| HOM(E) ALONE
When one chip leader after another self-destructed, our winner was left alone at the top.
There were 155 entrants in the $3,000 Limit Hold'em for a total prize pool of $437,100. Two tables were paid, a total of 18 players.
Mike Laing was doing all the work Tuesday night, busting player after player. With an A 7 suited, Mike put the remaining 18 in the money when his seven played against an A 4 suited.
The Final Table was setup Tuesday night when Ron Stanley also used an A 7 to advantage. Jesse Daniel went all-in with an A 6 and flopped a 6. Stanley found a 7 on the river so the last ten could go home for the night.
THE FINAL TABLE 22 mins left of 75. The blinds were $1,000/$1,500.
Seat#---Player--------Hometown----------Chip Count
Seat 1) Benny Wan - Alhambra, CA. $19,000
Seat 2) Mike Laing - Franklin, PA. $79,500
Seat 3) Barney Boatman - London, UK. $48,500
Seat 4) Ron Stanley - Las Vegas, NV. $44,500
Seat 5) Barry Greenstein - Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. $68,000
Seat 6) John Hom - San Rafael, CA. $50,500
Seat 7) David Enoch - Lawrence, KS. $32,500
Seat 8) David Plastik - Las Vegas, NV. $50,000
Seat 9) Doug Saab - Birmingham, AL. $37,500
Seat 10) Lamar Hampton - Castleberry, FL. $36,000
For the first two hours everyone won a few hands except Barney Boatman. The ship had already set sail for the third-time WSOP 2002 Final Table member (joining Phil Ivey), but Barney didn't know it yet. Boatman found that no matter what he did, he couldn't win a hand. Besides he was sitting next to Mike Laing who was often yelling in his ear. Barney seemed almost relieved to go out first after suffering so long. In desperation or resignation, Boatman floated his last $5,000 into the pot with a Q 5 of Clubs. Doug Saab launched Barney out to sea with an A J and a Jack on the flop.
From gags about boats, we regress to gags about trains. Ron "Carolina Express" Stanley (I don't have to make this stuff up, it's given to me.) was next to chug out of the station. With Boatman gone from the three seat, Ron now had the dead spot which was sitting just to the left of the remonstrative Mike Laing. To increase the ignominy, Stanley's last chance at some chips was ended by Laing--with an 8 7--who turned two pair to Ron's A K with a King on the flop. Ron freighted his last $3,500 into the pot with an A 9. Barry Greenstein was catching a lot of cards at the time and didn't hesitate to call 'The Express' with K 10. The rails were greased for Ron in 9th when a 10 came on the turn.
Now for some biblical references. Enough, already? David Enoch looks like a bible character with his beard and ponytail. Except that he wears a snappy fedora which they probably didn't have too many of in olden days. Either David got no cards or he plays too tight, because he wasn't in enough hands to get any chips. Enoch made a few shekels by being around for 8th place, though. David survived one all-in with an A 7 when an Ace flopped against Doug Saab's pocket Queens. But Enoch had to go back to Kansas, Dorothy, on the second all-in when Benny Wan spiked an 8 on the river for trip 8's.
There are lots of ways to win at poker. Mike Laing's favorite way is to yak non-stop at an opponent until they commit suicide to get away from him. But a strange thing happened to Mike's plan. He ran into a couple of guys deaf to his strategy. Benny Wan, sitting to Laing's right in the One Seat, was in his own world. The new player to Mike's left, Barry Greenstein, was on a heater. And John Hom was too far away, in the Six Seat, to be bothered too much by Mike's constant chatter. Laing turned into his own worst enemy by repeatedly raising the pot from early position and paying off the better hand on the river. Rapidly Mike went from chip leader to low stack. The Final Table suddenly grew much quieter when Laing went all-in with 10 9 and found pocket 9's in the big blind held by Benny Wan. It was a bitter potion for the emensely talented Laing to finish in 7th.
One of the old guard, Lamar Hampton has been coming to the WSOP for over 20 years. In all that time, at all those Final Table Lamar may never have had so many bad beats. Twice three-out Kings hit the river to beat him. On one memorable hand, Benny Wan made a spectacular call on Hampton with only an A J high. They split a pot Lamar desperately needed as Hampton also had A J. "What did I do wrong?" Lamar lamented. Short on chips in a multi-raised pot, Hampton took a flyer with pocket 9's knowing that he must have an under pair. He did. In the pot of the night, Hampton went out 6th when another under pair hit trips and rivered a full house. David Plastik had pocket Queens, Barry Greenstein had pocket 10's. All were overpairs to the 5 4 2 flop. But a 10 turned, and a deuce rivered. Greenstein won a monster pot to take over a commanding chip lead.
"I'm the unluckiest poker player in the world," David Plastik was wrapping himself in pity. Since it's not true that he's the unluckiest, no one was giving David much sympathy. Plastik is having his best year on tour and has become a force in every event he plays in. "I'll never play pocket Queens again," David said. Also untrue. Pocket Queens cost Plastik most of his stack in the huge pot that Barry Greenstein won. Then they cost him his place at the table for 5th when David went all-in with them again against Greenstein. Barry could catch a snowflake with a blowtorch at the time. Greenstein had an A 4. The flop came 2 7 3, then a 5 on the turn to set David off like a C4 explosive. But then Plastik isn't always wrapped too tight.
Driving defensively didn't work too badly for Doug Saab. Starting 7th in chips, Doug stayed in the slow lane most of the day letting the speed boys wreck themselves. Saab had one problem on his way to the big money, he couldn't beat Barry Greenstein. Running low on fuel, Saab wouldn't show his hand when Barry flopped 8's and 5's. Then his pocket 5's got hammered by Greenstein's A 10. Now all-in for his last $1,000 in the small blind, Saab drove off into the sunset in 4th when John Hom caught a pair of 5's with A 5.
At this point Barry Greenstein had over half the chips on the table. It would have meant some long green for Barry if he'd offered the other two players a chip count deal, but he didn't. After being so hot for so long, either Barry went defensive to wait for one of the other two players to emerge as a heads up opponent, or Greenstein suddenly got NO CARDS. Because three-handed Barry both stopped playing and, of course, stopped winning. It was a disaster. In quiet desperation, Barry kept looking back at his girlfriend…the great limit hold'em player, Mimi Tran…sitting behind him. If only she could have taken over his chips, he may have thought, the couple would have made much more money. In an incredibly short time, the 2-1 chip leader had almost nothing. And this without playing very many hands and winning almost none. Barry survived two all-ins then lost the third to John Hom when Barry's Q 5 flopped a Queen, but Hom's A J flopped a Jack. Barry Greenstein left in a stunned 3rd, and didn't get his first WSOP bracelet, with the supportive Mimi Tran at his side. So all is not lost.
Heads up, John Hom had a 5-3 chip lead on the phenomenally gifted Benny Wan. John wasn't going to make the same mistake Barry Greenstein did. He gave Benny a very generous offer immediately. They played for the 1st bracelet for either of them.
Benny Wan almost came from worst to first. Still it was the best effort in this year's WSOP--from 10th in chips at the start all the way to 2nd place. Benny Wan played spectacularly. He started with less than 1/20th of the chips and at one point took over the chip lead with more than half. That's some climb. But after the deal, it was Benny and the Yucks. Wan waned badly. He couldn't win a showdown against John Hom and his bluffs were raised so he had to dump his hand. It was ugly. Going straight to the felt, another former chip leader bit the dust. With a 4 on the river, John Hom made 5's and 4's and won his first bracelet. Veteran tournament player John Hom was Hom(e) Alone.
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