Ted Lawson Conquers the Competition at Caesars Palace
Florida-Based Poker Pro Surpasses the $2 Million Mark in Tournament Winnings with No-Limit Hold'em Victory
Las Vegas, NV - Great poker players are never 'out' of a poker tournament, so long as they have chips. The very best players take bad beats. They not only recover from them, but later reverse the situation in their favor. Any lucky poker player can get a flurry of favorable cards and sail on to win a tournament. But luck is always temporary. It takes a truly great player to overcome adversity and stage a comeback victory.
Ted Lawson is a great poker player. He won the Pot-Limit Omaha championship at the 2004 World Series of Poker. He has also cashed ten times in WSOP play. In the $2,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournament which concluded today at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Lawson displayed all of the character qualities needed by a poker champion - skill, patience, and perseverance. He won first place and $120,054 in prize money. With his latest victory, Lawson now has over $2 million in lifetime tournament winnings.
Indeed, Lawson's victory in this event was just as much a test of poker talent as of physical and mental stamina. The longest tournament of this year's World Series of Poker Circuit held at Caesars Palace so far, the final table clocked in at just over eight hours. Nearly 200 hands were dealt. In the end, it was Lawson, a 51-year-old CEO and poker pro, winning the coveted WSOP Circuit gold ring. Lawson became one of only eight players in history to win both a gold bracelet and a gold ring. With the 2008 WSOP coming up soon, the way Lawson is now playing, he should reserve more space inside his jewelry cabinet.
After 182 players were eliminated on day one, the final nine players began play with two players in a formidable chip position. Adam Geyer started off with 242,000 and Patrick Fagen had 205,000. No other player had greater than 160,000, including Ted Lawson who was in seventh place with an inconspicuous 92,000 in chips. The exact starting chip counts were as follows:
Seat 1: Brendan Lynch 47,800
Seat 2: Todd Terry 132,000
Seat 3: Eric Baldwin 140,000
Seat 4: Jack Schanbacher 61,100
Seat 5: Gary Crow 121,200
Seat 6: Ted Lawson 92,000
Seat 7: Steve Hipes 108,200
Seat 8: Adam Geyer 242,000
Seat 9: Patrick Fagen 205,000
Opening blinds were 1,500-3,000. Very early in play, chip stacks became more balanced when Brendan Lynch doubled up against the chip leader, Adam Geyer. That gave Lynch about 100,000 in chips and foreshadowed the marathon poker session that was to come.
On the 23rd hand of play, Ted Lawson doubled up to 190,000 against Eric Baldwin when he flopped a flush. The loss left Baldwin as the shortest stack at the table. Blinds increased to 2,000-4,000 with a 500 ante.
9th Place - After Baldwin regained some chips in a double up against Patrick Fagen, he found Q-Q and called an all-in raise by Gary Crow, who showed A-K. In the classic hold'em showdown, Crow spiked an ace on the turn, which busted Baldwin. Eric Baldwin, a 25-year-old former-student-turned-poker-pro, took ninth place and $7,411. He also won a tournament held last week at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.
8th Place - On the 49th hand of play, Todd Terry went out on a busted flush draw. After the flop came Q-J-6 with two spades, Terry moved all-in holding the A-4 of spades. Brendan Lynch was thrilled to call with his two pair, and showed Q-J. Two nines fell on the turn and river - but no spade. That meant Terry was out. The former attorney from Hoboken, NJ received a cash settlement totaling $11,116. He made final tables previously at the WSOP in Las Vegas and WSOP Circuit in Atlantic City.
7th Place - Nearly three hours into the finale, a potential momentum swing came when Jack Schanbacher doubled up big against Adam Geyer. A see-saw series of cards fell when Schanbacher had 8-8 versus 10-5 for Geyer. The final board showed 10-4-2-5-3 with four diamonds, and Schanbacher held the lone diamond. Geyer's two pair hit (tens and fives) the muck. When the 190,000 pot was pushed to Schanbacher, it was still anyone's tournament to win.
Unfortunately, Steve Hipes was about to leave the party. He was all-in with pocket eights against Ted Lawson, who called the raise and showed pocket tens. On the turn, Hipes had plenty of extra outs as the board showed 6-6-5-7. But Hipes failed to catch either a 4, 8, or 9. In fact, an ugly ten rained down on the river which became the final nail in Hipes' tournament coffin. The four-time WSOP final table finisher collected $14,822 for seventh place.
