two hands later Connie and Khiem went head-to-head. Khiem showed pocket kings and Connie showed pocket queens. When the smoke cleared Connie was left with $8,000.
On the 100th hand of play Don raised Connie’s big blind and Conniecalled all-in. Don showed K-Q and Connie had 7-5 of diamonds. Don flopped a king, no diamonds appeared and the river was another king giving Don a set of kings. Connie had to settle for 3rd place and $2,548.
At 9:40 there were two players remaining, Khiem with $58,000 and Don with $41,000. The two agreed on a money deal and continued to play for the Best-All-Around player points, the trophy and bragging rights. No matter who won it would be their second 1st place finish.
Khiem took his second 1st place finish, added $6,665 to his bankroll and gained another nine points to his Best-All-Around lead.
Congratulations, Khiem!
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