Poker Tournament Results

Winnin 'O' the Green

Place	Name	Prize
1	Cassim Simjee (Diamond Bar, CA, USA)	$35,508 and + L.O.P Seat
2	Ray Romasanta (Corona, CA, USA)	$18,260
3	Lionel Johnson (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$9,130
4	Robert Hamilton (Downey, CA, USA)	$6,085
5	Francis Lim (Cypress, CA, USA)	$4,715
6	U Jack Kan (Rosemead, CA, USA)	$3,550
7	Mike Slye (Canyon County, CA, USA)	$2,535
8	Ralph Harrison (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$2,030
9	Michael Simhai (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$1,520
10	Mark Olson (Riverside, CA, USA)	$1,270
11	Juan Holub (Whittier, CA, USA)	$1,270
12	Vaghef Sotvanpour (Beverly Hills, CA, USA)	$1,270
13	John Hanson (Westminster, CA, USA)	$1,015
14	Lewis Gray AKA "L. D." (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$1,015
15	Jim Voigt (Puyallup, WA, USA)	$1,015
16	James Wardell (Westminster, CA, USA)	$710
17	Lee Kimball (Mission Viejo, CA, USA)	$710
18	Cody Shedd (Mission Viejo, CA, USA)	$710
19	Matthew Elsby (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$560
20	Paul Gonzalez (Downey, CA, USA)	$560
21	Justin Barnum (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$560
22	Paul Herrick (USA)	$560
23	Russell Lepper (Huntington Beach, CA, USA)	$560
24	Scott Takeshita (Chino, CA, USA)	$560
25	Eun Choi (Lynwood, WA, USA)	$560
26	Khai Van Lam (Daly City, CA, USA)	$560
27	Michael Christiansen AKA "BenRunkle" (Redondo Beach, CA, USA)	$560
28	Joey Clapper (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$455
29	Tro Gharibian (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$455
30	Jeff Shibley (La Verne, CA, USA)	$455
31	George Marlowe AKA "The MasqueMan" (Marina Del Ray, CA, USA)	$455
32	John D Smith (La Quinta, CA, USA)	$455
33	Michael Falvey (Torrence, CA, USA)	$455
34	Bobby Espina (Ontario, CA, USA)	$455
35	Dan Natarelli (Simi Valley, CA, USA)	$455
36	Shan Jing (Arcadia, CA, USA)	$455

Tournament Report

Cassim Simjee Claims Victory in 45 Minute Final Table The 2008 Winnin' o' the Green series kicked off with a two-day event , $300+$35 No Limit Hold'em. A field of 383 players created a prize pool of $101,453. After two days of playing, the final two tables slowed play for over 2 hours trying to determine the final table of 10 players. But once they got to the final table, the chips were a flying and it went from 10 handed to heads-up in only 45 minutes. The tournament that crawled to the final table went on an all out sprint to the finish line. The table wasted no time getting 9-handed as the first elimination occurred on the second hand. Lionel P. Johnson raised from the button and was called all-in by short stack Mark Olson in the small blind. Lionel showed As-3s and Mark had Q-J. The flop was Q-J-x and Mark took a big lead with top two pair but 2 spades left Lionel with the flush draw. The turn was a blank and the river was a spade giving Lionel the pot and eliminating Mark Olson in 10th place. On hand #8 Michael Simhai took his pocket 6s against the Lionel the Chipleader's bigger pair. The board was no help to Michael's hand. Michael Simhai was eliminated in 9th place for $1,520. Michael had finished strong in the recently concluded LAPC making multiple final tables. Two hands later, Ralph Harrison gets it all-in with Q-7 but runs into Robert Hamilton holding pocket Queens. The board missed Ralph in a big way with K-5-3-2-3 and Robert's Queens-up takes down the pot. Ralph Harrison was eliminated in 8th place and earned $2,030. After 2 walks for the big blind, on hand #13, Michael Slye found himself all in with A-10 against the Lionel's pocket Kings. Looking for any Ace, Michael watched the board brick with a J-9-5-6-3 and was eliminated in 7th place pocketing $2,535. Seats are opening up every couple of hands and the next elimination is no exception to the current pace. Cassim Simjee raised 20,000 and was called all-in by Jacky Kan. Cassim showed pocket 8s and Jacky held Q-10. The flop was A-2-2 and the turn 8 had Jacky drawing dead. The river paired the board was another Ace and Cassim won the hand with 8's full. Jacky Kan finished in 6th place and took home $3,550. On hand #19 Pete Lim was all-in and lost the pot. No details were available for this hand. Pete Lim was eliminated in 5th place and received $4,715. On hand #26 there was 3-way action when Cassim Simjee (KQ) and Ray Romasanta (AQ) saw the flop with Robert Hamilton all-in with 4-4. The board was Q-J-8-7-6 and Ray's top pair – top kicker won the pot. Robert's underpair was not good enough and he finished in 4th place earning $6,085. The last elimination of the final table came on hand #31, just 45 minutes afther this final table began. Cassim raised and was called all-in by Lionel. Lionel had just lost a big pot to Cassim and Lionel was short stacked. Cassim had pocket 9s and Lionel showed 7h-8h. The flop gave Lionel some hope with a straight draw K-J-10 but with 2 nines in Cassim's hand, he was drawing lean. The turn deuce and river 10 sent Lionel Johnson out in 3rd place with $9,130. Lionel played a ferocious final table and I'm sure he'll be in another final table soon as the probable chip leader. Once heads-up, the remaining players struck a quick deal and play concluded. The chipleader Cassim Simjee was declared the winner and Ray Romasanta finished in 2nd place. BIOGRAPHY Cassim Simjee is the owner of several manufacturing businesses and has been playing poker for over 20 years. Cassim plays both cash games and tournaments. He has won several tournaments before but this is his biggest win to date. Cassim landed at the final table with the chip lead and was not reluctant to mix it up. I'm sure we'll see Cassim at another final table soon.