JOHN REISS BEATS 'MIAMI' JOHN IN HOLD'EM BATTLE
Nebraska Poker player John Reiss fought a two-hour heads-up battle with the legendary "Miami" John Cernuto in the ninth event of World Poker Challenge, $500 limit hold'em. Pulling into the lead after taking a $100,000 pot, he went on to win his first major tournament and $31,351.
The key pot came with limits at $3,000-$6,000. On the flop, Cernuto had a set of eights. Reiss had a flush draw, and after multi-raises, he made it on the river. "I was wearing my dark glasses and didn't see the flush on board," said Cernuto a bit sheepishly after he bet the river and got raised.
Today's welcoming host was Gary Lent, the only American to make the finals in the Poker Million at the Isle of Man, and also with a 10th in the WSOP championship.
Final table limits started at $800-$1,600, 28:49 remaining. Professional player Chris Grigorian, with only $900, thought so little of his chances that he entered the stud hi-lo event which started four hours before his final table. He would have been better off sleeping. He broke in the stud event and lasted six hands in hold'em. Going all in with A-10 of clubs, he watched as Reiss and Brett Hansen got in a raising war. Reiss took the pot with unimproved pocket queens and eight were left.
Louis Toner, second-lowest chipped with a $7,300 starting stack, lasted three more hands. He re-raised with Q-10 suited, put in his last $900 on a flop of A-10-7 and lost to Richard Santos, who had A-K. Santos is a billing manager with a tournament win at San Pablo and a 12th place finish at the 1999 Tournament of Champions.
With limits at $1,000 and $2,000, Kiet Tran, a Los Angeles pro who won this year's WPC opening event, was short-stacked after losing several pots. He finally had to post his last chips in the big blind with 8-5, and Reiss finished him off with pocket sixes.
Hanson, whose field is fiber optics, found himself all in with 8-5 in the big blind and escaped when he caught a third eight on the river. Later, he was in the big blind again, this time with 9-4 and $1,000 left. Tim Lyons, an Anchorage contractor, called blind under the gun. He had A-7 and busted Brett when he made aces-full. The Lyon then began to roar. He won a big pot against Vinnie Landrum, another pro with several tournament wins. Vinnie had K-9, flopped a king and hit a nine on the end. Unfortunately for him, the nine also gave Tim a set. Right after that, holding A-2, Tim made three deuces, again hitting his hand on the river.
Just before a 5:45 break, Landrum busted. Holding K-Q, he bet a board of K-Q-7-5. Reiss raised and Vinnie re-raised all in. Reiss had flopped a set of kings and Vinnie had no outs.
With limits at $1,500 and $3,000, Lyons led with $65,500. Cernuto had $41,500, Santos $38,000 and Reiss trailed with $28,000. But then things turned around. Lyons, who had been running over the table, hit the wall. After losing several hands, he was down to about $25,000. Then, in three-way action, he flopped a set of sevens, losing to Miami John, who flopped a straight.
Two hands later he ran into Santos' pocket aces. All in, he stayed alive with pocket jacks, then lost another big pot when he went in with A-K, made two pair and lost to Reiss' flopped set of sixes.
Tim finally went broke at 7:45 when limits were $2,000 and $4,000. Earlier, he had put a beat on Cernuto by catching a ten on the river. This time it was the reverse. Holding K-3, Tim hit a good flop of K-10-3 and went all in. Cernuto had Q-10 and caught that fickle ten on the river to cut the field to three.
A half-hour later, after limits had gone up to $3,000-$6,000, Santos played his last hand. Before the flop, Reiss raised, Miami John made it $9,000 to go and Santos called. The flop was 9-7-6. Cernuto bet and Santos, with A-8 of hearts and an open-end straight draw, raised all in. But Cernuto, with 10-8, had once again flopped a straight, and the heads-up match was set.
Reiss had a slight lead, but Cernuto pulled even on the first hand by making a nut flush on the river. Miami John pulled into a comfortable lead over Nebraska John, once by hitting deuces full on the river. Then, at 9:15, the monster pot came where Reiss caught a flush on the end to beat Cernuto's trip eights, and Miami John, a one-time air-traffic controller with two World Series bracelets, never recovered.
On the seventh hand heads-up, Cernuto re-raised before the flop and then bet dark. On a flop of K-J-10, Reiss raised the blind bet and Cernuto folded, with $8,000 left. He won the next pot, hung on for 30 more hands, building his stacks to $40,000 at one point, going all in several times. (One time, he seemed finished with A-3 versus A-8, but four queens hit the board to earn him a split.)
The end finally came with Cernuto holding A-Q. He re-raised, bet dark, and bet dark a second time on a flop of K-9-7. A six turned, then a king, and Reiss, with A-6, won the pot and the tournament. -Max Shapiro
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