Pressman Frank Dukich Gives Himself Retirement Gift by Winning Event #7
Council Bluffs, IA--Frank Dukich, a newspaper foreman pressman, has worked
44 years for the Omaha World Herald. He'll retire in a couple of months, and
tonight he gave himself a nice retirement gift as he collected $9,429 and a
handsome gold trophy ring for winning the seventh event of the WSOP Circuit
at Horseshoe Council Bluffs, $100 limit hold'em. This is his first Circuit try,
having played only second-chance events in the past.
Dukich is 63 and from Carter Lake, Iowa. Besides a few tournaments, he plays
$2-$5 no-limit hold'em. Tonight he said he more or less "winged it,"
was up and down before coming to the final table above average in chips, and
built up his stacks as he knocked out six of his eight opponents. He had a very
big lead heads-up and quickly ran over his final opponent.
There were still 12 players left when Day 1 ended, and they returned at 3 p.m.
today to play down to nine. In the lead at that point was Leon Johnson with
72,500 chips. When they got to the final table a half-hour later, Dmitri Soudakov
was in front with 59,500.
Here were the starting chip counts
Seat 1. Patrick Galloway 36,000
Seat 2. Andrew Strauss 15,500
Seat 3. Vic Hoffman 4,500
Seat 4. Leon Johnson 54,500
Seat 5. Dmitri Soudakov 59,500
Seat 6. David Hiers 35,000
Seat 7. Jim Hansen 26,000
Seat 8. Frank Dukich 45,000
Seat 9. John Biebel 22,000
The final table began with blinds of 1,000-1,500, playing 1,500-3,000 limits.
Vic Hoffman, sitting down with only 4,500, quickly departed, He was all in with
two callers holding A-9. The board came 7-5-4-9-Q, and Dukich's pocket jacks
held up as Hoffman was paid $582 for ninth.
Hoffman, 57, is a drainage contractor from Onslow, Iowa. He's entered numerous
Circuit events, and collected $15,600 for winning a $1,500 super satellite at
the Five Diamond World Poker Classic.
Jim Hansen was next out. With the board showing 9-9-2-2-2 for a full house,
he was all in with A-Q, but Dukich, again with pocket jacks, had a higher filly.
Hansen is 46 and from Omaha. He collected $873 for eighth.
Blinds were now 1,000-2,000 with 2,000-4,000 limits. Andrew Strauss had been
low-chipped for a long time but managed to hang on. He was finally all in with
K-J and couldn't catch Johnson's K-J after the board came 10-6-2-A-A, and earned
$1,164 for seventh.
Strauss, from Kansas City, Missouri, is in the finance business. This is his
first Circuit, and he had no poker highlights to list.
As play went on, David Hiers was all in with K-J and had two callers. Dukich
took down a big pot and the lead when he had K-Q and rivered a straight when
the board came J-10-2-2-9. Hiers, meanwhile, was knocked out in sixth place,
worth $1,455.
Hiers, 32, is a remodeling contractor from Council Bluffs. He started playing
12 years ago, and his poker highlight is winning a $5,000 championship seat.
Next to go all in was Johnson, with A-Q. Patrick Galloway had only 8-4 in the
big blind, but had flopped a 4, and that was enough to leave Johnson in fifth
place, which paid $1,746.
Johnson, 64, is from Rockford, Illinois and retired. He learned poker many
years ago from his parents and grandparents. This is his sixth Circuit. He finished
third out of 180 players on Monday, and 180th out of approximately 1,700 entrants
at the WSOP Seniors event last year.
As the level ended, John Biebel found himself all in with Qs-5s against Dukich
and Soudakiv. A flop of Js-10d-6s gave Biebel a flush draw. He missed, and Dukich,
with Ad-Jh, knocked out yet another player when his paired jack held up.
Biebel is 62, retired, and lives in Denver, Colorado. He took up poker five
years ago, and this is his highlight. Fourth paid $2,328.
Blinds now were 2,000-4,000 with 4,000-8,000 limits. This event got heads-up
when Galloway, holding Kd-Jd, moved in after a flop of K-10-J gave him two pair.
Unfortunately for him, Dukich, with Jh-9h, had flopped a straight. Finishing
third, Galloway took home $2,910.
Galloway, 39, is a businessman from Omaha who's played "for years."
This is his second Circuit and only poker highlight. His other hobbies are chess
and golf.
Heads-up, Dukich had 225,000 chips to Soudakov's 75,000, and Soudakov never
had a chance to recover. Dukich won the next couple of pots, and Soudakov was
quickly down to the felt. Finally down to 17,000, Soudakov finally had to go
all in with K-8. He was up against Dukich's As-9h, and when the board came Q-Q-8-3-2,
Dukich.nailed down his first big tournament win.
Soudakov, 34, originally from Russia, now lives in Minnesota and is the co-owner
of a distribution company. He learned poker by practice, this is his second
Circuit, and he also enjoys fishing. He was also a member of the USSR national
swimming team. For finishing second, he earned $4,947.
Max Shapiro
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