Velador Constructs Hold'em Win
By Max Shapiro
Luis Velador, a construction worker from Bellflower, nailed together a win in the $300 Championship event to become the new Limit Hold'em champ for Winnin' O the Green 2000. His final opponent was Scott Lazar, a professional magician who performs at celebrity parties. "Put the cameras on him," joked tournament director Denny Williams when he learned of Lazar's occupation.
Missing the final cut was Desmond Thomas. His 6-5 of diamonds lost to Bruce B.'s Q-J when a jack hit the river.
At the final table, Louis Surratt was first out when his sevens couldn't overtake Florencio "General Poy" Umel's queens. Hand number 10 was big for Velador. On a 4-2-Q flop he bet. Commerce Casino poker dealer James Luong raised with pocket aces, and Velador re-raised. "I don't know why you did it," Luong said, reluctantly calling. Luis "did it" because he had flopped trip queens. He bet the turn and put Luong out of action on the river.
Velador, getting cards as needed, then cost Bruce B. a lot of chips. He had K-8, the board came 10-9-7-Q, and a jack on the end gave him a king-high straight. On the next hand, Hung Le cautiously refused to pay off Umel. There was a jack-high straight on board, but Hung Le folded when Umel bet out and showed a queen.
Limits are $5,000-$10,000. On the first hand, Steve Badger, playing something other than Omaha for a change, played A-5 against Bruce B.'s A-10. Steve took the lead with a five on the turn, but had to split when a river deuce made a six-high straight board. Badger then went all-in on a re-raised pot against Hung Le. Velador, with pocket eights, said he didn't want to gamble and folded. He should have gambled, because both opponents had A-K and split when blanks fell.
A few hands later, Bruce B. went all-in for the last time. He counted out $9,900 in chips, and Badger gallantly offered to "loan" him the other $100. When a re-count showed he had only $9,500, Bruce requested a red chip, but Steve declined to be that generous. No matter. Bruce had A-4 of hearts against Lazar's Q-6 of diamonds, and when a queen came on the turn the magician made Bruce vanish.
Three hands later, Galiom Mansour raised with A-J. Hung Le, in the big blind, called with his last $3,000 and departed when the board didn't rescue him. Two hands later, Badger checked out in fifth spot with A-K after he called all-in for $3,500 against Velador's K-K.
A few hands later, Mansour went all-in for $5,500 with A-Q and Umel put his last $7,000 in with K-K. Velador, with only 8-5 of clubs but a lot more chips, hoped to bust both of them. But they stayed alive when the board came A-7-Q-8-6, giving Mansour the main pot and Umel the side.
Then Lazar showed General Poy magic. On a flop of 2-5-10, Poy, all-in, took the lead with K-2 against Lazar's A-7. But then a four and a three fell to give the magician a wheel and the general his discharge papers.
Three-handed, Velador had about $143,000, Lazar $95,000 and Mansour $9,500. Mansour left right after the 4:30 break. With limits at $10,000-$20,000, he's in the blind and all-in with 10-2. The three-way pot is checked down and Velador wins with ace-high. Two handed, Lazar promises to show Velador some magic tricks, but can't pull any rabbits (or aces) out of his hat. On the last hand, Luis has A-J, Scott has 9-8, the board shows 2-2-7-A-2, and Velador saws the magician in half.
Biography - Luis Velador
Luis Velador, originally from Mexico, is a family man with four children. He's been playing poker for seven years. The last couple of years he's been stepping up his tournament participation. He's been playing in as many as he can and would play even more if he didn't have his construction job. His other major victory came when he won a limit hold'em event at Commerce Casino last December. In side action, his game of choice is Omaha split, along with high-low stud, and he plays $20-$40 on up.
In this tournament, he didn't do much until half-way through, when he began catching cards. "I felt good tonight, and I was also very lucky," he said. "I was getting good cards. Sometimes I was way ahead, but the cards also stood up when they had to. I'm just glad I won because I was up against a lot of tough players."
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