Anthony "Tony" Hamilton Takes a 1st
and a 3rd in Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better
By Debbie Burkhead
A few more notable poker players rolled into town in the last couple of days. Don Williams and Mansour Matloubi entered the 7-Card Stud 8 or Better and they both made the final table coming in 2nd and 3rd respectively. On Easter Sunday they both entered the Pot-Limit Hold’em event and again they both finished in the money, Mansour took 3rd place and Don took 4th place.
Blair Rodman showed up on the scene Saturday and entered the Pot-Limit Hold’em event on Easter Sunday. Blair finished in first place.
Vince Burgio showed up yesterday afternoon to play in the Omaha event. World Champion, Tom McEvoy came in last night to play in the next few events including the Championship event on April 19.
Today’s Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or better event drew 39 players creating a prize pool of $3,783. The final table began play at 5:00 p.m. with nine players vying for the five money places.
Ten minutes into final table play Ken Gibson was eliminated in 9th place.
Fifteen minutes later they lost Howard Coren in 8th place, this was Howard’s second final table appearance. Howard finished 7th in the No-Limit hold’em event on April 13.
At 5:40 Bob Mauser was eliminated in 7th place, this was Bob’s third appearance at a final table. Bob finished 8th in the No-Limit Hold’em event on April 13 and 2nd in the Pot-Limit hold’em event yesterday.
Jerry Rieger ran into bad luck on the bubble and was awarded a seat in the upcoming Bubble tournament at 10:00 a.m. on April 19.
At 5:40 the limit rose to $1,000-$2,000 with $500-$1,000 blinds.
At 6:05 Alan Ferrante was all-in on his big blind for his remaining $500 Gary Chun raised all-in and Tony Hamilton called. Alan was holding 8-7-6-2, Gary had Q-Q-J-7, Tony had called on the small blind with 10-7-4-2. Gary and Alan split the pot and Alan lived to see another hand.
Five minutes later Gary raised all-in on his small blind and Tony was holding J-6-5-3. The board produced Q-9-8-K-7, giving Tony a straight which sent Gary home in 5th place with $190.
On the very next hand Alan was eliminated but his patience paid off. Alan had hung on with only $200 and was again all-in on his big blind. Matt Curci, Dan Whitman and Tony called. The flop came K-K-3, Matt bet, Dan and Tony folded leaving Alan his only opponent. Gary showed J-10-9-4 and Matt over A-K-6-2. The turn was a seven and Alan was now drawing dead. Matt’s trip kings sent Alan home in 4th place with $379.
With three players remaining, Tony had a slight chip lead with $21,000, Matt had a strong hold on second and Dan seemed to be in bad shape with only $1,800. Boy! Did he make a come back.
On the next hand Dan was left with $1,300 after posting his small blind. Dan called and Tony checked. The flop came A-9-K, Dan bet his remaining $300 and Tony called. Tony showed 3-3-7-10 and Dan turned over A-K-7-4. The turn was a jack and the river was a 10 giving Dan aces-up and a much needed scooper.
Two hands later Matt had A-A-K-4 and Dan had A-K-9-2. The flop came 3-10-J and Matt was in the lead with a pair of aces. The turn card brought a deuce which gave Dan a pair of deuces. Matt was still in the lead but the river card was a nine, giving Dan the win with two pair, nines and deuces. Dan’s second scooper took his chip count to over $6,400. He was now becoming a threat to Matt and Tony.
Two hands later Dan picked up another pot and $3,000 more to add to his stack. He now had about $10,000 and was a definite contender.
The remaining three players made a deal and Matt was pronounced the 2nd place finisher with $945, Dan was the 3rd place finisher with $567. Tony was crowned the champion and collected $1,702. Tony took 3rd in the Omaha event held on April 11.
Congratulations, Tony!
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