| 2 Quads Can't Stop Daniel!
In the course of an hour-long heads-up match with Daniel Negreanu, Kenny Nguyen, a dealer at Ocean's Eleven, came up with quads twice in three hands. This would have shaken any ordinary player, but Negreanu just shrugged it off and proceeded to grind out a $22,560 victory in the fifth event of Legends 2002, 7-card stud hi-lo. He also took the lead in the all-around championship points race.
Xiaoen Wang finished ninth. He started with A-2/5, but couldn't make a low or even a pair. Final table play began with $300 antes, $500 low-card bring-in and $2,000-$4,000 limits, 32 minutes remaining. Four players--Negreanu, Nguyen, Paul Lee and Benny Wan--were closely grouped with between $28,000 and $31,000 each.
Two players were knocked out on the ninth hand. Ed "Dudley" Rudd, a poker host at Hawaiian Gardens, started with aces and was first to go all in. Then Paul Darden, a show promoter who won a World Series bracelet for 7-card stud last year, picked up a flush draw and also went all in. Neither player helped and they departed after Lee completed his flush.
After limits went to $3,000-$6,000, with $500 antes and a $1,000 bring-in, Wan got short-chipped after his two pair lost to Nguyen's trip 6s. He then went all in twice, but recovered with two consecutive scoops with aces-up. Andre Maloof, a familiar face on the local tournament scene, was next to go all in, but did not fare as well. On the river, he showed 8s and 5s, while Kirk Conrad, who has the unusual double occupation of mortgage banker and horse trainer, had four upcard spades. Maloof bet his last $6,000 and then turned up…an ace-high flush! But it couldn't beat Conrad's A-K flush, and the books were closed on the CPA.
An hour into play, Conrad cashed out in fifth place. He started and ended with pocket 7s and lost to Nguyen's two queens. Two hands later, Wan went all in drawing to a 6-5.
"Bye-bye," he said as he caught a jack on the river, his two sixes no match for Nguyen’s queens-up. The Oceanside dealer now had about $80,000 of the $150,000 in play. Along about midnight the tournament got heads-up when Lee missed his low draw and was blown away by Negreanu's 8s-full.
Daniel started with a lead of about $81,000, but lost it when he was dealt a great starting hand of 4-5/6 of spades that went nowhere. Two hands later he regained it. After a pot was four-bet on fourth street, Nguyen, showing 2-3, folded when he caught a brick against Negreanu's 7-6-4. After a couple more lead changes, Negreanu picked up several pots and built up an advantage of about $132,000-$18,000. It looked like it was all over. Then suddenly, in three consecutive hands, Nguyen scooped with four deuces, then forced Daniel out showing two aces on fourth street, and then made four 7s. He now had taken a slight lead.
But Negreanu went back to work. After Nguyen folded a big pot showing 6-9-3-10, he had built his stacks up to $200,000. A couple of hands later, Nguyen missed his draw to a 6-5, losing his remaining chips and the tournament to Negreanu’s queens-up.
In the meantime, the super satellites continue to attract good-sized fields. Two seats have been given away each night, for a total of eight thus far. Negreanu, who claims a special expertise in handicapping tournament fields, is predicting a turnout of 131 players for the $5,000 championship event, which will be taped by the World Poker Tour. That many players would generate a $655,000 prize pool. -Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
Daniel Negreanu, 28, just won the main event at Costa Rica, collecting $70,000. In February, he won the best all-around at Commerce’s LAPC tournament. He also has a WSOP bracelet for pot-limit hold'em, a best all-around at Foxwoods and many more titles. He's also been more at peace with the world lately, he adds, thanks to his move to the upscale and tranquil Summerland area of Las Vegas. "It helped change my life. I’m happy now," he said.
He's also modified his tournament play by trying to avoid confrontations with marginal hands. Tonight, he said, he had a rocky start, and if he had played his "normal game," he wouldn’t have lasted very long. He gave much credit to his final opponent. At the third table he observed how much of an understanding Nguyen had for the game, and had a feeling he would meet him at the final table.
EVENT #5 RESULTS
7-CARD STUD HI-LO
$300 + $30
$56,400 PRIZE POOL
188 PLAYERS
1. Daniel Negreanu $22,560
2. Kenny Nguyen $11,280
3. Paul Lee $5,460
4. Benny Wan $3,385
5. Kirk Conrad $2,820
6. Andre Maloof $2,255
7. Paul Darden $1,690
8. Edward Rudd $1,130
NEXT
Omaha Hi-Lo
$300 + $30
Monday, August 5, 3:15 p.m.
CHIP POSITION FINAL TABLE
Daniel Negreanu
$30,800
Paul Darden
$8,500
Kenny Nguyen
$30,100
Benny Wan
$28,100
Andre Maloof
$10,200
Paul Lee
$31,300
Kirk Conrad
$6,100
Edward Rudd
$5,000
Chips raced and/or blinded off: $30
ALL-AROUND
PAY-OFF POINTS
Name Total
1. Daniel Negreanu 75
2. Sam Sanusi 63
3. Phil Hellmuth Jr. 62
4. Ernie Sebastian 61
5. Debbi Landon 59
6. John Juanda 57
7. Kathy Liebert 53
8. Amir Vahedi 51
9. Michael Chang 50
10.A.J. Viado 49
SUPER SATELLITE
PAY-OFF POINTS
Name Total
1. Mickey Mouse 78
2. Mike Fetter 71
3. Jeff Yoak 69
4. Howard Walker 55
5. Marty Morales 55
6. Tom Vo 55
7. Anthony Tran 47
8. Tim Doherty 47
9. Hassan Kamoei 47
10.Paul Zibits 44
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