EVENT #7: OMAHA HIGH-LOW SPLIT (Eight or Better) $500
TOTAL PRIZE MONEY: $105,245
ENTRIES IN THIS EVENT: 217
PRIZE MONEY TO DATE (3/28-4/3): $868,150
TOTAL ENTRIES TO DATE (3/28-4/3): 1,790
Report by Don Larrimore
Leaving the rest of the poker superstars at the WPO in his wake, Scotty Nguyen showed his World Championship form as he captured his second title here, this one in the $500 Omaha High-Low Split event. Earlier the 38 year-old dynamo had won the $500 Seven Card Stud event, finished sixth in $500 No Limit Hold'em and 17th in the opening $500 Limit Hold'em event with 408 entrants.
"I told you I'd be back, and here I am," said the beaming 1998 World Champion as he collected his second diamond and gold WPO winner's bracelet. "This is the greatest. It's not going to stop, nothing's going to stop me now. I'm playing my best-ever poker and I just feel good about this tournament. When the field is tough, I play well, stay focused and don't make mistakes."
Nguyen went more than a half hour without voluntarily playing a hand at the final table, watching his stack diminish from $21,000 to $3,000 after he finally found playable cards and survived by scooping a pot. Not until nearly four hours of final-table action did Nguyen take the chip lead, and he kept it for the final 80 minutes.
He was finally heads-up with better than a three-to-one chip advantage against Ray Weaver, who survived for just 10 minutes. Weaver went all-in with As-8s-4-4 against Nguyen's K-K-9-8 and when the board came 10s-10-8/5s-Qh it was over.
"I'm so happy to finish second with these world-class players," enthused Weaver, a 65 year-old retired automobile salesman who has played casual poker for some 40 years. He now plays daily at the Amvet club in Birmingham and also cooks there three times a week -- "I smoke the best Boston butt (pork loin) in Birmingham," he declared. This was his best finish and biggest win in any tournament.
Weaver said, "Last night I had a dream that Scotty and I were at the final table and I beat him. It didn't work out that way, but I feel honored to play with him and the others. I feel proud I fought back to take second." In the space of 12 minutes, Weaver went all in three times, splitting once and scooping twice and then took a big three-way pot to become chip leader briefly.
Third place went to Paul Honas, 33, a popular regular on the Las Vegas poker scene who has been a professional for two years. "It was good finally getting to my first major tournament final table. I came close twice at the World Series," said the former poker dealer who has played the game for 21 years. Honas held the chip lead for much of the time at the final table, had a "little bit of a roller coaster ride" and then lost two crucial hands, including his swan song: He was all-in with A-8-22 against Nguyen's K-Q-9-7, losing to a flopped nut straight and missing his low with a board of 10-8-6/6-Q.
Bob Mangino, 59, a golf equipment retailer and "the best recreational poker player in Florida," took fourth place at his first final table in a major tournament. "My finish should be an inspiration for all kitchen table players," he said. "It's a big plus for the recreational players to come in here and play against these top professionals." Shrugging off his several narrow losses both high and low in key hands, Mangino said, "That's poker. That's why it's a great game." He was eliminated cruelly when, all-in with A-10-8c-3c against Nguyen's Q-9c-5c-5, the board came A-Kc-4c/4-Ac, his 8-high flush losing to Nguyen's 9-high.
Fifth place went to a surprising new player on the tournament scene, Alan Amian, who was at his 3rd final table of the four WPO tournaments he has entered. Born in Surinam 24 years ago and raised in the Netherlands, Amian said, "It's unbelievable. The first time you make a final table you're amazed, then you're stunned at the second, and now it's a fantastic dream. Next I'm going for my fourth. I'm glad to represent the new, up-and-coming generation of poker players." Amian was all-in with A-J-5-2 against Nguyen's 7-6-3-2 when the board showed 9-8-8/6-K, the pair of sixes scooping.
Men Nguyen, 46, a leading tournament luminary with four World Series bracelets and major tournament wins he estimates at 45 in his 13 years as a poker pro, took a series of early beats, never recovered and finished 6th. Nguyen, who escaped from his Vietnamese homeland by boat to Malaysia and then the U.S. in 1978, said, "Today's my bad day. But I love this hotel. I can go to the gym and exercise, swim, have a sauna if I have a bad beat. I'm coming back for sure next year." He went all-in with A-J-8-6 against his fellow Vietnamese, Scotty Nguyen (no kin), who held A-9-5-3, and departed when the river gave Scotty a straight and confirmed his nut low.
Seventh place went to Hugh Burbage, 65, who retired recently after 44 years as a railroad train dispatcher and just plays home-game poker usually. He won a $65 single-table satellite to enter this tournament and said, "I think I played well enough. I made a few mistakes as we all do. I knew these players' reputations. The final table was tough, I really enjoyed it." Burbage went out in the same pot which dispatched Mike Sexton, the double-execution accomplished by Men Nguyen. Burbage was all in for $3,000 with A-J-10-4 of hearts, Sexton was in for $2,000 with As-Qs-7-5 and Nguyen had A-K-4-3, which won when the board came K-2-2/6-9.
Sexton, 52, founder and President of the Tournament of Champions, won the European Poker Championship in Paris two weeks ago. In 28 years as a pro he has won one World Series bracelet, finished in the money four times in the World Championship event and has won at least a dozen major tournaments. "In this one, I never won a chip," Sexton said. "It wasn't my day. And that's poker. This facility is fantastic, I think all the players are very impressed."
Ben Tang, 31, a pro for some four years, was first out at his first major tournament final table. The short stack, he was all-in with A-9-8-3, losing high and low to Weaver and Honas with a board of 6-5-4/K-7.
The Final Table Chip Standings & Seat Positions:
| Seat Position/Player | Chip Count |
| Seat 1: Bob "Buzz Saw" Mangino (Ft. Lauderdale, FL) | $24,000 |
| Seat 2: Hugh Burbage (Brandon, FL) | $12,500 |
| Seat 3: Ray Weaver (Birmingham, AL) | $10,000 |
| Seat 4: Alan 'CM' Amian (Pembroke Pines, FL) | $6,000 |
| Seat 5: Mike Sexton (Las Vegas, NV) | $8,500 |
| Seat 6: Scotty Nguyen (Henderson, NV) | $13,000 |
| Seat 7: Paul Honas (Las Vegas, NV) | $15,000 |
| Seat 8: Ben Tang (Scottsdale, AZ) | $1,500 |
| Seat 9: Men "Master" Nguyen (Bell Gardens, CA) | $18,500 |
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