| Vol. XIII, No. 9 Friday, March 8, 2002
Chips Flow One Way: to Ladanyi!
Starting in average chip position at tonight's limit hold'em final table, Paul Ladanyi could do no wrong as the chips flowed to him in a steady stream. He had close to $180,000 with four players left, and about $200,000 to David Plastik's $50,000 when they got heads up. The two pros then made a tournament-ending deal. "I hope I didn't use up all my luck before the World Series," Ladanyi joked.
Rebekah Emmons, the lady from Texas who won the Omaha hi-lo event and finished third in 7-card stud, finished seventh to take the lead in the pay-off points race.
The event, with a $50,000 guarantee, generated a $74,400 prize pool. Chris Nichelson finished 10th. He was on the button with 9-8 of clubs and raised all in for $4,000. Win Jankrajang .with A-J, blew him out when an ace came on the river.
Limits started at $2,000-$4,000. Jankrasang arrived at the final table with a huge lead of $71,500, but kept putting his chips in jeopardy by playing many pots and gambling. On the second hand, he did have A-K and flopped an ace, but kept pushing it even after Dai Nguyen check-raised him on a board of A-6-4 and lost $22,000 to Nguyen's aces and 4s.
With limits at $3,000-$6,000, Paul began getting lucky. He raised with A-J and got two callers, including Erick Chi who had A-Q. Paul flopped a jack, busted Erick and took over the chip lead with about $70,000.
On the next hand, Win raised with K-Q on the flop and Clarence Cole called all in with K-J. The board ended up 9-8-6-K-5, and Win's better kicker kicked Cole out of the tournament, leaving him in eighth place.
On hand 12, Rebekah, who hadn't been able to do much, called David Plastik's raise with pocket 4s. David had A-J and flopped trip jacks. Dead to another 4 when the board showed J-J-6-7, she bet and then reluctantly called all in when Plastik raised. A river king ended her hopes.
There was a lot of joking back and forth among the remaining players. When Dai said something that someone couldn't understand, Wally Caldwell Jr. cracked, "Don't nobody understand him." "I do," replied Jankrajang, a native of Thailand, in his equally fractured speech. "I am English teacher."
On hand 17, Wally went all in for the first time with A-J and escaped against Win's K-Q. As play continued, he was to have a series of miraculous all-in escapes, first beating Ladanyi's set of 10s by hitting a flush on the river; then outrunning Plastik's paired 5s by pairing a 10 on the river; surving with A-10 against three callers who checked him down; and then beating Plastik's pocket 7s by making a flush with 7-6 of spades
Meanwhile, Ruy Heim, an engineer who had been playing very cautiously, finally raised all in on the button with A-2 of hearts. Wally, a huge dog in the big blind with 7-2, smiled, shrugged and called, knocking Ruy out when a 7 flopped. Nguyen finished fifth. He raised with K-10, then went all in and lost to Plastik's Q-9 on a flop of Q-10-2. David, who earlier had been down to one chip but won a big pot when his river straight outran Win's trip 10s, then put Dai out of action. He had Q-9 against K-10 and flopped a queen.
Ladanyi continued his march upward by getting Ladanyi to fold after he check-raised on a board of A-Q-2-7-Q, won a few more pots and climbed to almost $180,000. Then Wally's luck ran out on the 60th hand, losing his last chips when he couldn't beat Plastik's king-high. Three hands later it was all over. Paul, with K-J, flopped a jack while Win, with Q-3 flopped a queen, called all in and lost. The two finalists then made a deal and Paul Ladanyi added one more title to his list. -Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
Paul Ladanyi, 45, a native of Hungary, is as well known for crusading against smoking in tournaments as he is for his numerous titles. The former biochemist turned pro's preferred game is no-limit hold'em, and he has titles in this category at the 1999 Legends, the 1997 L.A. Poker Classic and the 1996 Legends championship. Last year he made numerous final tables, including two in limit hold'em at the World Series and four in limit hold'em and 7-stud at Legends, including a win in $300 limit hold'em.
This year he took a second at Foxwoods, but has been "taking a break" and not playing as much. Tonight, he admitted, his attention sometimes wandered as he thought about the million-dollar Party Poker Cruise he's about to embark on, but the cards took care of themselves. He said he ran well and was in good shape all through the tournament.
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