DEVELOPER FROM HAWAII WINS AFTER LIMITS TRIPLE
After the three finalists in the $300 7-card stud eight or better contest battled at length to a standstill, they finally agreed to hasten things by jumping the limits threefold from $1,000-$2,000 to $3,000-$6,000. That made a difference. After 16 hands, Pat Enos had his final opponent, Pat Wardlaw, on the ropes. Wardlaw, a retired civil servant, then accepted a small bonus to surrender and end the match.
Enos, a builder/developer who hails from Kaneohe, Hawaii, won the best overall at Foxwoods' 1995 World Poker Finals.
The final table was set after Sirous Baghchehsaraie finished 10th when his trip 9s were beaten by Clint Landrum's diamond flush, and then when Marc Bogart finished ninth after his two kings lost to Enos' straight.
Limits started at $400-$800 with $75 antes and a $150 low card bring-in, with seven minutes left. Nebraska CPA James Hoeppner, who won the Legends of Poker championship event in 2001, arrived with only $2,775 and was out of action in three hands. He was dealt a tremendous A-2/5 starting hand and got committed, but caught all blanks while professional player Hai Tran made a 6-high straight.
Five hands later, with $500-$1,000 limits, $100 antes and a $200 bring-in, Tran took over the chip lead with about $33,000 by scooping a big pot against Landrum. Showing 4-7-6-8, he turned up three hearts for a flush and 7-low. After that, he sat on his chips for a long time, allowing his opponents to beat up on each other. Meanwhile, Rebekah Emmons, whose credits include a best all-around at the Bicycle Casino, narrowly escaped elimination when two 5s earned her a split against Scotty Nguyen. A hand later, Landrum wasn't as fortunate against the WSOP champion. Landrum, retired from a data processing post with the University of Texas medical school, showed Q-3-K-10. Scotty, free-rolling with an 8-low on sixth street, bet $200 to put Clint all in, shuffled his down cards and came up with a 9-high straight against Landrum's two queens.
Two hands later he finished off Rebekah in exactly the same manner. She had a great start with 3-5/A but couldn't find more than two treys. Once again Scotty was free-rolling with a made 8 and then produced a paired 10 on the river. He was chivalrous and apologetic toward the lady, but didn't offer to give her back her money.
Tran finally saw action on hand 26, perhaps because he was the bring-in. In any event, he built up his stacks again when he ended up with a flush against Enos' straight. On the 32nd hand, the stakes rose to $800-$1,600 limits with $100 antes and $300 bring-ins. During this time, Scotty had been absent from the table for a number of hands. It turned out he had been sitting in a
jumping pot-limit hold'em game that included the likes of Daniel Negreanu and the "Devilfish." He finally returned after winning a big pot in the side game. For a while he was challenging Hai for the lead, but then his luck turned and he began plummeting downward.
"Detroit Al" Green got pummeled on hand 55. He had three 6s up, but he lost to Enos' three bullets. Left with $4,600, he later recovered when he started with A-2-5 of clubs and scooped Nguyen. "The only one I seem able to beat lately," he said.
By the next break, Enos had taken the lead with about $30,000, while Nguyen was perilously low with $1,800. Shortly after limits went to $1,000-$2,000 he busted out with a missed low while Wardlaw made quad 4s. Two hands after that, Detroit Al finally lost his last chips. After Tran bet on sixth street, Al raised all in for $200 more with an 8. But the California pro made a 6 and his two 6s were sufficient for high.
At this point, hand 66, the three finalists were fairly even. More than 20 hands went by, and they were back to where they started. Enos then proposed a big jump to $5,000-$10,000, and they compromised at $3,000-$6,000 limits. On the first hand at these levels, Tran was hammered down to $8,000 when Wardlaw scooped with 10s and deuces. Two hands later he tossed his cards in the muck and cashed out when Enos showed him two 8s and an 8-low.
Heads-up, Enos had much the best of it for the next dozen hands. He finally built up a $68,500-$15,500 lead when, with a board of A-5-6-8, he scooped by catching a third 6 on the river. Wardlaw conceded after being offered a small incentive, and the sixth event of 4 Queens Poker Classic 2002 was over. -Max Shapiro
Chip Position, Final Table
Seat Player Chip Count
1 Pat Wardlaw $8,700
2. Scotty Nguyen $14,850
3. James Hoeppner $2,775
4. Rebekah Emmons $4,400
5. Allen Green $13,850
6. Clint Landrum $8,500
7. Hai Tran $19,550
8. Pat Enos $11,375
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