| Jack Binion World Poker Open
Event #15
($1,000 buy-in) No-Limit Texas Hold’em
Entries: 198
Total Prize Money: 192,060
It seems fitting that the winner of the $1,000 buy-in no-limit Texas Hold’em event was a Texan. David Reopke, a cagey tournament veteran from the tiny central Texas town of Troy, topped a strong field of 198 players and rode off into the sunset with $76,824. Roepke arrived at the final table 7th in chips, and crafted a clever combination of methods designed to outmaneuver his opponents. Roepke repeatedly shifted between being the most aggressive player at the final table, versus the most cautious – deliberately mixing up his play just enough to keep his opponents off-guard most of the night. It took exactly three hours for Roepke to expel the tournament’s final eight players and seize his first gold bracelet.
Stephen Morgan came to the final table low on chips, and inherited the button from the day before. On an apparent steal attempt, Morgan moved-all on the first hand, hoping to pick-up a round of blinds. Ian Dobson found a pair of deuces in the big blind and called the extra $7,500. Morgan showed 10-8 of clubs versus Dobson’s 2-2. Morgan failed to connect with either a pair, or clubs, and the first player went out only two minutes into the final table. Morgan collected $3,072 for 9th place.
A short time later, Stan Goldstein made a $6K raise on the button with pocket 4’s. 1989 World Champion Phil Hellmuth, in the small blind, sensed a steal attempt and re-raised all-in for another $20K. Goldstein contemplated his action and decided to call, convinced he was up against two overcards. Goldstein was right – Hellmuth showed A-Q. A final board of K-3-2-9-8 (no ace, no queen) crippled Hellmuth, who was suddenly down to $8K.
The same two players jawed back and forth for a few minutes – each suggesting that the other had totally misplayed his hand. After Hellmuth managed to double up again with a nut diamond flush a few hands later, Hellmtuh went to the felt again on the next round. He decided to make a stand with his remaining stack with A-8, but was called down by Skip Wilson, holding 8-8. Desperately needing an ace to survive, Hellmuth was disappointed to see the final board come K-7-3-9-6. That meant Hellmuth was out 8th with $3,841.
The button raise and big blind re-raise situation would come up several times at this final table. Just a bit later, David Roepke made a standard raise on the button and Ian Dobson (in the big blind) decided to come over the top with an all-in re-raise with the rest of his chips. This time, Roepke wasn’t stealing. He showed K-K. Dobson revealed A-10 and still had outs when the flop came K-Q-10. Even though Roepke hit a set of kings, a jack could still win the pot for Dobson. However, two rags fell -- which put Dobson, one of England’s top players, on the rail in 7th place with $4,802.
With Stan Goldstein the co-chip leader (along with Peter Vilandos and David Roepke), it was time for Hung Le to make his move. Le made a button raise with 10-10 and Goldstein -- with K-Q of diamonds in the blind -- re-raised enough to put Le all-in. Le called the raise immediately and watched as the flop failed to help Goldstein’s hand. Suddenly, Goldstein was down to $18K. A few minutes later, the same two players got into another battle – this time Goldstein taking much the worst of it. Goldstein tried to steal with 8-7, but Le found another pocket pair in his hand, this time with 8-8. With Goldstein a huge underdog, the board failed to produce a miracle and the successful Los Angeles-based pro was out in 6th place with $6,722.
Skip Wilson came to the final table with average chips and tried to build up his stack by running an attempted bluff. With $20K already in the pot, Wilson (with A-5) moved all-in with his remaining stack after the flop came Q-8-6. Hung Le called the final bet with top pair and took down the pot with a pair of queens, as Wilson could not get a much-needed ace. Wilson, an Ohio businessman who has made several final tables and won a major event at Foxwoods last year, took 5th place and $8,643.
Gerry Craft came in second-lowest in chips, and managed to survive until the blinds and antes finally caught up with him. Craft went from an expected 8th place finish (based on early chip counts) to 4th place instead. Craft went all-in on his last hand of the night with Q-10 suited, but ran into a brick wall. Roepke couldn’t get his chips into the pot fast enough when he looked down and saw A-A. There were no bad beat stories for Reopke to tell after this hand, as justice prevailed. The aces held up. Craft, who is a scout for Major League Baseball’s Houston Astro’s, collected $11,524 for two days of poker playing.
Hung Le was now close to 100K in chips. With blinds set at $1K-2K and $300 antes, a psychological battle ensued between the final three players. At various times, each player seemed to gain the upper hand with some ploy or remark that was designed to be confusing or misleading to his opponents. Bluffs were shown. Big laydowns were flashed. After each hand, the players jived back and forth, trying to needle the other. However, of the final three -- Roepke was by far the least talkative. He was just as aggressive as the other two, but refused to get involved in the banter.
Roepke won a key hand when he saw a cheap flop in the blind with 5-2. The flop came 6-2-2. Roepke ended up taking $25K from Peter Vilandos on the hand. Shortly thereafter, Vilandos got his money back when he went all-in with A-J and was reluctantly called by Roepke, who was pot-committed with J-10 suited (Roepke had made the initial raise). Vilandos hit two pair and doubled-up to $61K. Now, Roepke was in trouble with only $30K remaining.
Then, Roepke took control of the table. First, Roepke doubled-up against Le to $65K. Then, he found J-J in what would prove to be the most decisive hand of the night. Le opened things up with a $12K raise. Next, Vilandos re-raised and made it a total of $50K to call. Roepke, with pocket jacks, re-raised all-in – creating a potential $140K pot if either player called the big bet. Le quickly folded, and after thinking carefully, Vilandos called with Q-10 suited. The flop made things interesting for both players and the large crowd of spectators. 10-9-8 gave Vilandos top pair. But Roepke was still a big favorite with pocket jacks. A jack would give Vilandos a straight and a huge chip advantage. Roepke hoped for two blanks – which is exactly what he got as two harmless cards ended Vilandos’ chances. Vilandos went out in 3rd place and received $19,206.
Roepke took a 3-1 chip lead against Hung Le as head-up play began. Incredibly, the final duel would take just a couple of minutes. Roepke and Le each put in $12K before the flop. By the turn, Le had moved all of his money into the pot on a steal attempt. The board showed Q-9-5-7 after the turn. After Le’s last $20K went in, Reopke called and showed 4-4, hoping that Le had completely missed his hand and was trying to steal. His perception proved accurate. A harmless 9 fell on the river which meant Roepke’s pocket 4’s was the winning hand. Hung Le, the owner of a liquor store in Florida, played a marvelous tournament and took $38,412 for 2nd place.
David Roepke -- a good-natured Texan who owns a construction and remodeling business back home -- was ecstatic with his victory. He has played poker seriously since 1978, and has appeared in many major tournaments and has made several final tables in the past. But this might have been his biggest win to date. Afterwards, Tournament Coordinator Jack McClelland said, “I’ve been trying to give David a bracelet or a trophy for over 20 years.” After paying his dues on the tournament trail for two decades, his time had finally come.
-- Nolan Dalla
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