Seif Wins with Huge Hand!
Poker cannot get much more exciting than in the play of the hand that just about gave tonight's $300 no-limit hold'em tournament to attorney Mark Seif. On hand 73, with $2,000-$4,000 blinds and $500 antes, four players were left. Men "The Master" Nguyen, first to act, made a small trap raise to $10,000. Bill Gazes moved in for $76,000. Seif went all in for $54,000. Nguyen called all in for $38,000. Men had aces, Bill had queens and Mark had kings! The flop was 7-5-2. Men was now an 83 percent favorite to win, with Mark getting the side pot. Then a queen turned. Now Bill's set was suddenly a 90 percent favorite to knock out both players. But then a two-outer king gave Mark a higher set! Men was out, Mark hauled in a $152,000 pot, more than 2/3 of all the chips, and rolled to a $53,400 victory in 10 more hands.
Kathy Liebert just missed her fifth final table. She had As,5s to Dennis Waterman's Kh,8h. With a board of K-9-5-K, Kathy was drawing dead, and Dennis flushed on the river for good measure. The final table started with $200 antes and $600-$1,200 blinds. On hand eight, Matt Heintschel, a stucco contractor, raised to $4,500 with A-Q. Can Hua went all in for $5,400 with 10-10. Steve Flicker, a veteran pro and resident comic at the table, joined the party and went all in for $4,500 with J-J. Matt flopped a queen, and his two opponents were history. On hand 47, pizza restaurant owner Seyed Mazarei was left with $5,500 when he raised to $10,000 with K-Q and Seif moved in for $30,000, winning with A-K. Two hands later Mazarei went all in with A-Q. Waterman, in the big blind, called with J-7 and caught a jack to eliminate him.
A few hands later, after Paul Darden raised to $9,000, Men deliberately splashed all his $30,000 into the pot. Darden folded but advised Men that he couldn't be intimidated. He later took off his belt, snapping it and warning that "The belt is off," though he never explained exactly what that meant. A few hands later, Paul moved in with pocket 8s. Dennis, in the big blind, called for the rest of his $13,000 with A-5 suited, and the Oregon logger was chopped down when Darden flopped a set.
Seif, who started lowest-chipped with $7,100, by now had taken the lead with about $70,000, after numerous uncalled all-in bets and raises. Suddenly Gazes won two big pots in a row to become co-leader. First he re-raised all in for $14,500, beating Men's J-10 with A-8. Then he knocked out Heintschel in fifth place, an appropriate finish for a man who has five sons and five brothers. After Bill raised to $11,000, Matt moved in for $21,000 more with K-Q. Gazes had just J-7, but called and flopped a 7.
Five hands later came the stunning three-way set over set hand that all but iced it for Seif. On the next hand, Gazes moved in for about $22,000 with pocket 8s, and Seif busted him with pocket 10s.
Seif now had an enormous lead with about $180,000 to Darden's $42,000. Darden, flopping three jacks, quickly cut into Seif's mound of chips. But a few hands later, Seif won a $100,000 pot when he bet $40,000 into a board of K-10-6-J-K. He showed J-7 and Darden mucked. On the next hand, Mark, with Q-9, raised and Paul called all in for $6,000 with 7-6. The board came 9-6-3-Q-10. Mark won the pot and the tournament with two pair, and Paul, settling for $23,365, put his belt back on. -Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
Mark Seif, who tried turning pro for a year after working first as a prosecuting attorney and later in corporate practice, recently returned to practice as a criminal defense lawyer. A poker player for 16 years, his biggest tournament win came four years ago when he picked up $60,000 for a $10,000 no-limit win at Legends. Aside for one "baby" tournament, this is his first tournament win in about a year. In live action, he prefers high-stakes stud and hold'em games.
Tonight, he started out well early on, but just before the final table he took two back-to-back monster beats by Gazes that left him very short-chipped. At the final table, he disclosed, most of the chips he picked up with his aggressive raising were steals. It was, he noted, a very strong table. The big hand that won him the tournament, he said, was the most dramatic he had ever seen.
EVENT #23 RESULTS
NO-LIMIT HOLD'EM
$300 + $30
$133,500 PRIZE POOL
180 PLAYERS
265 REBUYS
1. Mark Seif $53,400
2. Paul Darden $25,365
3. Bill Gazes $12,680
4. Men Nguyen $8,010
5. Matt Heintschel $6,010
6. Dennis Waterman $4,675
7. Seyed Mazarei $3,340
8. Can Hua $2,670
9. Steve Flicker $2,335
CHIP POSITION FINAL TABLE
Steve Flicker
$12,800
Men Nguyen
$48,900
Bill Gazes
$24,300
Mark Seif
$7,100
Matt Heintschel
$19,200
Dennis Waterman
$41,400
Seyed Mazarei
$15,600
Paul Darden
$45,100
Can Hua
$8,500
ALL-AROUND PAY-OFF POINTS
Name Total
1. David Pham 303
2. Daniel Negreanu 221
3. Kathy Liebert 219
4. Men Nguyen 194
5. Marlon Delossantos 192
5. Huck Seed 171
7. Scotty Nguyen 148
8. Sam Sanusi 148
9. Ron Faltinsky 132
10.Andre Maloof 131
SUPER SATELLITE
PAY-OFF POINTS
Name Total
1. Jeff Yoak 353
2. Randy Holland 278
3. Tony Cousineau 251
4. Param Gill 232
5. Mickey Mouse 201
6. Hassan Kamoei 175
7. Jimmy Tran 143
8. Can Hua 140
9. Coach 135
10.Paul Wolfe 129
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