22-Year-Old Student Joel Brown Wins
Event #1 at Horseshoe Council Bluffs
He Starts with Big Final Table Chip Lead but
Has Many Ups and Downs Before Gaining Win
Council Bluffs, IA — Joel Brown, a 22-year-old business administration student at the University of Nebraska, had a wild up-and-down ride at the final table before finally claiming victory in the opening event of the WSOP Circuit tour at Horseshoe Council Bluffs, $300 no-limit hold'em. His victory earned him $42,942 and a striking gold trophy ring.
Brown, from Lincoln, Nebraska, learned poker in college and has been playing for three years. He's entered about 10 tournaments, but this is his first Circuit try and his first cash ever. He came to the final table with 627,000 chips, more than half those in play. He said he had run well and picked up a lot of chips by playing aggressively and taking blinds when the tournament was getting close to the money.
Brown only plays no-limit, describes himself as generally aggressive, and now plans to play in the WSOP this year. At the final table, he lost his lead to Michael Armstrong, then got it back in probably the key hand of the night. Down 2-1, he was all in with 10-4 against Armstrong's 10-6 on a flop of 10-7-3. Then a 4 turned to save him, and five hands later he had all the chips.
Anticipating a good turnout, the Horseshoe increased its tournament tables from 48 to 58, and will probably add another 10 for the next Circuit series, poker room manager Gary Margetson said.
Final-table action started with blinds of 4,000-8,000, 1,000 antes and 9:14 remaining at level 15. Here were the starting chip counts:
Seat 1. Duane Gerleman 236,000
Seat 2. Tim Laws 23,000
Seat 3. Don Marchi 139,000
Seat 4. Michael Armstrong 136,000
Seat 5. Glenn Wallin 92,000
Seat 6. Larry Cascio 43,000
Seat 7. Corey Ferger 66,000
Seat 8. Joel Brown 627,000
Seat 9. Eric Francois 116,000
Tim Laws, starting lowest chipped, was all in from the big blind on the third hand with a meager 8-5, a big dog to Don Marchi's A-J. An ace flopped, pretty much putting away Laws, who collected $2,863 for ninth.
Laws, 29, is a self-employed landlord from Columbia, Missouri. He began playing poker in home games four years ago. This is his sixth Circuit, and he has a final table to his credit at the Tunica Circuit. He also enjoys fishing and softball.
Blinds went to 6,000-12,000 with 2,000 antes. Larry "Lowball" Cascio, starting second-lowest, went all in for 15,000 from the small blind on hand eight with A-5. Corey Ferger called from the big blind with J-7. The board came 8-7-2-2-K, and Ferger's paired 7 left Cascio in eighth spot, which was worth $4,295.
Cascio, 38, is from Bellevue, Nebraska and is self-employed. He has entered several Circuits, wrote that he enjoys running marathons and that his poker highlight was being able to play with "the world's best Omaha player, Tony Merksick."
(An interesting side note. The legendary "Amarillo Slim" Preston, whose life is now being filmed, is here for the tournament series. When he heard about Merksick, he hunted him down, challenged to a heads-up Omaha match, and a $25-$50 pot-limit contest is well under way as this report goes to press.)
On hand 11, Armstrong moved in for 300,000 with pocket jacks. Brown called with A-K. Armstrong made a full house when two 10s flopped and a jack rivered, and suddenly Armstrong was our new chip leader.
Big slick was not very kind to Brown tonight. He had A-K again against Don "Markey" Marchi's pocket 7s. The pair held up, and Brown handed over 90,000.
The 26th deal started with four-way action. The flop came Ad-Ah-3d. Glenn Wallin bet 30,000 and Duane Gerleman called for his last 1,500 with 10h-9h. "The big blind was coming up next hand, so I chose to call against two random cards," he explained. Wallin turned over A-7 for trip aces, and when Gerleman couldn't help he cashed seventh for $5,727.
Gerleman, 52, is a farmer and part-time craps dealer from Ridgeway, Iowa. He began playing 14 years ago with relatives and this is his first Circuit.
