| 2002 Jack Binion World Poker Open
Event #6
No-Limit Texas Hold’em ($500)
1/10/02
Entries: 315
Total Prize Money: $152,775
In one of the most dramatic comebacks in any event in the history of the World Poker Open, Jose Rosenkrantz, a retired clothing manufacturer from Central America with several major tournament wins, stormed back from near elimination to win $56,527 in the ($500 buy-in) no-limit hold’em event. Left for dead with only $7400 in chips coming into the final table -- and out-chipped by almost 7-1 -- Rosenkrantz continuously shifted gears most of the day and kept his opponents off-balance by coming over the top with several sizable re-raises designed to seize control of the table. The larger Rosenkrantz’s stack grew, the more aggressive he seemed to become. Backed by a boisterous cheering section from his home in San Jose, Costa Rica, Rosenkrantz went on a 3-hour roll and won his first gold bracelet to go along with two Hall of Fame titles.
Play began with the blinds at $800-1600 and antes of $200. Randy Jensen, who won the WPO limit hold’em event just two days earlier came to the final table in third chip position with $41K. Jensen, also known as the “Dream Crusher,” was so confident of victory that he boldly announced to everyone at the final table that they were all “playing for second place.” Unfortunately for Jensen, his dream of victory turned into an absolute nightmare on the very first hand. In a bizarre move, Jensen tried to get cute with his 6-9 and announced he was “all-in” pre-flop with his entire stack. Expecting to steal the blinds presumably and hoping to establish early control, Jensen was horrified when David Rees nearly beat him into the pot with his K-K. Needing a massive amount of help from the flop, Jensen shook his head and finally walked from the table as the board came J-10-4-A-K. It was massive overkill -- with Rees’s trip kings to Jensen’s no-pair. Just moments after collecting $2,444 for 9th place, the Dream Crusher was entered in a satellite game (and eventually won it). You gotta’ admit, the man loves action.
Incredibly, on the very next hand another player was eliminated. Mick Lura, a former Mississippi Gaming Commission official, went all-in after a flop of 10-8-6 (all diamonds). Although he held Q-10 for top pair, it was no good. Randall Witt held the A-3 of diamonds in his hand and flopped the stone-cold nut flush. The final two cards failed to bring a miracle for Lura, and the former gaming official who plans to relocate to Las Vegas soon picked up $3,056 to help with his moving expenses.
On the 4th hand of play, Jose Rosencrantz started his incredible comeback. Rosenkrantz moved his remaining stack into the pot with Q-Q and was called quickly by chip-leader Rees who held A-J. An ace failed to come for Rees, and Rosencrantz was now up to a meager $14K.
Shortly thereafter, Dr. Mark Burtman found himself short-stacked and made his final stand with A-9 off-suit. Witt called in the blind with Q-7 suited and Dr. Burtman was forced to make an early house-call when the final board came 10-8-6-5-9. Dr. Burtman, who writes for PokerPages.Com and took 2nd place in the Mid-America Poker Classic last year, collected $3,819 for 7th place.
Rosenkrantz continued his dramatic comeback. He picked-up pocket aces to David Rees’s pocket kings, and the Costa Rican increased his stack to $45K when the flop came A-5-5 (for aces full of fives). Jasin Levin become co-chip leader a short time later when he flopped an ace with his A-K against Witt’s pocket 9’s. Andy Singer, a retired former attorney from the Washington DC area, would not be so fortunate. Singer, who came to the final table with a slight chip lead was dealt a miserable string of cards and never seemed to gain any momentum. Getting low on chips after an hour of blinds and antes, he moved all-in with pocket 5s when the flop came J-10-10 and ran into Joe Belofsky’s Q-10. No five came and Singer went out of tune in 6th place with $5,347.
After a stunning bluff by Levin, when he made a sizable over-the-top raise with 6-7 after a flop of A-J-2 (forcing Belofsky to lay down his hand), it was Witt’s turn to lay the hammer down on Belofsky. Witt picked up pocket aces and doubled through up to 60K. Levin became the first player to gather over $100K in chips when he hit a pair of kings on the turn against Rees, which left him low on chips. Rees exited shortly thereafter when he moved-in with A-4 and was called down by Witt with A-10. Both players flopped an ace, but Witt’s better kicker played, and Rees was out 5th with $6,875. Rees, who is a former owner of a restaurant in upstate New York, later said the killer hand was his pocket kings getting crushed by Rosencrantz’s pocket aces.
Witt ran into some trouble a short time later when he got caught trying to make a move before the flop with K-Q and was re-raised by Rosenkrantz’s $40K. After Witt reluctantly called, Rosenkrantz showed A-5 and Witt failed to make a pair, which left him short on chips. With his last $14K, Witt moved-in with K-10 of diamonds and was called by the tenacious Rosencrantz with K-Q offsuit. A board of J-3-3-5-4 meant an unwelcome departure for Witt, who played magnificently. Witt, a former official with the Social Security Administration who won the limit hold’em event at last year’s WPO failed to pick-up his second gold bracelet -- but did receive a nice paycheck for $9,167 as consolation.
Down to the final three players, with Levin still chip leader, Rosencrantz launched a series of over-the-top raises that completely changed the complexion of the final table. Each time one of the other two players would raise pre-flop, Rosencrantz came in with another $20K or so and would take the pot. Slowly but surely, Rosenkrantz drilled away at the other player’s stacks. Fed-up with getting re-raised pre-flop, Belofsky decided to make a stand with K-J off-suit and moved his last $30K into the pot. He made his move at the worst possible time, as Rosenkrantz held K-K. Moments later, Belofsky reached across the table and extended his hand Rosenkrantz for setting the perfect trap….getting an opponent to expect a weak hand but in reality having a powerhouse. Belofsky, a freelance artist who specializes in oil painting, was brushed-off the canvass in third place and collected $14,514.
With Levin (120K) and Rosenkrantz (130K) now head-up, the cool Costa Rican suddenly turned up the heat. Rosenkrantz seized control over the final 30 minutes of play with a series of raises that drove Levin from each pot. Every time Rosenkrantz turned up his hand voluntarily, he seemed to hold good cards – with several aces, pairs, and picture cards. Although few hands proceeded past the flop, Rosenkrantz never let up pressuring his opponent. When Levin decided he’d finally seen enough raises, he went all-in with his last $45K coming over the top of Rosenkrantz with A-8. Yet again, Rosenkrantz held the big advantage. He flipped over A-K which left Levin in a horrible spot. The final board of A-K-5-6-Q gave Rosenkrantz two-pair and a well-deserved victory.
Following the highly-entertaining event, which was filled with chants from the crowd, and incredible rush of cards for the player with the shortest stack – Levin spoke highly of Rosenkrantz’ ability to stage the comeback. “He’s a fantastic player,” Levin said. “I’m just happy to be here.” Levin, who played spectacularly and just graduated from college recently, had $29,027 reasons to be happy. Rosenkrantz on the other hand had an even bigger smile. $56,527 in prize money combined with winning a major poker tournament in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends and supporters is sure to be an everlasting memory for the Costa Rican -- who despite being low on chips never gave up.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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