Mike 'The Hat' Longo, Sans Hat, Wins Omaha Hi-Lo
The 2008 Winnin' o' the Green series event #16 Omaha Hi-Lo got underway at 4:15pm and with a small 37 player, the prize pool was $17,945. Each player started with 2,500 in chips and the rounds were 40-minutes each. The first player eliminated in the tournament went out in the middle of round 2 (about 60 minutes). It's very difficult to go out that early in a Limit Split game at 25-50 blinds but one player managed to minimize his hourly loss.
The first elimination (of the final table) occurred on hand #1 when short stack Ruby Lewinson was all-in with A-A-4-x against Alan Mittelman's big blind hand Q-3-7-7. The board came Q-J-7-8-J and Alan's 7s full boat bested Ruby's Aces-up. Ruby Lewinson, from Oceanside, CA finished in 9th place.
The next elimination occurred on hand #16 where Jamshed Bokhari was all-in with two callers. The board was J-4-4-3-5 and Tim Sweeton held A-4-5-5 for the high 5s full hand and Alan Mittelman had A-2-9-9 for the nut low wheel. Jamshed Bokhari mucked his cards upon seeing the side pot hands and finished in 8th place.
Just five hands later, Paul Darden, in a string of final table appearances, was all-in on the turn with Q-J-3-5. Paul had taken a couple of beats and was short stacked. He was called in three spots but the heavy betting on the river narrowed it to two opponents. The board was 9-4-2-Q-4 and Oliver Altman thought he was making a crying call but took down the pot with A-A-6-7. Anthony Lee second best hand was K-K-J-10. Paul Darden finished in 7th place.
On hand #27 Tim Sweeton, real estate wiz and solid poker player, was all-in with an A-K-4-6 against two callers. The board was Ad-Kc-10d-3c-4d and none of the players held two diamonds or had a qualifying low. The side pot hands were shown and Alan Mittelman's A-A-3-7 scooped with a set of Aces. Tim's top two pair was second best in the main pot and he was eliminated on the money bubble in 6th place.
It was a long 23 more hands until the next elimination. Anthony Lee was all-in with a monster A-A-2-4 against Alan Mittelman's big blind K-4-8-10. The board was 10-9-6-7-9 and the turn 7 gave Alan the 10-high straight. The river 9 paired the board and eliminated any possible low for Anthony Lee who finished in 5th place and earned $900.
Six hands later Oliver Altman was all-in with a respectable Ad-3d-K-K in the small blind and was called by the button Alan Mittelman's 4-6-8-10 and Mike Longo's unknown hand. The board came A-Qd-Td-Tc-Q. Mike was bet out of the pot by Alan's trip 10s. Oliver's Aces-up was the second best and he was eliminated in 4th place for $1,795.
With three players remaining a deal was discussed as an option but it was not unanimous and play continued. Two hands later Stephen Ladowsky, a poker pro from Toronto Canada, was all-in against both opponents. The board was 9-8-7-10-J. The winning hand was K-Q-J-3 for the nut straight but I was unclear whether it was Mike's holdings or Alan's. Either way Stephen Ladowsky mucked his cards seeing he was beat and finished in 3rd place for $2,690.
Head-up play began after a deal was made for most of the remaining prize pool. Both players wanted the title and trophy so they played on for about 50 minutes. The final hand of the match was hand #73 and Alan was all-in in the early betting. Alan showed Q-7-2-3 and Mike had a dominating A-A-3-10. The board was K-8-2-6-4 and Mike's pair of Aces took the high and A-3 was the nut low. Mike scoops and Alan Mittelman finished in 2nd place for $4,485. Mike Longo wins his first tournament in 16 years and collected $8,075.
-- Jay 'Bugsy' Siegel
BIOGRAPHY
Mike 'The Hat' Longo has been playing poker for 35+ years and Omaha since 1995. He claims he has been playing poor poker for 35 years but playing well for the last 2. Mike has a vending business that places carnival type games in businesses. 'It gives me a lot of free time.' said Mike. Lowball is his favorite game but Stud Hi-Lo is his favorite that he currently plays. It's been 16 years since Mike won a tournament and his win was in a mixed tourney ( ½ Lowball, ½ Limit Hold'em). Mike says he's an easy going guy but admits he's very technical about enforcing the rules of poker. Mike wants to dedicate this win to all the players he has put bad beats and tells them he's taken beats too yet today was his day. | 
