Poker Tournament Results

Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic

Place	Name	Prize
1	Dennis Waterman (Sedona, AZ, USA)	$103,596
2	Don McNamara (Menlo Park, CA, USA)	$51,798
3	Mark Gregorich (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$25,899
4	Daniel Barnett (San Clemente, CA, USA)	$15,539
5	Kevin O'Connell (Manchester, UK)	$11,654
6	Marc Macazv (Las Vegas, NV)	$9,065
7	Ty Bayne (Visalia, CA, USA)	$6,475
8	Ken Goldstein (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$5,180
9	Aidan Bennett (County Mayo, Ireland)	$4,143
10	Unknown	$3,108
13	Unknown	$2,849
14	Unknown	$2,590

Tournament Report

The money meter moved up a notch Sunday with a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em event at Bellagio's Five Diamond World Poker Classic, with tournament veteran Dennis Waterman of Myrtle Point, OR, walking away the winner of $103,596. A total prize pool of $258,990 was generated with 178 entries. Participation in this first-year tournament slate continues to be impressive, which is a credit to Bellagio Director Of Poker Operations Doug Dalton and his professional Tournament Director Jack McClelland. The personable 54-year-old Waterman played most of the way with one of the shorter stacks until eliminating fourth place Daniel Barnett of Capistrano Beach, CA, and fifth place Kevin O'Connell of Manchester, England, on the same hand. The winner had Ace-King against an 8-7 and pocket Jacks, but an Ace on the flop sealed the fate of the two challengers. This gave Waterman around $90,000 in chips. "I actually like playing short stacks until play gets down to about the final five players," explained Waterman. "I think I play well with short stacks, compared to many players." This is not Waterman's first trip to the winner's circle as his playing career has been filled with many final table appearances, including second in the Five Diamond Pot Limit Hold'em event last week and two WSOP events earlier in the year. In addition to his talents as a poker player, Waterman is a former chess master and also recently became a published author of esoteric and spiritual books. Some of his work can be found on the web site www.jeremysilman.com in the "Ancient Cave" section. After field was reduced to the final three players, it was second place finisher Don McNamara of Menlo Park, CA, who eliminated third place Mark Gregorich of Las Vegas. Waterman, who manages the family forest land business in Oregon, then continued his title pursuit. He made a bold play on the last hand of the $3,000-$6,000 blinds (before going to $5,000-$10,000) in the heads-up match, which ended up being the final hand. Waterman bet $20,000 on 9-6 off-suit against McNamara with pocket Queens, but McNamara decided to just call, with a flop of Ace-6-3. After a 9 hit the board on the turn, McNamara checked, Waterman bet $80,000, and McNamara raised all-in. A King came on the river, and the event was over. McNamara earned $51,798 as runner-up, and Gregorich was paid $25,899 for third place. Barnett received $15,539 for fourth, and O'Connell $11,654 for fifth. Rounding out the top 10 were: 6-Mark Magazv of Las Vegas; 7-Ty Bayne of Visalia, CA; 8-Ken Goldstein of Los Angeles; 9-Aidan Bennett of Dublin, Ireland; and 10-Layne Flack of Las Vegas. -JIM SHERWOOD