| 2002 Jack Binion World Poker Open
Event #3
Pot-Limit Omaha ($500)
1/7/02
Entries: 140
Rebuys: 172
Total Prize Money: $151,320
Jeremy Tinsley, a 24-year-old semi-professional poker player from Beaumont, TX, arrived at the final table of the Pot-Limit Omaha event as co-chip leader and consistently hammered his opponents into submission with a ceaseless bombardment of raises, winning $60,528, a coveted gold bracelet, and the respect of his opponents and a large crowd of spectators.
From the moment the first hand was dealt, Tinsley utilized a relentlessly aggressive strategy, intended to pressure his opponents into folding unless they held very strong cards. Tinsley’s chips were literally and figuratively used as weapons of war, blasting his opponents out of pots with a constant stream of pre-flop and post-flop raises. His strategy paid-off handsomely. Tinsley showed absolutely no fear of putting chips into the pot and kept an exceptionally talented line-up of experienced players off-balance most of the day, as he claimed his first major tournament victory.
Charles Doumitt from Jackson, TN was the first player eliminated when he re-raised all-in before the flop with 10-10-9-8 (double-suited). Tinsley called with A-J-9-4 and spiked a jack on the river to send Doumitt packing his bags in 9th place with $2,421.
The final table also started out poorly for the popular Cincinnati contractor Jim Lester, winner of a gold bracelet at last year’s World Series of Poker and a previous winner at the World Poker Open. On the very first hand dealt, he lost much of his stack, then was eliminated shortly thereafter in 8th place when he moved all-in with Q-Q-6-5, but lost to Jerry Clay’s set of eights.
Nick Salameh was next to get the ax, when his heavily favored (pre-flop) A-J-J-6 was chopped-off by Tinsley’s A-K-9-6. With two cards in his hand counterfeited by Salameh’s ace and six -- Tinsley basically needed a king to win the pot. “No king!” Salameh shouted, just as an ugly king was flopped onto a final board of K-4-3-7-A and Houston-based Salameh was bounced from the final table in 7th place with $3,783.
Tinsley’s dominance continued. He won a 60K pot in the process of eliminating Galen Kester, proudly showing four aces to the crowd. It was over-kill. Kester missed his flush draw. Kester, who won the 3 Draw Low-Ball event just two days ago (and is now 2 for 2 in final table appearances) added another $5,296 to his World Poker Open winnings for 2002. With that pot, Tinsley’s stack grew to 110K.
Jerry Clay was short-stacked throughout, and went all-in with his last 17K with A-A-Q-3. Nyberg nearly beat Clay into the pot with his A-A-7-7 (and two diamonds). It appeared to be a split-pot with both pairs of aces holding up -- until Nyberg caught two running diamonds to make a flush. Clay, a pot-limit Omaha specialist from the Little Rock area who plays frequently in Tunica, was knocked out in 5th place with $6,809.
Don Nyberg then made his best play of the tournament. With their chip counts close to even, Nyberg snapped-off a bluff by Tinsley on the river, calling with K-K-J-9 while looking at a board of J-4-2-A-A. The chip lead belonged to Nyberg. Temporarily.
Michael Chesteen, who was quiet during most of the final table, then roared like a lion when he bet his last 12K into a flop of A-9-8 of clubs. Chesteen held the second-nut club flush in his hand (Q-10-9-8 and two clubs). Tinsley was absolutely delighted to call the large bet with the nut flush -- his king of clubs getting the best of Chesteen’s queen. Chesteen, a pot-limit Omaha pro, went out in 4th place earning $9,079 for two days of poker playing.
Down to three players, the chip counts stood at 120K for Don Nyberg, 110K for Jeremy Tinsley, and 36K for Don Hardie. Then, the two Dons went to war. After a flop of K-10-2 and two spades, Hardie moved all-in on a flush draw and was called instantly by Nyberg holding K-Q-J-J. Nyberg was helped when he made a straight on the turn, which meant Hardie desperately needed a spade to survive. It didn’t come. Hardie, who is a retired Administrator for the North Carolina Prison System was sentenced to third place and $15,132.
Playing head-up, Tinsley then really started to put on the pressure. Over the next 30 minutes, he constantly chipped-away at Nyberg’s dwindling stack, as the tall towers of chips went one-by-one to the aggressor. The final blow came when Nyberg, who is a college professor from upstate New York and proudly proclaimed he was “the only Yankee” at a final table dominated by Southerners, went-in with his remaining chips….Nyberg’s A-A-8-3 versus Tinsley’s A-Q-6-5. No matter what the hand, Tinsley was unbeatable. He flopped two pair (with Qs and 6s) when the board came Q-7-6. Two harmless blanks fell on the turn and river -- giving Tinsley a well-deserved victory. Nyberg, who won $30,264 for 2nd place, immediately went over and congratulated his opponent as Tinsley proudly snapped his very first World Poker Open gold bracelet on his wrist. To no one’s surprise, it fit perfectly.
After the event was over, Tinsley -- who when he’s not playing poker sells cars for Mike Smith Autoplex in Beaumont -- was humble about his win. He expressed his deep appreciation to his loving parents who have always been supportive of his poker playing. Tinsley also thanked his close friend Bill O’Conner for his guidance during in his short poker career.
-- Written by Nolan Dalla
End of Day One One Results:
Final Table Qualifiers:
1st: Jeremy Tinsley - Beaumont,TX 47,000 Chips Seat 6
2nd: Don Nyberg - Corning,NY 47,000 Chips Seat 8
3rd: Don Hardie - Spruce Pine,NC 36,500 Chips Seat 2
4th: Galen Kester - Lake Cormon,MS 33,500 Chips Seat 3
5th: Nick Salameh - Houston,TX 22,500 Chips Seat 9
6th: Michael Chesteen - Newport,TN 22,500 Chips Seat 7
7th: Jim Lester - Cincinnati,OH 20,500 Chips Seat 4
8th: Jerry Clay - Sherwood,AR 16,500 Chips Seat 5
9th: Charles Doumitt - Jackson,TN 8,000 Chips Seat 1
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