Hoeppner Wins Championship!
James Hoeppner, a Las Vegas CPA who’s played tournaments for only two years, caught a great rush of cards to beat a table of pros and capture the Legends of Poker $5,000 no-limit championship. In the key hand, he flopped quads to knock out two players and take a monstrous chip lead.
The last nine players assembled at 10 p.m. when blinds were $300 and $600, with $100 antes. The final five money finishers had the option of returning the next day or playing through, and they later decided to play. Toto Leonidas finished ninth with A-4. Jimmy Ngoc Tran, holding A-K, moved him in and won easily when a king flopped. Shortly after, Hoeppner moved in with K-K. "Syracuse" Chris Tsiprailidis called for his last $4,000 with pocket jacks and bowed out when he couldn't improve. Paul Ladanyi finished seventh. Tran raised with A-K, Ladanyi re-raised with deuces and Tran moved in. A king on the flop decided it.
Hoeppner took the chip lead with close to $50,000 after he made a runner-runner flush to beat Paul Rowe’s pocket tens. Soon after, his big hand came down. With blinds of $1,000 and $2,000, Men Nguyen, with only $3,800 left after Hoeppner beat him the hand before, for some reason moved all in with just 10-3. Hoeppner called with pocket eights and Tran called with 10-9. James flopped four eights. He checked, bet just $2,000 on the turn and $6,500 with a ten on the river. Tran fell for it and moved in, and there were four money finishers led by Hoeppner with $96,500 in chips.
Rowe, who won Commerce’s championship event in June, departed at 1:30 a.m. Holding 7-5 of hearts, he moved in for about $18,000 when he flopped draws to an open-end straight and a flush. Hoeppner had a bigger flush draw, but a king was all he needed to cut the field to three. Luis Santini, with far more experience and several titles, made a play designed to warn Hoeppner that respect must be paid. After James raised $10,000 pre-flop, Luis moved all in for about $24,000 on a flop of 4-4-2, then showed a K-9 after Hoeppner folded. Then Hieu “Tony”Ma took the chip lead holding a higher kicker after he and Hoeppner made trip sixes. And then Santini took charge. With $1,500 and $3,000 blinds and $500 antes, Ma, with K-6, bet all in on a board of 4-4-5-6. Luis had J-3 and made a straight on a river seven. He now had $92,500 to Hoeppner’s $82,500.
Hoeppner relieved Santini, owner of an aromatherapy business in Florida, of some chips with a full house. But he could have had them all playing more strongly because Santini, with pocket queens, had been trying to set him up. The two battled on. Santini took a big lead when he went all in with A-8 against A-K and made three eights. Hoeppner struck back when he went all in with A-4 and flopped three fours. Then he built his lead to $150,000 when he beat Luis’ Q-Q by flopping a king to his K-7. On the next hand, with blinds of $2,000 and $4,000, he ended it after calling Luis’ all-in raise. Hoeppner had only Q-2 to Santini’s Q-10, but won with a deuce on the turn. –Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
James Hoeppner, 41, who owns a certified public accountant business, has played poker only five years, and tournaments two, but he’s already made some nice scores. This year he came in fifth in the World Series deuce to seven event, and second at the Tournament of Champions. He also won a European Omaha championship, but his Legends victory is his first major win. He finished tenth in the limit event the night before.
No-limit hold’em is his preferred game, and he likes to play in the 7 p.m. tournaments at the Mirage. Tonight, he said, he got a lot of chips early on with second top set against one player’s third top set and another’s aces. He later dropped from $12,000 to $4,000, but got well again at the second table when he was dealt a succession of great hands. He said his final two big draw-outs gave the tournament a “strange ending,” but he wasn’t complaining.
FINAL POINTS WINNERS
1. John Juanda 218
2. Stan Goldstein 194
3. Cheu Kim Lim 164
4. Phillip Ivey 162
5. Toto Leonidas 161
6. Mel Judah 154
7. Thomas Cawley 153
8. Tony Cousineau 152
9. Paul Ladanyi 150
10.Gary Lent 148
11.Tom Connors 131
12. Mack Lee 124
13.Jimmy Ngoc Tran 123
14.Jim Pechac 118
15.Daniel Negreanu 111
16.Chris Tsiprailidis 110
17.Norai Khodouzadeh 106
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