Art Kern, a 46-year-old Newport Beach numismatist and small- limit =tournament enthusiast, outlasted a field of 330 to win the second event of Winnin' o' the Green 2001, $100 limit hold'em. It was his first major tournament victory, and the $12,375 prize money was by far his largest cash-in.
The tournament ended suddenly when he got heads-up against Phillip Luong, an "occasional" player. Kern held better than a 2-1 chip lead, but the limits were a punishing $10,000$20,000 at that point, and a deal was struck.
The final table was set after Bellflower construction worker Luis Velador started with K-9 and paired his cowboy on the river to blow away Jonathan Ko, all in with just 7-5. On the first hand, professional player Emiliano Calitis put his last chips in but survived by taking the main pot with pocket kings. Four hands later, with $3,000$6,000
limits, a big pot developed when Luis went all in with a third raise against Harold Newell, a Ventura pool builder who's accumulated dozens of trophies in his 30-year poker career. Luis had pocket threes and Harold had K-10 of spades. Two spades flopped, but the treys held up and Luis was still in business.
With limits raised to $5,000$10,000, Harold blew off a lot more chips trying to bluff out Charles Davidson, a data entry clerk from Lynwood, who has a few small tournament wins "here and there" to his credit. Newell kept raising and betting with a worthless J-2. But Davidson, with 8-4, paired his four on the flop, kept stubbornly calling and made a straight when the board came A-7-4-6-5. Two hands later Harold got stung again. Phillip raised with pocket eights and Harold re-raised all in with pocket kings. Pei Fang Zhow also went all in with two queens, and then jumped up, deliriously happy, when she flopped queens-full, leaving Harold with only $2,800. That went in the middle two deals later, on hand 16. He had K-Q against Art's A-2 of diamonds. A board of 6-5-3-4-5 gave Art a straight, and the bitterly disappointed pool builder sank to the bottom.
With limits increased to $10,000$20,000, the casualties mounted quickly. On hand 25, Emilio, in the big blind, tossed in his last $100 chip with K-9. But Chris Grigorian, a pro from Lakewood, had A-K, and sent his opponent home when an ace flopped. Four hands later, Sirous Baghchehsaraie, another local pro, raised. Luis, in the big blind with just 3-2, decided to risk his last chips and called all in. Pei, with A-Q of spades, also called. When an A-8-6 flopped, she confidently bet her last chips with paired aces, and then caught a third bullet on the turn. But Sirous, with pocket sixes, had a full house, and suddenly two more chairs were vacated.
As play continued, Denny Williams denied a request from Art, obviously having a good time, to call a time-out so he could tie his shoelaces. Meanwhile, Chris, who started as chip leader with $53,100, the exact amount Men Nguyen began with the night before, is not having the same luck that "The Master" had when he destroyed the final table. When Phillip raises with K-J of hearts, Chris plays back
and puts his opponent all in with A-J. But Luong outdraws him by flopping a king. Chris busts out on the next hand. This time he's the underdog with A-7 of clubs against Kern's A-Q. Chris goes all in on a flop of 10-8-8. A five and a nine then fall. They both have ace-high, but Art's higher kicker kicks Chris out of the tournament.
Four-handed, Art has a big chip lead of $119,300. Charles has $51,000, Phillip has $45,600 and Sirous, $40,7000. They discuss a deal, but can't agree on a split and play on. But only for three hands. On the next hand, Charles, with A-9, bets all in on a flop of 2-2-7. But the data entry clerk then becomes a data exit clerk when he can't beat pocket fours.
On the final hand, Sirous goes all in with K-5 against Phillip, who holds a pitiful 7-3 in the big blind. But a seven on the turn turns the tide, leaving two players. Art and Phillip quickly agree to a deal, and the coin dealer picks up a lot more coin of the realm. --Max Shapiro
Biography
Art Kern, originally from Lexington, Kentucky, first got involved with cards at the age of 6 when his mother taught him bridge and occasionally asked him to play when her bridge club was short a player. (His father, a retired physics professor at the University of Kentucky, worked on the Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb in
World War II, along with historic names like Fermi and Oppenheimer.) He began playing poker for quarters with a lifelong friend named John Saunders, who now owns London Coin Galleries, the shop where Kern works.
Art likes to play anything from No-Limit Hold'em to Seven Stud Eight or better and gets in six or seven small tournaments a week. Tonight, he said, he never had a big lead until the end, but was in "comfortable" position most of the time. He describes his playing style as "patient, very patient."
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