EVENT #4 LIMIT HOLD'EM
Tuesday, July 11, 2000
$260 BUY-IN
$600 in chips
TO LIVE AND DIE IN LAS VEGAS
By Mike Paulle
When someone realizes they've become a pretty good poker player they often
will move to Las Vegas. No place else on earth, except Los Angeles, can boast
of so many top tournament players. That's why it's never a surprise to see
several Las Vegans at a Final Table in a tournament held here. What is a
surprise, though, is when these top players from Las Vegas fall like bowling
pins at the Final Table.
There were 319 entrants in the $260 Buy-In Limit Hold'em for a total prize
pool of $82,940. 3 tables were paid, a total of 30 players.
The real life Mayor of Pass Christian MS, Billy McDonald, went all-in when he
flopped an A with his A K. The good Mayor's prayers weren't answered,
however, when Steve Meyerson called with an A 6 of Hearts. There were two
hearts on the flop and one on the turn to impeach Mr. McDonald in 31st, one
out of the money.
The Final Table was set up when Chuck Barker went all-in for his last $1,200
with a famous hand. Chuck had an A 9, the hand that won Chris Ferguson a
World Championship. Chuck was only trying to move up one spot however and Joe
Paraille didn't have T J Cloutier's hand an A Q. Joe called with K 10 and
flopped a King.
THE FINAL TABLE:
25 mins left of 1 hr. The blind are $500 and $1,000
| Player/Hometown | Chip Count |
| Seat 1: Barry Bindelglass (Atlantic City, NJ) | $7,300 |
| Seat 2: Martine Oules (Las Vegas, NV) | $19,300 |
| Seat 3: Van Pham (Bell Gardens, CA) | $47,700 |
| Seat 4: Steve Meyerson (Poquosoa, VA) | $22,400 |
| Seat 5: Xia Byrne (Phoenix, AZ) | $18,500 |
| Seat 6: Luca Shpendi (Tirana, Albania) | $21,900 |
| Seat 7: Don Binford (Las Vegas, NV) | $2,300 |
| Seat 8: Angie Vogler (Las Vegas, NV) | $11,500 |
| Seat 9: Ron Stanley (Las Vegas, NV) | $22,500 |
| Seat 10: Joe Paraille (Las Vegas, NV) | $19,600 |
In an unusual scenario, five Las Vegas residents started this Final Table and
they were the first five to be eliminated. So much for home court advantage.
Don Binford was the first out when his pocket Queens on the button were
crushed by an A 8. Luca Shpendi is a poker dealer at the Bellagio, but he
lists his hometown as Tirana Albania. Luca started these proceeding very
aggressively, raising from early position with hands like A 8. This time it
worked for Luca as an Ace came on the turn.
One of the great benefits of raising with A 8 is that you get called when you
have A A. That's what happened to Angie Vogler. Luca raised, again. Angie
called to the river with A Q. This time Luca showed Angie a real hand.
Limit Hold'em is renowned for the kind of beats it gives. Running four card
straights and flushes happen all the time. You have to be on the right side
of those hands or you are going to have an early evening. Three outstanding
Las Vegas players were doing fine until they got to the Final Table. The
first, Joe Paraille had his stack tortured repeatedly by worse starting hands
and had to go all-in for his last $3.5k with J T. Steve Meyerson had pocket
10's to get Joe's tires rolling out in 8th.
Then Ron "Carolina Express" Stanley, who started 2nd in chips, finished 7th
as he could only shake his head at what terrible beats he was taking. Ron,
who finished third to Stu Unger a few years ago in the WSOP Championship,
left talking to himself as Xia (pronounced Shaw) Byrne went to the river on a
heart draw against Ron's made two pair. The heart came for Xia and her K 6 of
Hearts derailing Stanley.
Finally, there was only Martine Oules left to carry the Las Vegas banner.
Martine was second in the Women's Championship in this year's WSOP. Like
several others, Martine couldn't find a way to beat Luca Shpendi. Earlier
Oules lost to a flopped set of Kings by Luca, now all-in with pocket 7's it
was her nemesis who called with K J and he flopped a Jack to complete the
wipeout of the Las Vegans.
Historically, women have fared quite well in The Orleans Open. This year
we've had six females at the Final Tables of the first four events: three in
the first Hold'em event and three more in today's Hold'em. When a deal fell
through that would have given the last five players $12,000 each, the only
remaining woman Xia Byrne seemed to go on tilt. In a pivotal hand against
Steve Meyerson, Xia called all the way to the river with Ace high. She was
correct in her read that Meyerson didn't have anything, but Steve's A 7
outkicked Xia's A 6 when the 7 played. All-in from the big blind with the A 4
of Hearts, Xia was kicked out in 5th by Barry Bindelglass when Barry's A 9
high had a 9 that played.
With just the four guys left, a deal was struck that made everyone happy.
Barry Bindelglass had the least chips so he gave up $300 each to the three
others who were almost exactly even. They played for the paid TOC seat and
The Orleans Open trophy. The final payouts were as follows:
Van Pham $14,870
Steve Meyerson $14,870
Luca Shpendi $14,870
Barry Bindelglass $13,675
First, the all-in Barry Bindelglass went out with pocket 10's to a flopped K
from Luca Shpendi in the small blind.
Then, Luca caught Steve Meyerson when Steve tried to buy a pot with an A 6 6
flop. Shpendi waited until Meyerson was all-in before showing him his 6.
Van Pham started heads up play with about a 3-2 chip lead over Luca Shpendi,
but from here on it was 'The Van Pham Show' as he destroyed Luca's chips,
winning almost every hand.
Like the Elephant's Burial Ground, this Final Table was were the 'Names' came
to live and die in Las Vegas.
Official Money Winners
| 1. Van Pham | $29,950 |
| 2. Luca Shpendi | $15,380 |
| 3. Steve Meyerson | $7,690 |
| 4. Barry Bindelglass | $5,265 |
| 5. Xia Byrne | $4,050 |
| 6. Martine Oules | $2,835 |
| 7. Ron Stanley | $2,025 |
| 8. Joe Paraille | $1,620 |
| 9. Angie Vogler | $1,215 |
| 10. Don Binford | $1,010 |
11th-15th received $605
Chuck Barker, Marty Feijo, Steve Kaufman, Maurice Azoulay and Jim Karis
16th-20th received $525
Ted Brooks, Rudy Dano, Skipper B, and Mario B
Tie 20th received $485
Lance Koury and Amir Vahedi
22nd-245th received $445
Minh Nguyen, Lynne Milner and Nick Partenope
Tie 25th received $425
Joe Taylor and Tony Cousineau
27th-30th received $405
John Olsen, Bill Manning, Barbara Wik and John Reiss
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