andy Takes No-Limit Event!
Randall Holland, a familiar face at Bicycle Casino final tables, arrived virtually tied for the chip lead in tonight's $1,000 no-limit event and had a fairly easy time of it after that as he surged to a $40,250 win. When it got three-handed, the former lawyer from Florida who now lives in Mississippi had $125,000 in chips to Cliff Cantor's $51,000 and Tony Cousineau's $27,000, and a tournament-ending deal was made. Meanwhile, Cousineau’s 43 points were enough to put him ahead of Cheu Kim Lim in the exciting, lead-changing race for the Mercedes SUV.
At the second table, with 10 players left, tournament director Denny Williams hit Scott Lundberg with a 20-minute penalty for dealer abuse. But while he was on vacation, Lundberg moved up to the final table after poker player/photographer Melissa Hayden was knocked out. She moved in for $7,600 with A-7. George Marlowe covered her holding pocket jacks and flopped a set. Lundberg had around $9,000 when he got up, and about $3,000 when he resumed play.
At the final table, blinds went to $1,000-$2,000 with $300 antes on the tenth hand. On hand 11, Chris Heintschel made it $5,000 to go with A-J. Marlowe, with pocket aces, moved him in for another $7,500, then flopped a set and filled on the turn. Lundberg, who had escaped an all-in encounter two hands earlier when his A-6 outran Cliff Cantor's A-J, bowed out on hand 14. Randy had button-raised to $4,000 with A-9 and Scott raised all in for about $3,500 more with pocket tens. He had the lead until a river ace finished him.
On hand 22, soil engineer John Horn raised all in for $4,600 with 9-7. Cliff Cantor, a Hollywood Hills entrepreneur, made it $10,000 to go with A-8. Stock trader Yarom “Yarm the Arm” Limor called all in for just about the $10,000 holding pocket jacks. The board came K-8-2-8-3, and Cantor’s trip eights swept away two players. “Just when I finally get a legitimate hand,” lamented Limor, who had survived several times earlier after moving in with junk hands. As a consolation prize, Cantor awarded Limor the John Inashima prize “for lasting the longest with the fewest chips.” (Inashima, a noted survival specialist who made the final table at this year’s World Series championship event, finished 14th tonight.)
It took another 17 hands before the next player was eliminated. George Marlowe, a consultant/producer/director who had started the final table with $300 more than Holland’s $42,500, had now lost nearly half his chips. Finally, he raised on the button to $10,000, and called after Holland moved him in for his remaining $12,000. George had much the worst of it with K-J to Randy’s A-J, and the 7-3-2-2-Q board did not save him.
A few hands later, the tournament came to an abrupt end. Phillip Ivey had about $13,000 after surviving an all-in encounter with A-6. On hand 43, after Holland raised $6,000 with A-K, the young player from Atlantic City moved in with pocket sevens. The board came K-9-10-6-4, and Randy’s kings took the pot and moved him into a massive chip lead. After some negotiations, the three finalists agreed to a deal. The tournament was over, with Cliff taking second place and Tony third. –Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
Randall Holland, 49, counts a Best All-Around in the 1998 Legends and razz and stud bracelets from the World Series among his many triumphs. He started off 2001 with a bang, winning one stud event at Hollywood Park and then another this past March at the World Poker Open in Tunica. He hit a dry spell after that, but is now back on the winning track.
Tonight, he doubled up at the first level after hitting a set of fives. With two tables left, he was still just “hanging around” until he started making some hands. At the final table, he said, there were several big stacks which nobody wanted to go against, and he was fortunate several times to pick up hands against short stacks. His strategy overall was to be patient earlier, and then to get aggressive when he came within “striking distance” of victory at the final table.
|
