| Jack Binion World Poker Open
Event #14
($1,000 buy-in) Pot-Limit Omaha
Entries: 117 and 202 rebuys
Total Prize Money: $309,430
In the longest final table of any event thus far at the 2002 World Poker Open, David “DevilFish” Ulliott put on a vintage performance that once again proves why the English are often considered to be the best pot-limit Omaha players in the world. Ulliott, from Hull, England, earned his first gold bracelet at the World Poker Open and collected a hard-earned $123,772 for the win. Clocking in at nearly six hours, it initially appeared Ulliott might run over the rest of the table and rout his final eight opponents. But Ron Rose and Dewey Tomko – who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively – had something else in mind. When play got down to the final three players, the end result was a poker marathon -- which included several incredible moments.
Ron Rose came into the second day in excellent chip position with $78K. At the opposite end of the spectrum was Rick Ellerman – who managed to make today’s final table with only a single $500 chip remaining. On the third hand dealt, Ellerman tossed his last chip into the pot with 4-6-6-8. Ulliott raised with K-K-Q-J, isolating Ellerman. The board came 10-10-9-A-9, giving Ulliott two-pair (kings and tens). That meant an early exit for Ellerman, who was playing in only his third major poker tournament. Ellerman received $4,951 for 9th place.
Shortly thereafter, Jerry Clay moved all-in with a pot-sized bet when he flopped trip 8’s. Clay started with K-Q-10-8 and hit the flop with a solid hand and a decent re-draw to the straight. However, Ulliott held A-9-8-5. Consequently, both players had trip 8’s but Ulliott held the better kicker in his hand. Clay left the table in 8th place and took home $6,189.
About 30 minutes later, Ken “Skyhawk” Flaton was the next player out when he raised the pot and was called by Dewey Tomko. Flaton showed A-10-10-8 versus Tomko’s J-J-7-7. The flop came 9-8-3-4-6, which meant Tomko’s pair of jacks were good. Flaton, who won the U.S. Poker Championship in 1996 (and many other tournaments in the last 20 years), took 7th and collected $7,736.
Each of the three players coming into the final table lowest in chips went out in succession. Now, it was Fred Brown’s turn. The cowboy-hatted Brown put his last $10K in the pot with K-Q-J-5, which was matched by (who else but?) Ulliott. DevilFish flipped over A-10-9-7. Ulliat hit a straight on the turn and the final board showed J-9-7-8-Q. Brown, a residential developer in Michigan who’s enjoyed success at the World Series of Poker and Rio in previous years, pocketed $10,830 for 6th place.
Four quick eliminations helped Ulliott take the chip lead after the first half hour. He increased his stack to over $100K by the time tournament pro Tony Cousineau went all-in with his last hand of the night. Cousineau failed to catch a hand at the final table and struggled to hold onto chips as the blinds zipped around. Cousineau found A-A-A-5 in the big blind and hoped the rockets in the pocket would hold-up. Unfortunately, it let him down as Ulliott devilishly took 8-7-5-4 and cracked Cousineau’s aces when the final board showed 6-4-2-4-J. Ulliott’s trip 4’s for meant more road kill for the increasingly powerful chip leader -- and Cousineau on the side of the highway in 5th place with $13,924. Cousineau made 15 tournament final tables last year, and now starts the new year off with his first such appearance at the World Poker Open.
During the next hour or so, Ulliott increased his chip advantage to the point where it appeared his win might be a foregone conclusion. At one point, Ulliott had an 8 to 1 chip advantage over his closest opponent – while the other three players seemed to be battling for second place. However, the leap in prize money between 3rd and 4th instigated lots of chip movement between the three short-stacks – Dewey Tomko, Ron Rose, and Harry Thomas. A key hand occurred when Rose temporarily reversed the Ulliott chip avalanche, when he came over the top and raised on a flush and straight draw and got there (making a flush on the turn which won a $61K pot). Rose picked up another pot when Harry Thomas was down to his few remaining chips and moved his stack in with A-Q-7-8. Rose called the raise with A-9-4-3 and made a straight when the board showed Q-6-2-5-4. That put Thomas – a land developer and former World Series of Poker bracelet winner – out in 4th place with $18,566.
The battle between the final three players was slugfest. Each player took turns moving his stack into the pot, trying to push his opponent off the hand. Just when it appeared Ulliott might wipe-out Rose and Tomko – Rose would hammer the DevilFish with a pot-sized raise specifically designed to really put Ulliott to the test. At other times, Tomko staged several comebacks as his chips fluctuated between $10K to $60K for at least 90 minutes.
The blinds gradually took their toll on short-stacked Tomko the most. After surviving at least six all-in situations, Tomko took his final stand of the night with Q-J-8-8. This time, Rose was the player to call the raise, with K-7-7-3. Ron really came out smelling like a rose when the board came 9-3-3-5-10, giving Rose trip 3’s. Dewey Tomko, who has won five world titles and finished second in the world championship last year, took third-place prize money amounting to $30,943.
The head-up duel featured “DevilFish” Ulliott, who is arguably the best tournament player in England at the moment (perhaps in all of Europe) -- versus a talented American player who has enjoyed tremendous success in Europe, as well. Rose has won four major events in Europe in the last year, or so – and would prove to be a feisty competitor for the steely-eyed chip launcher from Hull.
Ulliott started-off with a 5-2 chip advantage. As play at the final table entered the sixth hour, Rose began a fearless assault on Ulliott’s stack, hammering away $15K to $20K at a time. Each time Ulliott and Rose saw a flop, Rose put the crafty Englishman to the ultimate test with a pot-sized bet. Rose even came over the top of Ulliott a few times, causing Ulliott – now, with a look of concern on his face -- to surrender the pot to the aggressor. Rose even managed to take the chip lead at one point, after putting Ulliott to the test during yet another decision to move all-in with his entire stack.
After losing the chip lead, Ulliott decided he’d had enough. He seized back the momentum at the table when he came over the top of Rose’s $36K bet with an $86K raise. Rose folded, which again gave Ulliott the chip lead – an advantage he would never relinquish.
Late in the match, Ulliott made a pot-sized bet on the river and took a 3-2 chip lead when Rose presumably missed on a monster draw. Then, the last hand of the night occurred when Ulliott was dealt K-Q-J-5. Rose was dealt 9-7-4-2. The flop came A-K-10 – all diamonds. Rose didn’t have much of an Omaha hand, except that he held two diamonds, while Ulliott had no possible flush. Both players checked and the turn came with a queen. Rose made a bet and Ulliott called with a straight and two-pair. A king fell on the river – as the final board showed A-K-10-Q-K (with three diamonds). Ulliott bet out $40K and Rose moved all-in with the rest of his chips. Ulliott quickly called and tabled a full house – kings over queens. Rose became the 2nd place finisher and received $61,886.
As dozens of observers stood and applauded, “DevilFish” Ulliott treated the crowd to a special bonus -- an Elvis impersonation. The beaming Brit took the microphone from Tournament Coordinator Jack McClelland and began crowing “Don’t Be Cruel” to the audience. Ladies and gentlemen, Devilfish has left the building – with $123,772 in prize money.
-- Nolan Dalla
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