Karen 'Nun Uther' Thomas Wins Wildlife Waystation Charity Event
Event #11 in the 2008 Winnin' o' the Green series was a charity event supporting the Wildlife Waystation Charity. Eighty-four players entered this multi-rebuy event. The Waystation collected $5,595 and the prize pool paid out $30,586.
The first elimination of the tournament took 15 hands to complete. Denny W. raised all-in and was called by Rahim Farji in the small blind. Denny's pocket 3s were in bad shape against Rahim's monster Aces. The flop was 8-4-3 and Denny hit his set. The turn 10 and river 9 could not save Rahim Farji and he was eliminated in 10th place.
On hand #21 Steve Reitzfeld was covered by Min Kim. Steve's pockets 10s was a coinflip to Min's Q-J until the board came Q-8-7-6-J. Min's two pair was the best hand and Steve Reitzfeld finished in 9th place for $615.
On hand #23 Jim Harris raised all-in and got a call from chipleader Karen Thomas and they picked up a hitchhiker Min Kim. The flop was 9-6-2 and Karen went all-in which got Min to fold. Karen showed her pocket 6s for a set and Jim showed Q-J. The turn 6 and river Ace kept Karen's set on top. Jim Harris finished in 8th place and earned $765.
On hand #27 a big 3-way confrontation ensued. The pot was between Mr. Harvester, Karen Thomas, and Min Kim. The flop was K-K-9 and Min bet out $5,000 and Mr. Harvester went all-in, Karen called forcing Min to fold. Karen showed K-5 and Mr. Harvester showed K-10 for a boat on the river. No one was eliminated but it was an exciting hand.
The final hand at the final table was #36. Slightly before midnight, four players were betting and raising preflop. Only one player conceded (Karen Thomas) and 3 players saw the flop of K-6-4. All the chips were in right after the flop and Jim Mangiamele showed A-Q, Jose Escobar also showed an A-Q and Min Kim was in the lead with pocket 7s. The turn 9 and river 9 gave Min two pair and left the other 2 players counting chips to see who took 6th and 7th place. Jim Mangiamele had a couple fewer chips and took 7th place for $1,070 and Jose Escobar took 6th place for $1,375.
A chip count was calculated between the last five players and with a little negotiation a deal was reached and Karen Thomas held the chip lead and was declared the winner. Karen held the chip lead for the entire final 3 tables.
-- Jay 'Bugsy' Siegel
BIOGRAPHY
Karen 'Nun Uther' Thomas has only been playing poker for 3 years. She learned by attending Poker College held at The Bike. She plays cash games and tournaments. Last year she won 2 satellites to earn her seat into the WSOP Main Event. Karen had the chip lead for a good part of the tournament and kept the pressure on her opponents with frequent raises in all positions. A couple of players were talking about her and said 'It's difficult to put her on a hand—I think I'll just stay out of her way.'
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