| JENNIFER
There are few professional poker players as popular as Jennifer Harmon, now Mrs. Marko Traniello, and none more beautiful. If you've never seen her, think a young, prettier Goldie Hawn with a killer instinct. Nobody laughs when Jen sits down at their table.
There were 113 entrants in the $5,000 Limit Hold'em for a total prize pool of $531,100. Two tables were paid, a total of 18 players.
Gabe Kaplan wasn't too funny either, at least to Marcel Luske. Kaplan said "I have the nuts," when Gabe turned a straight with his 6 4. Luske mucked his hand and didn't ask the teacher if he could leave the room. The remaining 18 could laugh all the way to the bank.
To setup the Final Table Saturday night, Humberto Brenes was just doing his job as chip leader. Danny Qutami went all-in with pocket 7's and flopped a set. Brenes called with the 8 2 of Diamonds to try to end the evening so the last 10 players could get some sleep. Humberto sheepishly admitted making a straight on poor Danny when the board wrapped around his 8.
THE FINAL TABLE 6 mins left of 75. The blinds were $1,000/$2,000
Seat# --Player --------- Hometown ------- Chip Count
Seat 1) Al Stonum - Las Vegas NV - $28,000
Seat 2) Jennifer Harmon - Las Vegas NV - $40,000
Seat 3) Fred Bonyadi - Laguna Hills CA - $64,000
Seat 4) Q Knopow - Las Vegas NV - $76,000
Seat 5) Mimi Tran - Torrance CA - $55,000
Seat 6) Brian Green - Costa Rica - $24,000
Seat 7) Jon Brody - Hollywood FL - $ 38,000
Seat 8) Allen Cunningham - Marina del Rey CA - $85,000
Seat 9) Humberto Brenes - Costa Rica - $121,000
Seat 10) Tony Hartman - Minneapolis MN - $ 14,000
Mary's son, Tony Hartman Tony Hartman didn't have enough chips if you counted them twice. It was back to Fernwood for Tony in 10th when his all-in raise with A 7 ran into Jennifer Harmon's J 10. In a scene played out repeated today, Jen's hand mirrored the board when a Jack Jack came on the turn and river. Her first victim exited stage left.
Jon Brody rocked Al 'Stones' Stonum's world in 9th. Jon raised from middle position with A J. Stonum called on the button with the Q 10 of Hearts. Al went all-in when the board came with two Hearts and a non-heart Ace. The flush draw failed and 'Stones' gathered no moss on his way to the pay window.
All that money Jon Brody got from Al Stonum went for blinds and missed draws. Brody has played several events and this is his second Final Table of the year. He said he was about even in tournament play. Poker machines were another matter. Finishing in 8th, Jon Brody took an A 2 in the small blind up against Allen Cunningham's K J in the big. With a King on the flop, big bad Jon was retired from tournament poker for the day.
This Final Table was being played at the same time as the Women's Championship on Mother's Day afternoon. It's well known that some women refuse to play in 'Women's' tournaments for a myriad of reasons. Barry Greenstein, the husband of Mimi Tran took offense at an off-hand remark made by guest announcer Diego Cordovez suggesting that the Women's event was lucky that Mimi and Jennifer Harmon weren't available to play. Diego was just kidding. He knew that Mimi and Jennifer would choose an open event if given the option. Barry also wanted the readers of this fine broadsheet to know on Mother's Day that Mimi is the proud mother of two children.
But it was the not-yet mother, Jennifer Harmon Traniello, who was cleaning house. In the hand that illustrated the way this contest was going to go, the prohibitive chip leader gave up his lead. Huberto Brenes picked up pocket Queens and did well not to lose even more than he did when Jennifer Harmon found pocket Kings right behind him.
Meanwhile, the former 2nd chip leader couldn't beat Harmon either. In two huge hands for both, Allen Cunningham lost with an A J against Harmon's pocket 9's. Then later, he pushes A K all the way to the river all-in against the magic hand 'presto,' pocket 5's. All chips were being Hoovered into Jen's stack. Cunningham will have better days. Allen fell to 7th, barely winning a hand.
To make a disastrous day even worse, Hunberto Brenes had Q Knopow all-in drawing thin. Q had an A Q with an Ace on the flop. Humberto flopped a set of 3's. Brenes playfully choked the dealer Bobby after the turn and river come Queen Queen. (Maybe that's why Knopow wants to be called Q.) The coup d' grace came soon thereafter for Brenes in 6th. He had Mimi Tran dominated with A Q versus Q 9. But Mimi's hand contained two Diamonds. Tran got Humberto all-in on her flush draw and she got there in the river.
It's rare when the first through third initial chip leaders go out early. But when you have one player winning every big hand it's going to happen. The last survivor of the top triumvirate was Q Knopow. You would have gotten some pretty long odds that Q would outlast Humberto Brenes and Allen Cunningham who both started with more chips.
But last longer the Vegas local did. The Brenes and Cunningham implosions allowed Knopow to get up to 5th with an A 8 all-in. This looked like a fitting Mother's Day battle--two women--when Mimi Tran's pocket Kings sent Q back to the lab to invent more tricks for James Bond.
When it was announced over the loudspeaker that Jennifer Harmon had a 10 7 against Fred Bonyadi's all-in K 9, Harmon's good friend and loudest supporter Daniel Negreanu yelled out. The 10 7 is Daniel's 'favorite hand.' And it worked for Jen also. With a 7 on the flop, the formidable Freddy Bonyadi was made to disappear in 4th.
This was supposed to be the perfect scenario. It was Mother's Day. Two women were the chip leaders. It was the first time this year that two women had made the Final Table at the same time. There was only one fly in this perfect ointment. Brian Green wouldn't go away. Mimi Tran and Jennifer Harmon hammered on each other mercilessly until a series of losses to both Harmon and Green made Mimi's stack look like it had been in a Tran wreck. Pocket Queens by Harmon broke up our all female finale.
Heads up, Jennifer Harmon had a 4-1 chip lead. Maybe Brian Green thought he needed some chips to be competitive. Maybe he thought he picked up a tell. We'll never know. Whatever the reason Brian Green, who'd played so well for so many hours, shoved all his chips into the center of the table on a Queen high. Unfortunately for Brian it cost him a chance for a lot of Green. Harmon had already flopped two pair.
Now Jennifer has a bracelet for each wrist.
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