| Gary Lent, an engineering vice president, claimed his first Legends title with a wire-to-wire victory in $300 Omaha hi-lo, starting the final table with a big chip lead which he never lost. His key hand came when he scooped a huge pot and broke the last two players at the second table in a classic Omaha draw-out. On a flop of K-J-10, Phillip Ivey had a set of tens, Lent made a king-high straight and Gary Chan had an ace-high straight. But then runner-runner spades gave Lent a flush to bust both all-in players.
Three of the finishers, Minh Nguyen, Hollywood T and Cheu Kim “Joe” Lim made their second final table. Limits started at $2,000 and $4,000. Craig Kaufman, manager of the Hustler Casino, had one $500 chip which he posted on the second hand holding A-2-2-K. A deuce on the turn counterfeited his nut low draw but gave him a set, but then a three on the river gave Hieu Hoang a scoop wheel.
Two hands later, Lent raised and Hollywood T called all in with A-2-7-K. Lim also called with a very similar A-2-6-9. A board of 8-7-5-2-J gave Lim a straight and a better low, and the field was cut to seven. After limits went to $3,000-$6,000, Can Hua posted his last chips in the blind with thin material: K-10-9-7. Hoang had 2-3-3-K, flopped a set, filled on the end, and Hua cashed out.
A hand later, Lent started with a promising low hand of A-3-4-9. Lim, with K-K-A-4, raised and then bet the flop of 9-9-10. But Lent now had trips, and a four on the turn filled him, as he hauled in a big pot and put Lim out of action. Still, the sixth-place finish was enough to give Joe, who won the second event, $300 limit hold’em, the points race lead.
Andy Gamboa, a prop at Garden City in San Jose, now began going all in, surviving with a couple of chops before finally going busting on hand 17. He raised with his last $4,500 holding Q-Q-J-9. Nguyen called with a much weaker K-8-7-4, but a board of 10-7-4-7-4 gave him a full house.
Down to four, Lent still held the lead with about $70,000, followed by Hoang with $46,000, Nguyen $22,000 and Harold Kaufler $24,000. At that point, Men "The Master" Nguyen, who had put in Hieu and Minh, made a sudden appearance, rattling off numbers and dictating terms for a division of the prize money. "Who is he, in management?" a confused Kaufler asked. After the players agreed to chop the bulk of the prize money and play for the rest, Kaufler won a couple of pots and grumbled about The Master’s deal he agreed to. “Why does he have ‘The Master’ written on his pants?” he asked. ”He got a good deal on them and named himself after the pants,” Lent explained.
Lent, who had been the most aggressive player at the final table, now used his big stacks to put even more heat on In four-way action with $5,000-$10,000 limits, he raised Nguyen all in holding A-2-5-9. After more bets had put Hoang in also, the board of 4-5-6-J-7 gave Gary the low end while Hieu, with K-K-Q-7 took half the main pot and Kaufler’s 10-10-A-3 took the high end of the side pot. Nguyen, with A-K-Q-J, finished fourth.
Hoang, meanwhile, had suddenly begun chattering madly at high volume. Lent silenced him by busting him with a straight. Heads up, with $130,000 of the chips, Gary made a deal at 4:30 a.m. so he could drive to Pasadena and get a little sleep before the next event. – Max Shapiro
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