Poker Tournament Results

Jack Binion World Poker Open

Place	Name	Prize
1	Robert Beck (New Orleans, LA, USA)	$73,216
2	Norm Ketchum (Loves Park, IL, USA)	$37,597
3	Ted Brooks (Axtell, TX, USA)	$18,799
4	Stan Mazza (Boulder City, CO, USA)	$11,873
5	Dave Smith (Columbus, OH, USA)	$8,905
6	Basil V Sirna (Kansas City, MO, USA)	$6,926
7	Scott Johnson (Nacodoches, TX)	$4,947
8	Larry Billig (Fairland, OK)	$3,958
9	Russ Floyd (Houston, TX, USA)	$3,165
10	Joel Cook (Griffin, GA)	$2,375
11	Terry Garrett (Waco, GA, USA)	$2,375
12	Jerry Metzger (Madison, WI)	$2,375
13	Phil "Doc" Earle (Houston, TX, USA)	$1,979
14	Robert French (Charleston, MO)	$1,979
15	Bobby Sadler (Muskogee, OK, USA)	$1,979
16	Stan Critcher (Pearse, AZ)	$1,583
17	Scotty Nguyen (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$1,583
18	Charles Bullard (Memphis, TN)	$1,583
19	Frank Kitchens (Oxford, GA, USA)	$1,187
20	Harold Pickard (Mt. Pleasant, TN)	$1,187
21	Winston Shinault (Matthews, VA)	$1,187
22	Chris "Syracuse" Tsiprailidis (Brigantine, NJ, USA)	$1,187
23	Steve Levin (Mystic, CT, USA)	$1,187
24	Larry Poole (Macon, GA)	$1,187
25	Miami John Cernuto (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$1,187
26	Kip Williams (Carrollton, GA, USA)	$1,187
27	Rodney Dockins (Riceville, TN, USA)	$1,187

Tournament Report

EVENT #1: LIMIT TEXAS HOLD'EM TOTAL PRIZE MONEY: $197,880 ENTRIES IN THIS EVENT: 408 Report by Don Larrimore Outlasting a large, star-studded field, Raymond "Bulldog" Beck won the inaugural event of the Jack Binion World Poker Open -- just as he predicted he would. "I'm very pleased," said Beck, a 49 year-old car dealer who has played professional poker for seven years. "It's by far my biggest tournament win. I've won two smaller events and in all I've only made six or eight final tables." But the limit hold'em victory at the Gold Strike Casino Resort, for which he was awarded the first WPO gold and diamond winner's bracelet, somehow came as no surprise: "Before we started, I was confident," Beck said. "I told many of the poker staff that this is my tournament. I didn't come out here hoping to win, I expected to win." He noted that his nickname is Bulldog. "And when I start making hands, they call me 'Pitbull.' I'll probably have three more jackets when the tournament is over," referring to the black and green WPO jackets given to all final table finalists. Among the 408 competitors Beck bested were three World Champions and 13 women, only 1998 title holder Scotty Nguyen finishing in the money. Some two dozen leading tournament players also entered. After 14 hours of play over two days, Beck found himself heads-up and enjoying nearly a six-to-one chip advantage against Norm Ketchum, another recent poker pro who had begun final-table play with a significant chip lead. With cards continuing to run his way, Beck claimed the crown in just 20 minutes, his 6-5 offsuit swamping Ketchum's all-in A-8 of spades when the board came J-9-5/6-4. For Ketchum, 58, a former general contractor, this was the best-ever tournament showing. "I feel good, but after running my chips up to $70,000, I didn't pick up any cards to play. They whittled away my stacks." Echoing other finalists, Ketchum said, "the tournament was very well run. They do a great job." Third place went to Ted Brooks, a 60 year-old retired business manager who had never done so well in a tournament before. He praised the "fine group at the final table, congenial with no animosity, and the atmosphere was professional." Brooks was eliminated when he went all-in with A-4 of hearts on a flop of Kh-Qh-4c against Beck's K-4 offsuit which held up when 2d and 8s hit the board. Stanton Mazza, 54, a retired marble contractor who has played poker for 34 years, scored his biggest tournament win by finishing fourth. "I'm very excited," he said. "After starting with very few chips, I got lucky and I got away with some bluffs. This was only my second-ever final table." He went all-in with pocket jacks against Ketchum's K-Q, running into a disastrous Q-Q-7 flop. On the previous hand, Dave Smith, a 49 year-old longtime cab driver who now plays poker regularly, was knocked out in fifth place when he took pocket sixes against Beck's A-10 suited, losing to a board of K-J-9/A-8. He, too, enjoyed his largest tournament win and said, "My secret to winning is that I ate a lot of chicken livers." Five-handed action had lasted nearly three hours before the eliminations began, with each player severely wounded at least once before rebounding. On the contrary, the first four sent away from the final table were gone in less than an hour. Golf pro Vic Sirna, 59, who has played poker since he was 12, took A-Q all-in against Ketchum's A-K and departed with a board of K-6-4/8-4. "This is a great room and the hospitality here is fantastic," he said. "People will definitely come back. This could turn out to be the biggest tournament anywhere." Scott Johnson finished 7th when his pocket nines lost to Ketchum's K-10. Eighth place went to Larry Billig, 75, his best finish in 50 years of poker. "I enjoyed every minute," he said, after his pocket nines lost to Brooks's K-J. First out, in 9th place, was Russ Floyd whose shortest stack lasted just three hands. He went all-in with pocket threes, against Johnson's pocket aces. The Final Table Chip Standings & Seat Positions: Seat Position/Player Chip Count Seat 1: Norm Ketchum (Rockford, IL) $55,000 Seat 2: Larry Billig (Fairland, OK) $13,500 Seat 3: Russ Floyd (Houston, TX) $9,000 Seat 4: Scott Johnson (Nacodoches, TX) $22,500 Seat 5: Ted Brooks (Axtell, TX) $17,000 Seat 6: Raymond Beck (Tulsa, OK) $28,000 Seat 7: Dave Smith (Columbus, OH) $34,000 Seat 8: Stanton Mazza (Houston, TX) $10,000 Seat 9: Vic Sirna (Kansas City, MO) $14,500