Queens Do Magic for Chris!
Pocket queens performed magic for Chris Karagulleyan in the $5,000 no-limit holdem championship event of Legends 2002. On the second hand they knocked out Kathy Liebert to give Chris an enormous chip lead, and on the last hand they knocked out Hon Le to give the ex-taxi driver the title and top prize of $258,000. All six finalists had gotten in via super satellites. They assembled on the World Poker Tour stage, surrounded by cameras, bathed by sweeping spotlights, playing on a table ringed by glass to allow cameras to see every hole card when the event is nationally broadcast next year. With two players knocked out in the first five hands, it seemed there might not be enough footage for a two-hour show, but plenty of action was to come..
Writer John Vorhaus handled the crowd warm-up, Linda Johnson and tournament director Denny Williams did play-by-play and Mike Sexton and Vince van Patten did off-stage commentary. (At one point, Stan Goldstein heard them speculating about hands and sharply asked if they could see the hole cards. He was assured they could not, and that such commentary was for future use.)
Blinds started at $2,000-$4,000, with $500 antes. On hand two, Liebert raised to $20,000 with A-K, Chris made a milking raise of $40,000 with his queens and she moved in. Rags came and he took her $140,500. Three hands later, Can Hua moved in for $59,000 with pocket 5s. Mark Seif won with pocket 8s, and four were left.
With about $300,000 of the roughly $672,000 in play, Chris now went into a defensive mode, almost never playing a hand or risking chips. At the other end, Hon Le, who does not like to be called The Kamikaze Kid; anymore, reverted to form, seemingly betting and raising every hand. Initially, this got him in mucho trouble. On hand 18, he lost over $100,000 and was left with just $12,000 chasing a flush draw with 10-9 suited against Seif’s A-A. But later, his relentless aggression paid off as he picked up pot after pot. By the time that blinds increased to $3,000-$6,000 with $1,000 antes, Hon Le had about $300,000, while Karagulleyan had $286,000, Seif $58,000 and Goldstein $28,000.
On hand 43, Mark raised all in with pocket 5s. Hon Le, with K-10, finished him by hitting both his cards. Goldstein followed him out seven hands later. When Hon Le opened for $26,000 with J-10 off, Stan re-raised for a few chips more with A-9. Hon Le flopped a jack and the tournament was heads-up, Chris leading by roughly $435,000-$235,000. At that point, poker operations manager Rick Cloward added a little showmanship by riding in on a Harley motorcycle with the $380,500 prize money tucked in his saddlebags.
Chris now changed gears and turned aggressive. On hand 52, he bluffed off $146,000, betting every round with just king-high against Hons paired ace. Later, Chris picked up a big pot when Hon Le missed his straight draw. On the next hand, after Hon Le bet $20,000 on the turn, Chris moved in and showed a straight flush after Hon Le folded. Holding a small lead again, Chris turned the tide on hand 68 by winning a $120,000 pot. He had A-7, Hon Le just 8-4. A flop of 10-9-4 gave Hon Le two 4s, and a turn-card 7 added a straight draw, but Chris's paired 7 took it all. The cruncher came on hand 68. Chris had Q-6, Hon Le K-4. On a board of K-Q-2-7-6, Hon Le bet $40,000. Chris moved in with his two pair and won a $254,000 pot. Five hands later, Chris raised to $40,000 with those pocket queens. Hon Le called with J-10 and hit top pair on a J-5-4 flop. Chris moved him in and won the pot and the tournament when two 4s gave him a full house.
--Max Shapiro
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BIOGRAPHY
Chris Karagulleyan, 34, has had prior wins at the Normandie, Commerce and the Bicycle Casino. His biggest prior cash-out was about $29,000. He has been playing poker for 10 or 15 years and is pretty much a full-time player now. Originally from Lebanon, he has been in this country about 20 years, along with his parents, three brothers, everybody.
Tonight, he said, he thought he played well and also got lucky a little bit. Pocket queens also aided him immensely on day one of the tournament. When Phil Hellmuth raised, I moved in. Hon-Le called with two kings, and then I turned a queen. He said that in heads-up action he could get away with bluffs because he thought Hon Le might have been a little scared of him, remembering how selective he had been earlier when he was laying down big hands.
$75,000 ALL-AROUND POINTS CHAMPIONSHIP
Name AmountWon
David Pham Mercedes SUV
Men Nguyen $10,000
Kathy Liebert $5,000
Daniel Negreanu $2,000
Ken Flaton $1,500
Marlon Delossantos $1,250
Sam Sanusi $1,000
Huck Seed $750
Andre Maloof $500
John Juanda $425
Scotty Nguyen $425
Paul Darden Jr. $425
David Levi $425
Phillip Ivey $425
Barry Shulman $325
Ron Faltinsky $325
T.J. Cloutier $325
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