EVENT #6 TEXAS HOLD'EM
Thursday, July 13, 2000
$260 BUY-IN
$600 in chips
VIVA LAS VEGAS!
By Mike Paulle
A few events ago five residents of Las Vegas made the Final Table and were
the first five players eliminated. Well, Las Vegans can't be kept down for
long. They got their revenge today as the starting chip leaders were all
stood on their heads.
There were 295 entrants in the $260 Buy-In Limit Hold'em for a total prize
pool of $76,700. Two tables were paid, a total of 20 players.
Twenty players were happy to see Mike Mayhan all-in for his big blind with 9
5. John Olsen had an A K and flopped an Ace to get the twenty a guaranteed
payday.
The Final Table was set up when Chris Chang called a button raise all-in from
his small blind with A J. Chris read Iou Hwang's raise correctly. Hwang only
had a Q 9. Iou nuttin,' Hwang could have said as his hand improved slightly
by the addition of a Q 9 on the flop. Ka-Chang! Chris was 11th.
THE FINAL TABLE:
12 mins left of 1 hr. The blind are $500 and $1,000
| Player/Hometown | Chip Count |
| Seat 1: Steve Schraber (Las Vegas, NV) | $14,500 |
| Seat 2: Don Binford (Las Vegas, NV) | $12,200 |
| Seat 3: Sam Arzoin (Miami, FL) | $15,600 |
| Seat 4: Ted Brooks (Axtell, TX) | $19,500 |
| Seat 5: Iou Hwang (Las Vegas, NV) | $27,800 |
| Seat 6: Steve Musket (Las Vegas, NV) | $35,500 |
| Seat 7: John Olsen (Moss Point, MS) | $21,800 |
| Seat 8: Tony Cousineau (Daytona Beach, FL) | $16,600 |
| Seat 9: Joel Harwood (Allendale, FL) | $8,100 |
| Seat 10: Jack Lindquist (Las Vegas, NV) | $5,900 |
Rarely, when the short stakes win their first all-in hands, something
powerful happens at a Final Table. Suddenly the hares turn around and start
chasing the hounds. That happened today as the short stacks couldn't lose and
the big stacks couldn't win. The starting leaderboard began to be turned
upside down. Comfortably 2nd in chips at the start, Iou Hwang didn't win a
hand at this Final Table. In desperation, Hwang went all-in with a K J. Don
Binford started 8th in chips and ended Iou's misery when he flopped A's and
Q's.
On a rush, Don Binford used another A Q to take out Ted Brooks in 9th. Ted
had a Q J of Hearts and picked up a flush draw on the turn but Don's flopped
A's held up. Binford is the only player so far in this year's Orleans Open to
make a second Final Table. Binford was 10th in event #2 the Seven-Card Stud.
We've seen a lot of amazement this year on the faces of the chip leads as
they have watched their stacks evaporate. The biggest crash so far came from
Steve Musket today. By his own admission, Steve is a very loose player. He
will play any two cards if there is enough money in the pot. This makes for
huge swings in his chip count. The swing was all down after arriving here as
Musket kept firing blanks. In some giant pots, Steve would be out kicked, out
flopped or out drawn. Disappointed at the way things were going, Steve raised
all-in with an A 3 under the gun. Joel Harwood reraised all-in with A J
behind Musket. Neither had enough chips to stop Sam Arzoin from calling in
the big blind. Arzoin had a 10 8. Sam flopped 10's and 8's to take out two
players on one hand. Musket got 8th for having started the hand with fewer
chips. Joel Harwood was 7th.
The hottest player at the table early on was Jack Lindquist who started with
the fewest chips. In short order Lindquist was the chip leader. Running low,
John Olsen raised from the button with pocket 7's. Lindquist called with K Q
and waited until Olsen went all-in before Jack showed John, in 6th, the best
hand.
What makes Limit Hold'em so frustrating is that it is impossible to protect a
hand. Sam Arzoin raised with an A 4. Steve Schraber three-bet with a K J and
put Sam all-in when a King flopped to slam Sam into 5th.
Schraber plays paint cards like they are pocket Aces, as he continually
three-bet with them. This time it was Tony Cousineau's turn to fall under
Schraber's axe. Tony had A Q and had to throw his last two chips in the pot
with a few outs. Steve had a K 9 and again flopped a King. No help arrived on
the river for Tony in 4th.
Las Vegas got its revenge for an earlier humiliation. The last three players,
Schraber, Binford and Lindquist were all from Las Vegas. The three had
started in 7th, 8th and 10th place respectively by chip count. Now here they
were all alone at the top. Don Binford had the most chips and settled for a
save of $17,000. Steve Schraber and Jack Lindquist took $15,500. They played
for the balance of $930, the TOC seat and the trophy. It was an excellent
move for Jack Lindquist as his chips went directly over to Steve Schraber.
Steve had pocket Aces to finish Lindquist off.
Here's where it gets complicated. Steve Schraber didn't care about the TOC
seat, but he had the chip lead and he wanted the trophy. He sold the seat to
Don Binford for about $1,000 and got the trophy, but Schraber had to make it
official by losing the chip lead. Luckily for everyone, Don Binford won a No
Limit hand with three 10's so we could all continue our lives in Viva Las
Vegas!
Official Money Winners
| 1. Don Binford | $27,640 |
| 2. Steve Schraber | $14,195 |
| 3. Jack Lindquist | $7,095 |
| 4. Tony Cousineau | $4,860 |
| 5. Sam Arzoin | $3,740 |
| 6. John Olsen | $2,620 |
| 7. Joel Harwood | $2,240 |
| 8. Steve Musket | $1,870 |
| 9. Ted Brooks | $1,495 |
| 10. Iou Hwang | $1,120 |
11th-15th received $895
Chris Chang, Mike Donahoo, Keith Quilty, James Groh and Marie Gabert
16th-20th received $670
Rich Barton, Restie Begaygay, John Bradley, Gary Gabler and Condon Link
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