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Retiree Nails First Big Win!
Al Baham, who retired from the computer software business at 47 and took up poker only three years ago, scored his first major tournament win by capturing the seventh event of Legends of Poker 2002, $300 hold'em. The relative newcomer to tournament play wasn't afraid to mix it up at the bruisingly aggressive final table where his last opponent was the formidable chemist-turned-poker player, Paul Ladanyi.
The final table was set when Hooman Nikzad missed the cut. He had Q-7 and lost when Toby Atroshenko, an Australian here on a "poker holiday," held K-2 and flopped a king. Limits began at $1,500-$3,000, with 24 minutes remaining. On the 16th hand, Russ Rosen took the lead with about $45,000 after Frank Rite had folded on the flop with $1,500 left, and Marlon Delossantos, winner of yesterday’s Omaha hi-lo event, folded on the turn with $3,000 left.
Nine hands later, with limits at $2,000-$4,000, three players were knocked out in succession. First to go was Delossantos. He had started with an above-average $20,000, but could only win one hand and now was in the big blind with $1,000 left. Baham raised with A-J and Marlon called with 8-6 suited. An ace flopped, and eight were left.
Rite, a holistic medicine practitioner, was next. He had carefully nursed his $3,000 starting stack, but now had his last $500 chip posted in the big blind, with only a 7-3 to defend against Andy Simon’s Q-3. No 7s hit, and Rite hit the street. "I lost my head playing a 7-3," he joked. On the next hand, poker player Hoang Ta raised all in with pocket 7s. Ladanyi called with A-K, and when an ace flopped, Ta said "Ta ta."
Three hands later, pro player Andy Simon raised all in for $2,500 with A-2. Auto businessman Rosen called with K-J. The board came K-9-8-3-9 and Simon says goodbye. Up until now, Paul Lee had been able to play just two hands. Then he went all in with A-9 of clubs in five-way action and quintupled up when an ace came on the river. Three hands later he survived again, this time with A-2, when two pair came and his ace played. But he went broke on the next hand when his pocket 9s were beaten after Atroshenko paired a jack on the river.
A rough count now showed the young Aussie in the lead with close to $60,000, to about $45,000 for Ladanyi, $40,000 for Rosen and $30,000 for Baham. But after some furious action with $3,000-$6,000 limits, Baham surged ahead to almost $100,000. Toby, meanwhile, despite taking a big pot and visibly upsetting Ladanyi when he hit an inside straight on the river, had mostly dropped down. He finally raised all in with K-9. Rosen called with 10-8 and won with a flopped 8. Ladani had lost a lot of chips but bounced back by winning a three-way action, $45,000 pot when he flopped a king to his A-K. Surging ahead, he soon had $90,000 in chips. By the time limits went to $4,000-$8,000, Baham had taken the lead with $85,000 to Ladanyi’s $74,000. Rosen had only $18,000, and he soon lost that when Ladanyi beat his paired 3 by pairing a 7 on the river.
Heads-up, Baham held a $105,000 to $72,000 lead. The match lasted five hands. On the second hand, Ladanyi got beaten for the second time by a river straight He was low-chipped and angry, and his play might have been affected. Three hands later he went all in with just 10-2 and Baham put him away with a jack-high. -Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
After Al Baham took early retirement, he spent much of his leisure time playing golf. Then, one day he happened to drive by Hawaiian Gardens, noticed their trailers, walked inside and discovered poker. He played stud for a month, then tried Omaha hi-lo for three months without ever playing hold'em. He later applied for a job as a house player, worked at it for a year and then went out on his own. He plays eight to ten hours a day, five to six days a week. He likes $80-$160 hold’em, but will drop down to $1-$2 stud if he's running bad.
Even newer to tournaments, he came in second at the Mini Series of Poker last year and made a couple of final tables at Commerce's Heavenly Hold'em events. Normally, he says, he is a conservative player, but with everybody raising pots tonight, he decided he couldn't limp, and joined the action.
CHIP POSITION FINAL TABLE
Marlon Delossantos
$20,000
Frank Rite
$3,000
Paul Ladanyi
$31,500
Paul Lee
$20,000
Russ Rosen
$15,500
Al Baham
$24,000
Toby Atroshenko
$33,500
Hoang Ta
$16,000
Andy Simon
$13,500
Chips raced and/or blinded off: $225
ALL-AROUND
PAY-OFF POINTS
Name Total
1. Daniel Negreanu 87
2. Paul Lee 79
3. Marlon Delossantos 77
4. John Juanda 73
5 Andy Simon 70.
6. Sam Sanusi 63
7. Phil Hellmuth Jr. 62
8. Ernie Sebastian 61
9. Debbi Landon 59
10. Al Baham 59
SUPER SATELLITE
PAY-OFF POINTS
Name Total
1. Jeff Yoak 116
2. Tony Cousineau 92
3. Hassan Kamoei 88
4. Mickey Mouse 78
5. Mike Fetter 71
6. Marty Morales 63
7. Devon Amico 61
8. Stan Goldstein 55
9. Tom Vo 55
10.Hoang Ta 55
11.Howard Walker 55
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