EVENT #9 SEVEN CARD STUD
Sunday, July 16, 2000
$260 BUY-IN
$600 in chips
GET 'EM WHILE YOU CAN
By Mike Paulle
There are moments that become frozen in time at a Final Table when it's
obvious that an uncorrectable mistake has been made that will change the
course of the future. Some players are so dangerous, with even the tiniest
stacks, that you must get them out of the tournament if you are given any
opportunity at all.
There were 229 entrants in the $260 Buy-In 7-Card Stud for a total prize
pool
of $59,540. Two tables were paid, a total of 16 players.
Two players went out on the same hand, literally, to put the last 16 in the
money. Tony Cousineau and someone named Wayne (who probably knows what his
last name is), both lost to trip 3's on two separate tables to Natan Wager
and Mike Stanfill.
The Final Table was set up when Mike Gordon decided inexplicably to play
buried Queens while Joan Destino was being anted away. Rich Korbin caught
Aces up to deliver Gordon's Q's and 3's into 9th place.
THE FINAL TABLE:
22 mins left of 1 hr. $100 ante, $300 bring-in, playing $1k/$2k
| Player/Hometown | Chip Count |
| Seat 1: Mallory Smith (Inglewood, CO) | $32,700 |
| Seat 2: Steven Schulman (McLean, VA) | $24,600 |
| Seat 3: Beryl Mehrnaz (Kent, England) | $25,200 |
| Seat 4: Paul McKinney (Kingsport, TN) | $2,700 |
| Seat 5: Rich Korbin (Boulder, CO) | $30,800 |
| Seat 6: Joan Destino (Pasadena, CA) | $1,900 |
| Seat 7: Mike Stanfill (Phoenix, AZ) | $13,000 |
| Seat 8: Natan Wager (San Jose, Costa Rica) | $6,800 |
It had to be at least a couple thousand to one shot that Joan Destino made
it
here. Before Mike Gordon's play to go out 9th, Minh Nguyen suffered one of
the worst beats possible to finish 10th. Nguyen had Aces and 10's with a
King
on 5th street against Mallory Smith. With a King and two 10's on 4th street,
Mallory was drawing dead to the third and fourth Kings in his last three
cards. That's what came. Smith caught a King on 5th and the case King on the
river. What a game! Joanie went all-in for her last $200 with a King as a
door card. Rich Korbin had a Queen up and caught open Kings to give Destino
the gate in 8th.
Such a nice English lady didn't deserve such foul treatment, really. Beryl
Mehrnaz is the wife of tournament player Hamid Mehrnaz. Here she comes all
the way over here from England, only to be cold decked into 7th place. Not
very friendly in the colonies, what? First Mike Stanfill takes her off with
K's and J's, then Beryl makes Jacks up on 4th street only to find that
Steven
Schulman has rolled up 6's.
Now with the women gone, those naughty Gringos turn their attention on
another American, this one Central. Natan Wager is one of only two players
to
make a second Final Table in this year's Orleans Open. Don Binford is the
other. Natan Wager-ed his last few pesos on buried 4's. Steven Schulman had
split Jacks to send Wager south of the border in 6th.
With no one else left, the North American boys had to pick on one another.
Mike Stanfill was the first to go. All-in with Queens, Mike couldn't help
his
ladies and got 5th when Steven Schulman made Aces up.
It took more than an hour for the last four players to give up trying to
knock each other out. The chips just kept revolving around the table. No one
wanted to play $3,000/$6,000 without some extra money in their pockets. So
the four decided to chop up the money on a chip count basis, then play for
the TOC and the trophy.
Steven Schulman had $58,500 in chips and received $15,168
Rich Korbin had $31,500 in chips and received $10,025
Mallory Smith had $27,000 in chips and received $9,168
Paul McKinney had $20,500 in chips and received $7,930
As we see repeatedly in these situations, the play changes dramatically when
the money is gone.
Mallory Smith left in 4th on a flush draw to Rich Korbin's buried Jacks.
Steven Schulman's 10's and 7's lost to Paul McKinney's K's and 9's.
Rich Korbin's 7's and 4's lost to Paul McKinney's J's and 2's.
Paul McKinney is one of the most successful players on tour. He just doesn't
play bad hands. He's very willing to be blinded or anted out of a tournament
rather than get involved with marginal starters. That's what makes him so
dangerous. With three tables left Paul McKinney had just one $100 chip left.
Several players had an opportunity to take Paul out. Rich Korbin could have
called Paul's all-in bet early at this Final Table for only $900. "I was
afraid to double him up," Rich said later. It seemed like a mistake at the
time because, with players like McKinney, you've got to get 'em while you
can.
Official Money Winners
| 1. Paul McKinney | $21,865 |
| 2. Rich Korbin | $10,935 |
| 3. Steven Schulman | $5,465 |
| 4. Mallory Smith | $4,025 |
| 5. Mike Stanfill | $3,165 |
| 6. Natan Wager | $2,590 |
| 7. Beryl Mehrnaz | $2,015 |
| 8. Joan Destino | $1,440 |
9th-12th received $865
Mike Gordon, Minh Nguyen, Scott Reed and Rosanne Wright
13th-16th received $645
Irish Mike, David Pham, Brent Carter and Ray Warchiazer
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