Handyman Has Dandy Opener!
Professional handyman Kelly Behunin proved as handy with a deck of cards as with a hammer by nailing together a win in the opening event of Big Poker Oktober, $50 limit hold'em, his first major tournament victory. International journalist Don Larrimore, who's been to 88 countries and played poker in 22 of them, came in second when the two finalists got heads-up and made a chip-count deal.
Don started with a chip lead of $55,000 after putting a bad beat on Li Chou, Q-Q to K-K. They got in a raising war, Li went all in and Larrimore floppped a set to set the final table. With limits at $5,000-$10,000 and 20-minute rounds, it figured to be a short evening, and it was, taking only 17 hands and under 40 minutes. It would have been even faster had not Hector "The Collector" Ricarte, a landscaper, not repeatedly deliberated at length before folding hands, to the impatience of his opponents.
Three players went all in on the first four hands, and all came out alive. First Chuck Williams, with A-K, outdrew David Williams's two nines when two aces flopped. Then David, with 10-7, stayed alive with a miracle draw-out against Mai Hung. Mai had Q-J and flopped a jack. David had only 10-7 but caught a 10 on the turn and a seven on the river. On the next hand, David, with pocket tens, re-raised Mark Seif, who had A-6. The board came A-K-3. David bet all in for his last $4,000, then caught a third ten on the turn and filled on the river.
On hand five, Mark, with A-8, went all in against Behunin. "Those infamous tens," he muttered, as Kelly turned up pocket tens. They held up and the first player departed. Meanwhile, Hector, having a merry time, bet and forced players to fold on the next two hands, flashing 9-8 the first time on a board of 8-5-2, and J-8 the second time pre-flop. "I feel lucky," he chirped. "You're lucky to be alive," replied Michael Sandor, a Commerce Casino dealer.
With limits at $10,000-$20,000, David, with 10-9 of hearts, raised all-in for $13,000. Mai, who had limped with 8-7, called the $3,000 raise and eliminated the "semi-full time" player when an eight flopped. Two hands later, Larrimore was left with only $2,500 after Mai, with A-K, three-bet the pot. But Don proceeded to flop his second set of queens and won.
Two players departed on hand 13. Hector raised all in for $8,500 more with 8-6 of hearts. Mike, with A-J, put in his last $15,000, and Don with A-K, called. A king flopped, pumping up the writer and leaving the field at five. A hand later it was three. Chuck Williams called for his last $9,000, and Mai, with K-K, called all in after Kelly, with A-J, bet a flop of A-6-5. Neither all-in player could catch up and they got up.
Three hands later it was over. Sean Evans, a real estate broker, moved in with J-8 to Kelly's pocket sixes. The board came A-J-2, all hearts. "A heart," called Kelly, who held one. Instead, a six, just as good, turned to give him a winning set. The chip count was now $127,000 for Kelly and $93,500 for Don, and they quickly agreed to divide the spoils. -Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
Kelly Behunin, 38, a Woodland Hills resident, works for himself ("when I can") doing around handyman work in houses, hanging doors, painting, etc. His father taught him poker when he was five or six, but he didn't get serious until major card casinos opened locally in the 80s. He's basically a stud player who had to learn hold'em to keep up with the action. Kelly, who splits his playing time between live action and tournaments, until now had won only a few small tournaments at places like Hollywood Park.
Tonight, he had to overcome the annoyance of being repeatedly moved around when his tables broke. His big hand came at about the fourth table when he was down to $1,000 with J-10 and got healthy in multi-way action when he made tens-full. Apart from the win itself, he said his biggest satisfaction came when he busted "Hector the Collector" to end his chattering..
CHIP POSITION · FINAL TABLE
Sean Evans
$27,500
Kelly Behunin
$30,500
Don Larrimore
$55,000
Mai Hung
$27,500
David Williams
$16,000
Mark Seif
$8,000
Chuck Williams
$9,000
Hector Ricarte
$29,000
Michael Sandor
$18,000
ALL AROUND
PLAY-OFF
POINTS
Name Total
1. Kelly Behunin 61
2. Don Larrimore 53
3. Sean Evans 47
4. Mai Hung 42
5.Chuck Williams 38
6. Michael Sandor 34
7. Hector Ricarte 30
8. David Williams 26
9. Mark Seif 22
10.Li Chou 20
11.Joe Whiting 18
12.Tim Stayt 16
13.Win Zaw 14
14. Ramon Orozco 12
15.Tony Tolentino 10
16.Bill Song 8 |
