Chris Wins Lowball in Fast Chop!
There wasn't a whole lot of action at the lowball final table, because once the finalists assembled, they immediately made a deal and the event was over without a hand being played. And this wasn't because all the lowball participants were in their 70s and had to get to bed early. On the contrary, the winner, Chris Karagulleyan, is only 34. Chris, who has a clutch of titles from local casinos in every event except Omaha, took the title with a chip lead of $42,000.
The finalists got there when limits were $3,000-$6,000. At the second table, Don Blumberg raised with 2-4-6-7 and Ryan Tran added another $500, going all in with a draw to an 8-5. Don snagged an ace to complete his hand and Ryan, drawing dead, caught a queen.
And that was that. . .
This lack of data might tax the resources of a lesser reporter charged with coming up with 700 or so words, but this writer sees it as an opportunity to present some interesting and little-known facts about the game of lowball.
Lowball is a game for the ages-the Stone Ages. Nobody is sure how long it's been around, but the first reference to it was discovered on a hieroglyphic stone tablet found in upper Egypt and dating to the reign of King Tut. The tablet said that this devilishly frustrating game was given to us by Ra, the sun god, to punish the Egyptian people for their transgressions. The translation read, "Forever shalt thou be drawing to the nuts and be deceived. Thou shall cast thy nets seeking pearls and find naught but garbage."
In any event, Denny Williams and his hard-working staff did a magnificent job of rounding up and resuscitating 137 veteran lowball players by distributing flyers to rest homes and cemeteries within a 50-mile radius. In a clever marketing move, instead of the usual caps and tee shirts, those signing up were given their choice of liniment or Viagra.
Finishing second with $38,500 in chips was Wayne Schumacher of Long Beach. He picked up 49 points to take the lead in the All-Around Pay-Off Points race. Schumacher finished ninth in the 7-card stud event the night before, giving him two pay-outs out of three events entered. Wayne, who plays mostly tournaments, has prior stud wins at Legends of Poker and Winnin' o' the Green.
German Leyva of South Gate took third place with $24,500 in chips.
Cashing out fourth was Lyn McGonagle of Simi Valley with $20,500. Lyn, who is in the gaming industry, was the first woman to win two Diamond Jim Brady titles, in jacks back to low, and in the 1988 women's hold'em and stud event.
Tied for fifth with $17,000 each was Don Blumberg of Buena Park and Steve Banks of Chatsworth. Don, now retired, supported himself for 15 years propping lowball games at the Normandie Casino. He has a win in a World Series hold'em event, and several other cash-outs at the WSOP after winning numerous satellites. Steve, a resident of Chatsworth, is CEO of a company making caps and other promotional items.
Ending up seventh was Clarence Cole of Los Angeles. Clarence, retired after a long career at Boeing Aircraft, won the charity hold'em event organized by Men "The Master" Nguyen to aid victims of the September 11 attack. The event was added to the Big Poker Oktober tournament.
"Temecula Tom" Ricketts finished in the eighth spot. Tom, who lives in San Marcos, is an engineering manager for a company producing chemicals used in about half the world's computer chips. Tom is a lowball and razz specialist who has won two lowball titles at the California State Poker Championship, and has other lowball wins from the L.A. Poker Classic, Winnin' o' the Green and Masters of Poker. He said he prefers lowball, which he's been playing for 30 years, because, dealt five cards, a player has more determination of what happens than in hold'em, where only two cards are dealt down.
BIOGRAPHY
Chris Karagulleyan has titles in hold'em and hi-lo stud from the Commerce, in hold'em at Legends and Big Poker Oktober and stud, lowball and hold'em wins from the Normandie Casino. Only Omaha hi-lo has eluded him. He says he doesn't particularly like the game because he tends to get confused when his low is counterfeited. But, he adds, he has never lost money playing Omaha in side games.
Chris has been playing poker seriously for about eight years. Before that, he was playing in the five-raise lowball game that used to be spread at Commerce.in the old days. He likes lowball because "it's all up to you" and there's no river card that can beat you." Today, he divides his time equally between tournaments and side games. In tonight's event, he was low on chips after some bad beats with about four tables left. Then went on a rush, getting three or four pat sevens, and hitting a couple more. | 
