Jose Torres Wins Biggest Buy-In Pot-Limit Omaha Tournament Ever Held in the South
Business Owner and Poker Player Defeats Fellow Hollywood, FL Resident
Jacobo Fernandez in Heads-Up Play; Two-Time WSOP Event Winner Scott Clements
Takes Third
Biloxi, MS (January 12, 2009) - The biggest buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha
tournament ever in the history of the South was held today at Beau Rivage
Resort & Casino in Biloxi. This was the third straight year such an event
has been offered at an MGM-Mirage property. Gold Strike Casino Resort in
Tunica, MS played host to a similar event the past two years.
Pot-Limit Omaha has been a staple of the Mississippi poker scene for many
years. The World Poker Open - which was played every January in upstate
Tunica between 2000 and 2007 until a schedule-changed moved the event to the
fall - routinely attracted swarms of eager PLO enthusiasts. High-stakes
cash games, often with millions of dollars at stake, and several PLO events
on the tournament menu always managed to draw players not just from the U.S.
but from Europe as well, where PLO is one of the most popular variations of
poker. It was no surprise then that Ken Lambert, Jr., Director of Poker
Operations made PLO a top priority on this year's Beau Rivage schedule.
This was second of two Pot-Limit Omaha tournaments on the 15-tournament
schedule. A $500 buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha tournament ended a few days ago
with poker pro Brent Carter taking the top prize. This competition was
played over two consecutive days. Due to the high buy-in of $5,000, the
field was limited to 46 players who participated. But the field was indeed
world-class with several famous names and faces competing for $213,100 in
total prize money.
The winner was Jose Torres, a 38-year-old business owner from Hollywood, FL.
Following his third major tournament victory in three years, Torres was
presented with $95,895 in cash and the custom-designed white gold and
diamond bracelet, which is the top prize at all SPC events. He also
received an entry into the championship event valued at $10,000, which will
take place later this week.
Predictably, the route to victory had many obstacles. After most of the
field was eliminated on the first day, nine survivors took seats at the
final table. Day two began with top pro Bill Edler (131K) holding a slight
chip lead over another Las Vegas poker pro Michael Binger (115K). Eventual
winner Torres was in third place. Four of the nine finalists did not
receive any payout. In fact, neither of the early chip leaders -- Edler nor
Binger -- made it into the money. After former WSOP event winner Edler was
eliminated in sixth place, the five remaining players were guaranteed prize
money, with nearly a hundred grand going to the winner. The top five
finishers were as follows:
*5th Place -* R. S. Peter, a 60-year-old administrator from Susanville, CA
finished in fifth place, which paid $10,655.
*4th Place -* Tommy Ly, a professional poker player from Duluth, GA finished
in fourth place and collected $21,310. He also made it to back-to-back
final tables in PLO events at the 2007 World Series of Poker.
*3rd Place -* Scott Clements, a 27-year-old touring poker professional from
Mt. Vernon, WA took third place. He was officially paid out $31,965 (a deal
was reported made when action became three-handed). Clements, who holds two
WSOP gold bracelets, now has nearly $3.2 million in career tournament
winnings.
*2nd Place -* Oddly enough, both of the final two players were from
Hollywood, FL. Their homes are only miles apart. Jacobo Fernandez, a poker
pro was the runner up. He cashed seven times at the 2008 WSOP. Fernandez
received $53,275 in this event as his official payout.
*1st Place -* The key hand of the tournament took place late when Jacobo
Fernandez flopped two pair to go along with a flush draw. Jose Torres
flopped a straight. The made-hand held up while Fernandez failed to
improve. A few hands later, Torres took the rest of his opponent's chips
and the tournament was over.
Torres has previously won tournaments, including the Five-Star
World Poker Classic, which is part of the World Poker Tour. This was his 25
th time to cash. He now has over $300,000 in career tournament winnings.
Through the end of the Pot-Limit Omaha championship, a combined 4,267
players have now entered the 13 events played at this year's SPC. With this
event, the total payout has been $2,469,095 in prize money paid out to
winners. There are two events still to be completed. The championship
event ends on January 17th.
| 
