EVENT #16: OMAHA (Pot Limit) $1,500
TOTAL PRIZE MONEY: $116,400
ENTRIES IN THIS EVENT: 53 + 27 Rebuys
PRIZE MONEY TO DATE (3/28-4/12): $1,952,610
TOTAL ENTRIES TO DATE (3/28-4/12): 2,746
Report by Don Larrimore
Tournament stalwart Dan Heimiller came off the ropes in dramatic fashion to win the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha title at the World Poker Open. "This has to be the sweetest win I’ve ever had – going from shortest stack to first. I’ve never done that before," said Heimiller, 38, who had finished 4th in $1,000 No Limit Hold’em and 14th in $1,000 Limit Hold’em here.
A poker pro for seven years after earlier stints as an industrial engineer and cab driver, Heimiller has had four final-table finishes at the World Series and has been in the money about a dozen times.
“Coming to the final table shortest-stacked, I had no expectation of finishing any better than ninth,” the winner said. “But it’s comfortable for me to play shorter stacks – I can use my mathematical abilities rather than use a large stack’s advantage of systematic bluffs.”
Starting even in chips heads-up against Bruce Holt, Heimiller said, “for a couple of hands he had me four-to-one, and then I made a comeback.” Finally dominant 66 minutes after they squared off, Heimiller with A-A-J-8 had Holt all-in with Kh-Qh-9s-5s. Holt had heart hopes on the flop of 8h-4h-4c, but a deuce and seven of spades ended them and gave Heimiller the $18,000 pot and the victory.
Holt’s runner-up finish, coming just five days after his marathon win in the $1,000 Pot Limit Omaha event, catapulted the taciturn cattle rancher into first place among all money winners at the WPO. “It makes me feel good, about getting this far,” Holt said. “But I wish I’d played better. That boy’s (Heimiller) a good player. I just played terribly heads-up; I played some awful bad hands.”
Holt, 69, who hasn’t played any major poker tournaments before the WPO and styles himself “just an Oklahoma cowboy” among the pros here, in fact has played poker since high school and is an Omaha regular at the Horseshoe poker room close by.
Third place went to 1989 World Champion Phil Hellmuth, winner of the $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event last week, who said, “This tournament was structured well. I knew I would have the best hand when all the money went in,” referring to a key pot when his flopped two pair were beaten by Heimiller’s single top pair which became runner-runner flush. “And I did, but the man was very lucky. I feel like I deserved to win.”
Hellmuth, who has six World Series bracelets, is third on the WSOP all-time money list with more than $2 million won in 23 finishes. He was eliminated here with A-Qd-8d-8 by Holt’s J-J-5-4 with a board of 10d-7-5/K-9.
Tony Cousineau, 32, a one-year poker pro and retired professional sports bettor, took fourth place, his best finish in a major tournament, when his A-A-A-K-9 ran afoul of Holt’s K-Q-J-10. The board came A-10-4/2-9. “I’m happy, not disappointed at all,” Cousineau said. “I was patient, waited for good hands and when they came I wasn’t afraid to move my chips in. The final table was super tough. It was a good experience,” said the University of Arizona graduate who has had “numerous” final table finishes on the circuit and two earlier WPO placings in the money.
Fifth place was taken by Hal Kant, the 68 year-old poker-loving lawyer who claims to be “the best amateur tournament player” and says he has won a little under $1.5 million in 14 years of “casino poker.” He has one World Series bracelet and more than a dozen times in the money, including placings in the World Championship event in three of the last four years. “I wanted to win this one,” Kant said. “I was shooting for the trifecta – I’ve won the Omaha at the World Series and at the U.S. Poker Championship. I only had aces once. It was an extremely tough final table.” It was Hellmuth who had the aces, with sevens, when Kant was all-in with A-9-9-6 and all-out with a board of K-10-5-7-2.
Phillip Ivey, 23, one of the stars at the WPO with a diamond and gold bracelet in $500 Limit Hold’em who was at his fourth final table, finished sixth when he flopped an under-full house to Holt: he held 6-5-5-4 to a board of A-A-5/10-Q while Holt had A-5-4-2. “I still feel I need a lot more experience in pot-limit Omaha,” the new poker pro said. “I think I should not have gotten involved in that last hand. I made a mistake. All you can do is move on.”
Scott Johnson took seventh place, eliminated as was Chris Bigler by Holt in an interesting three-way pot. With a flop of Ah-Qc-9h, Johnson flopped Aces and nines and Bigler flopped a nut heart draw. Holt, with Q-Q-9-3, flopped a set and took the pot when turn and river altered nothing. Johnson left saying only, “I’m not happy about anything, I’ll tell you that.”
Bigler, 51, Swiss-born computer software company owner who finished 5th in last year’s World Championship event, said of his 8th place result here: “This was not a bad beat. Two final tables out of five tournaments is fine” (he took fifth in the $1,000 Pot Limit Hold’em event).
First out in ninth place was Tony Maglio, 50, owner of a steel fabrication player and a Memphian who frequently plays at the Horseshoe. His Q-J-10-10 lost to Holt’s A-A-8-8 with a board of K-J-3/5-7. “I feel good,” Maglio said. “There was some world-class competition, which I expected, at the final table.”
The Final Table Chip Standings & Seat Positions:
| Seat Position/Player | Chip Count |
| Seat 1: Bruce Holt (Asher, OK) | $22,900 |
| Seat 2: Scott Johnson (Nacodoches, TX) | $18,000 |
| Seat 3: Tony Maglio (Memphis, TN) | $6,600 |
| Seat 4: Phillip Ivey (Atlantic City, NJ) | $11,600 |
| Seat 5: Chris Bigler (Fislisbach, Switzerland) | $14,200 |
| Seat 6: Hal Kant (Reno, NV) | $12,800 |
| Seat 7: Phil Hellmuth (Palo Alto, CA) | $22,300 |
| Seat 8: Tony Cousineau (Daytona Beach, FL) | $7,100 |
| Seat 9: Dan Heimiller (St. Charles, MO) | $4,300 |
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