6th Place - Gary Crow went out next. Although he has a number of WSOP Circuit final table appearances and cashes, he will surely be second guessing the way he played his final hand of this tournament. Crow was in the small blind and smooth called with A-Q versus two players. The flop came A-8-2. Crow held top pair but inexplicably checked the flop. 'I had two aggressive players to act, so I thought that was the right play,' he explained afterward. 'I thought I could get a check-raise.' Instead, the betting was checked around. A jack fell on the turn and the board was getting dangerous. Crow bet out and he was called by Ted Lawson. When a king fell on the river, Lawson (with Q-10) had made the but straight. He took the rest of Crow's chips, leaving the retired real estate investor and bank director in sixth place. The quiet gentleman from Georgia earned $18,527, which Crow proudly declared as his highest cash ever.
5th Place - With the previous pot, Lawson became the chip leader for the first time. Several hands later, he would widen his lead. Adam Geyer certainly had high hopes at the start of day two, given his stack size and talent. But he lost a number of key confrontations that left him vulnerable in the later stages of the tournament. On his final hand, Geyer was dealt 6-5 suited and moved all-in after the flop came 6-4-4. Lawson had been the blind and had Q-4. He was delighted to call the 60,000 bet and dragged the 130,000 pot with trip fours when Geyer failed to improve. Adam Geyer, a 23-year-old student from Dallas, received a fourth-place payout worth $22,232.
4th Place - Brendan Lynch went out on the 112th hand of play. He went all-in with a pre-flop raise (about 120,000) holding 4-4 in the big blind. It was a case of horrible timing as Patrick Fagen woke up in the small blind with A-A. Fagen called instantly. Fagen ended up making a full house on the hand, knocking Lynch out of the tournament. The Maine native who now lives in Las Vegas has numerous cashes and final tables on his tournament resume, including 318th in the 2006 main event. Fourth place paid $29,643.
3rd Place - Then, Ted Lawson started to apply the pressure. He seized command when play was three-handed. Although he never faced a significant showdown, Lawson consistently put his two remaining opponents into a guessing game, and managed to peck away, especially at Fagen's stack. When hand number 139 was dealt, Fagen was down to about 160,000 when he re-raised all-in with pocket nines. Ted Lawson called quickly with pocket queens. The final board showed Q-J-3-7-9. Both players made trips, but the queens gave Lawson the bog pot. Hence, Patrick Fagen, a 22-year-old network engineer from Urbandale, IA, connected for a third-place payout, worth $37,054.
2nd Place - With blinds at 8,000-16,000 and a 2,000 ante, Lawson enjoyed a chip lead of about 650,000 to 350,000 for Jack Schanbacher. Ten hands into play, the tournament's most exciting hand took place. Lawson raised preflop (A-9 of diamonds). Schanbacher re-raised (with K-J). Lawson re-raised all-in and Schanbacher called. The flop provided many possibilities for both players as Q-J-8 was shown. Schanbacher made a pair of jacks, but Lawson still had an overcard with a straight draw. A ten on the turn gave Lawson his straight and Schanbacher was left drawing to just six outs (three 9s and three aces). Ka-boom! An ace rivered, giving Schanbacher the monster-sized pot and the chip lead for the first time.
The bad beat did not faze Lawson the least bit. Demonstrating the emotional control that has kept Lawson alive in many poker tournaments of the past, he moved all-in about 20 minutes later. The raise called by Schanbacher. Lawson tabled A-9 against Schanbacher's A-6 suited. Lawson caught a nine, which effectively erased the damage done on the previous big hand.
After another blind increase, the final hand came on number 191. It was certainly memorable. Lawson was dealt 8-8. Schanbacher was dealt K-7. The flop came K-8-8. Schanbacher liked the flop but Lawson was sitting on absolute dynamite. Both players were all-in and the quad-eights held up for Lawson. As the runner up, Schanbacher collected $62,992. The accountant from Pittsburgh previously cashed at a major tournament held in Atlantic City.
1st Place - As the winner, Ted Lawson earned a well-deserved $120,054. 'Everything evens out,' Lawson said reflecting upon his victory and his recovery from the bad beat. 'You give some beats, you take some beats - but you just have to keep on playing.'
'I was really happy to win this tournament. Even if I would have finished second, I still would have been happy with the way I played. I would have been happy for Jack (Schanbacher). He could just easily have won. But I guess it was my day.'
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