Ladanyi 'Picks Off' Big Score!
Paul Ladanyi picked off two bluffs with just ace-high in key hands at the final table, accumulating enough chips to overpower everyone and win the 22nd event of Legends of Poker, limit hold'em. The 261 buy-ins and 251 rebuys were enough to exceed the $150,000 guarantee for this event and provide a whopping $153,600 for first place. When it got heads-up, Ladanyi, a former biochemist, had $159,000 in chips to Van Zakarian's $98,000, and a deal was struck.
Anna Acerkop finished tenth. She had K-J and flopped a king, but lost when Jimmy Tran, with pocket eights, turned a set. Still, she collected $1,920, not a bad payday for missing the final table. Limits commenced at $3,000-$6,000. Starting with hand five, there were six all-in escapes on the next eight hands. First, Ladanyi called Frankie O’Dell’s bluff all in on the river with his first ace-high to haul in a pot of nearly $50,000. Next, after limits went to $5,000-$10,000, Minh Ly made a higher flush than Vegan Sarkissian. Then, Tran made a set of fours on fourth street as Minh Ly missed his flush. Next, Minh Ly kept his chips when no one called his all-in pre-flop raise. Then, Zakarian, with Q-9 of spades, made a flush to beat Tran's pocket kings. Finally, Bill Carter stayed alive when his pocket sevens held up against O’Dell’s J-10.
But two hands later, there was no escape for Vegen Sarkissian. He was trapped in the big blind for his last $3,500 with a 7-3 offsuit in three-way action. Paul, with A-7, flopped two pair and made aces-full on the turn. Three hands later, John Pham tried to steal a large pot that was checked on the turn and that showed 9-4-2-4-3 on the river. Once again Ladanyi called and won with ace-high (A-10), running his chip lead up to $110,000.
On the 22nd hand, players started dropping so fast it looked like the black plague had struck. First Miny Ly expired. He had the small blind, was all in with J-8 and couldn’t overtake Paul’s A-8. One hand later, Pham, with A-10, was all in when the board showed J-10-6-K. He had the lead against Paul’s Q-10 until a river nine gave Paul a straight and about $140,000 in total chips.
One hand later, Jimmy Tran finished sixth. He had A-K and went all in against research physicist Josh Wentlandt’s K-J of spades. A third spade hit the turn, and another for good measure on the river. Two hands after that, limits went to $10,000-$20,000. As if players weren’t falling fast enough, two more immediately went out on the same hand. O’Dell had started with the second chip lead, but couldn’t do anything and was now down to $7,500. First to act, he went in with 10-6. Zakarian called with A-9 and then Carter, marketing director for a Vegas events company, raised all in with two sevens, the hand that had saved him earlier at the table. The board came down 8-8-5-9-4, and Paul’s paired nines pared the table to three.
On the next hand it was all over but the negotiating. Paul raised to $20,000 with K-9 of spades and Josh re-raised all in for $20,500. An A-6-3-Q-A was dealt and Paul won with king-high. Ladanyi, from Hungary, and Zakarian, from the U.S.S.R., then hammered out a treaty and shook hands.
Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
Biochemist-turned-pro Paul Ladanyi is an anti-smoking activist who worked hard to help get the major tournaments to go nonsmoking. He’s had a very good year, making six final tables in the past few months, two in limit hold’em at the World Series, and three in limit hold’em and one in 7-card stud at Legends. His best game, though, is no-limit, and his victories include no-limit wins at the 1999 Legends, the 1997 L.A. Poker Classic and the ’96 Legends championship, and runner-up in the ’96 L.A.P.C. championship. He said he hasn’t played that many tournaments this year, either, spending a lot of time in Europe, playing only when he “had to.”
Tonight, he had an “up and down, mostly up” evening and was all in with two tables left. He said he played his usual game, knew most of the players and could adapt his style accordingly. He thought that third-place finisher Wentlandt, who he did not know, played especially well.
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