Poker Tournament Results

Southern Poker Championship / WPT Event Season 7

Tony Lay

Tournament Report

"Oklahoma Tony" Lay Wins No-Limit Hold'em Prize at Huge Weekend Turnout at Beau Rivage Final Two Players Agree to a Deal, as Buddy Rouzan from New Orleans Takes Second *Biloxi, MS (January 10, 2009) – *The ninth event of the Southern Poker Championship concluded on Saturday as "Oklahoma Tony" Lay became the latest reigning poker champion. He triumphed in a highly-competitive field of 604 entries and officially collected $70,023 in prize money for first place. Following his fourth major tournament victory in just three years, Lay was presented with the custom-designed white gold and diamond bracelet, which is the coveted top prize at all SPC events. Lay will also play in the championship event, since a $10,000 buy-in seat to the Main Event was included as part of the winner's package. "Oklahoma Tony" Lay is a 44-year-old professional poker player from (big surprise) Oklahoma City, OK. He is married and has two children. Lay has been playing in poker tournaments for about five years – with some impressive results. This was the third and final $500 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournament on this year's schedule, which attracted highest turnout of the three (Event #2 drew 566 players and Event #3 drew 409 players). The competition was played over two consecutive days. The top 54 finishers collected prize money – with $282,940 up for grabs. All the action took place in the tournament ballroom inside Beau Rivage Resort & Casino. The final table began play with Tony Lay (750K) holding a slight chip lead over Wilbur Gene Futney (722K). Lay would end up as the winner. Things would not turn out as well for Futney. Players were eliminated in the following order: * * *9th Place –* Wilbur Gene Futney experienced an absolute nightmare ending. Most of his chips were lost in a series of big early pots. Then about a half hour into play, left as one of the lowest stacks, Futney moved all-in with K-J. He was called by Patrick O. Jones, holding A-J. An ace on the flop all but ended Futney's chances of victory, putting the 67-year-old former salesman from Tennessee out in ninth place. This was Futney's 16th time to cash in a major poker tournament. $4,527 was his payout. *8th Place –* What the poker gods giveth, they also take away. Patrick O. Jones found this out the hard way when he struggled to continue the momentum of his early success. Jones lost a few big pots and then was eliminated when he made a five-high straight on the river, which was topped by Rami Jradeh's six-high straight. Jones, a boilermaker from Mobile AL was paid $7,356 for eighth place. *7th Place –* A few hands later, Samir Kamal bit the dust. He was low on chips, moved all-in with A-9, and lost to Tony Lay's diamond flush. This was Kamal first time ever to make it to a final table. Seventh place paid $10,186. *6th Place –* In typical fashion, the eliminator soon became the eliminated. Vincent Phan moved all-win with K-8 suited but ran into pocket aces when he tried a re-steal attempt. Phan missed his hand and ended up as the sixth-place finisher. Phan, a military retiree from Mobile, AL received a payout totaling $13,015. *5th Place –* Rami Jradeh took a tough beat when he was all-in with K-10 against Buddy Rouzan, holding Q-10. A queen flopped, which put Jradeh out of the tournament. The dentist from Quincy, MA had previously won an event at the World Poker Open in Tunica. But fifth place was the best he could do in this event, which paid $15,845. *4th Place –* John Sarrica survived a few all-ins while the foursome played for nearly an hour before the next bust out. Sarrica became the fourth-place finisher when he was all-in with K-Q versus Tony Lay's A-K. Both players hit a king on the river, but the ace-kicker played. Sarrica, a restaurant consultant from Cumming, GA who is also an avid golfer, collected $18,674. *3rd Place – *Patrick Everett experienced a nightmare when play became three-handed. He was dealt 9-5, normally not much of a hand, but playable when it's short-handed. To his delight, he saw the flop come 6-7-8 – good for a straight. But the worst possible scenario had occurred for Everett, as Tony Lay had 10-9 – good for a *higher* straight. Everett, a mortgage lender with previous tournament wins in Tunica, MS, received a nice payout totaling $21,221. *2nd Place –* When heads-up play began, Tony Lay enjoyed about a 3 to 1 chip advantage. The two players discussed and then agreed to a deal, the terms of which were not disclosed. It was agreed that Lay would take first place, although he conceded some of his payout. No further hands were dealt. As the runner-up, Thomas "Buddy" Rouzan officially received $36,732. Rouzan is a 60-year-old electrician from New Orleans. *1st Place –* This was "Oklahoma Tony" Lay's fourth time to win a major tournament. He won a WSOP Circuit event at Tunica, back in 2005. Lay now has 25 cashes in major events and over $550,000 in career tournament winnings. Through the conclusion of this tournament, a combined 3,387 players have now entered the nine events played at this year's SPC. With this event, the total payout has been $1,500,000 in prize money paid to winners.