The level ended with Armstrong still in front with 588,000 chips. After a break, play resumed with 8,000-16,000 blinds and the same antes.
Maybe nobody should play A-K tonight. This time that hand proved fatal to Wallin. He called with it after Marchi moved in with pocket aces. The board came K-Q-Q-6-5, and Wallin went out sixth, which paid $7,159.
Wallin is 39, from Dixon, Illinois, and is in marketing and web design. He started playing hold'em in 1989 on the Quad City River Boat. This is his second Circuit and his poker highlight to date.
Corey Ferger went out on a bad beat on the 46th deal. After Armstrong raised to 45,000 on the button with Ah-8c, Ferger moved in for 41,000 more with Ad-9d, a 3-1 favorite. But an eight flopped, and Ferger bowed out fifth, which paid $8,590.
Ferger, whose nickname is "Fuzzy," is 24, self-employed and from Rock Falls, Illinois. He learned poker in college, and this is his first Circuit try. He was an all-conference pitcher with Western Illinois University, and is a "proud member" of the Red Sox Nation.
He also likes golf.
Brown had been building his stacks up with aggressive play, and began closing in on Armstrong's lead when he called an all-in bet by Don Marchi. He had A-J to Marchi's A-7, and pulled in 247,000 chips after the board came Q-9-3-4-10. Two hands later, Marchi again had an ace with a smaller kicker, and this time he went broke. Francois raised with A-J, Marchi moved in with A-8, and Francois called with A-J for a total of 208,000, just covering Marchi's stacks. The board came Q-6-5-J-2, and Marchi, shaking his head at his "bad play," took home $10,022 for fourth.
Marchi, 52, is from Leawood, Kansas and is self-employed. He's entered 12 Circuits, and this is his third final table. Besides poker, Marchi is also an avid golfer.
Blinds were now 10,000-20,000 with 3,000 antes, with Armstrong still holding a sizeable lead. Ten hands into the new level, on the 73rd deal, Brown took a big hit. He moved in with A-8 from the small blind, ran into Francois' pocket kings, handed over 233,000 chips and was left with just 65,000. He soon got a little breathing room by doubling through with J-10 against Armstrong's A-9. The level ended with Armstrong holding a million chips to about 310,000 for Francois and 175,000 for Brown.
Blinds were now 15,000-30,000 with 4,000 antes. On the first hand, Brown moved into second chip position when he was all in with Q-5 and turned a queen to outrun Francois' A-J. On the next hand, we got heads-up. Francois moved in with Kc-9s from the small blind, and Brown, in the big blind, called with two black kings. Brown flopped a set when the board showed K-2-5, and Francois, drawing dead, settled for $11,454 for third.
Francois is 31 and from Bellevue, Nebraska, where he is a contractor. He learned poker five years ago from his father. This is his second Circuit, and he has five final tables in various Horseshoe events. He also likes to fish and hunt.
Brown now had close to 500,000 chips while Armstrong held a bit under a million. Hand 102 was the big one where a 4 turned to save Brown, doubling him up and giving him a tiny lead. He increased it by picking up the next two pots. On the final hand, the board showed K-J-6-5. Brown bet out holding K-2, and Armstrong pushed in his remaining chips with 7-5. He failed to draw out when a 4 hit the river, and event #1 was over.
Runner-up Armstrong, 46, is a computer programmer from Chicago. He began playing poker with his buddies in high school, and refined his game with Wilson Turbo Texas Hold'em software. He's played five Circuits and took third in a $300 event here last year.
--Max Shapiro
For more information, please contact:
Max Shapiro -- WSOP Media Director at (323) 356-3303
Or visit our official website: www.worldseriesofpoker.com
World Series of Poker Commissioner – Jeffrey Pollack
Director of Poker Operations for Harrah’s Entertainment – Jack Effel
Horseshoe Council Bluffs Poker Room Manager – Gary Margetson
Tournament Director -- Janis Sexton
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