Willy the Chef Wins by Nose!
The fourth event of Big Poker Oktober, Omaha hi-lo, ended in a three-way virtual dead heat. Retiree Theodore Rone Jr. had $55, 000 in chips, Kathy Liebert had $56, 000 and Willie Valencia had $59, 000. While the two men were agreeable to a chip-count split, Liebert wavered, half-wanting to play it out. But with limits at a crap-shoot $10, 000-$20, 000 level, she opted for discretion over valor and Valencia, an executive chef at Embassy Suites, was declared the winner.
Until the latter stages, Kathy owned the table. She arrived with an enormous chip lead of $60, 000 after busting two players at the second table. Getting so many premium hands she couldn't believe it, she extended her lead to over $70, 000 at one point, seemingly playing and raising every hand before her opponents finally started playing catch-up. Valencia, on the other hand, was struggling, waiting for decent hands and once going all in before snagging some big pots and surging ahead.
Only eight contestants reached the final table because three were eliminated at the same time. Kathy's double knockout came at one second table when she held A-A-7-7. The aces held up and she sent home Marc Gilutin, a Bicycle Casino Omaha host, who finished 11th, and Sang Tran, who cashed out 10th. Meanwhile, at the other table, Frenchie Laroux, all in with aces-up on the flop, finished ninth when portfolio manager Bruce Berlow made a flush.
Limits started at $3, 000-$6, 000. On the fourth hand, software project manager Jerrod Ankenman looked at A-2-5-9 and committed the $2, 000 he started with. Liebert, in the small blind, called for the extra $500. The board came 9-5-4-5-Q, and her queens beat his nines and whatever hand Jack Hoffman, a Bike lead floorman, held in the big blind.
Relentlessly raising, Kathy finally went up against Berlow on hand 12, when limits were $5, 000-$10, 000. After he raised, she looked at her cards, sighed, said she hated having to play so many hands…and re-raised. Bruce called and added his last chip with A-3-3-9. Kathy had A-A-10-7 and easily broke him when she turned a third ace. A few hands later, two short-chipped players went out on the same hand. Peter Law, who owns an import-export business but says he plays at the Bike more than he works, and Maurce Goodman, retired from the "standards" department at NBC, busted when no low came and Willy scooped with a heart flush.
As play continued, Kathy, picking up a slew of A-2 combo and other premium hands, raised again on hand 16, commenting that she had never seen so many hands. But on the next deal, after she re-raised pre-flop, saying she was "getting tired playing, " Rone finally put on the brakes. He check-raised her on a 6-4-3 flop, forced her to fold and took a lead of about $70, 000. Willie, going all in with K-Q-J-9 on hand 28, began climbing up by hitting queens full. He now had $27, 000 while his opponents all had between $45, 000 and $50, 000. After limits went to $10, 000-$20, 000, he caught up by making queens full again against Hoffmann. A hand later, Jack raised all in for $17, 000 with A-3-7-J. Kathy called and floored the floorman by making sixes full of nines. One more hand was played, and then the three even-steven finalists decided to lock up their profits and call it a night. -Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
Wilfredo "Willie" Valencia, 55, comes from the Philippines and now lives in Corona. He began learning his cooking craft when he was in the navy, and has been at the stoves for 37 years. He began playing poker 15 years ago and rates himself as just "above average." He prefers Omaha and limit hold'em, and plays mostly side games like $6-$12 Omaha. This is his first major tournament win, though he's had many seconds and thirds. His biggest cash-out came when he chopped a limit hold'em event at Elsinore.
The tournament tonight was a struggle, he said, and he was down to $2, 000 with five tables left before he began getting lucky and catching hands. Asked if he was intimidated by Kathy Liebert's aggression and big stacks, he said he wasn't. "I played very carefully, " he explained. "I wouldn't come in without a hand."
CHIP POSITION · FINAL TABLE
Bruce Berlow $11, 500
Maurce Goodman $19, 000
Theodore Rone Jr. $15, 000
Kathy Liebert $60, 000
Jack Hoffmann $30, 500
(Vacant)
Peter Law $7, 500
Willie Valencia $25, 000
Jerrod Ankenman $2, 000
ALL AROUND PLAY-OFF POINTS
Name / Total
1. Tom Connors 73
2. Kelly Behunin 67
3. Willie Valencia 59
4. Phi Nguyen 59
5. Kenny Ha 57
6. Colman Roy 57
7. Don Larrimore 53
8. Makram Merhom 51
9. Kathy Liebert 51
10 Stephane Borrero 49
11. Sean Evans 47
12.Todd Berman 45
13. Theodore Rone Jr. 45
14.David Hoekstra 44
15.Rich Nguyen 43
16.John Hartzell 43 |
