EVENT #14 NO LIMIT HOLD'EM
Thursday, July 20, 2000
$130 BUY-IN w/$100 Rebuys
$600/$600 in chips
THE QUICK AND THE DEAD
By Mike Paulle
You never know about No Limit. It could take hours or it could take minutes.
This Final Table took less than an hour.
There were 439 entrants and 829 rebuys in the $130 Buy-In No Limit Hold'em
for a total prize pool of $139,970. Four tables were paid, a total of 36
players.
'Jersey' Jack Maxwell put the last 36 in the money when he called the al-in
"of a German fella." Jack had 8 6 and caught 5 4 3 2 to straighten out the
money situation.
The Final Table was set up when Dave Mason was all-in for his big blind with
the 9 3 of Diamonds and boogied on down the road in 10th to Melissa Hayden's
pocket 10's.
THE FINAL TABLE:
24 mins left of 45. The blind are $5,000 and $10,000
| Player/Hometown | Chip Count |
| Seat 1: Klein Bach (Las Vegas, NV) | $41,000 |
| Seat 2: Alex Brenes (San Jose, Costa Rica) | $133,000 |
| Seat 3: George Geros (Alamo, CA) | $15,500 |
| Seat 4: Scotty Nguyen (Henderson, NV) | $55,500 |
| Seat 5: Melissa Hayden (Las Vegas, NV) | $138,000 |
| Seat 6: Somers Pfeuffer (San Antonio, TX) | $116,500 |
| Seat 7: Calvin Moore (Las Vegas, NV) | $119,000 |
| Seat 8: John Bonetti (Houston, TX) | $102,000 |
| Seat 9: John Horrocks (Henderson, NV) | $41,000 |
When you are the shortest stack, where the button falls is vital. George
Geros got the big blind early and paid for it with 9th place. When Alex
Brenes raised from the small blind, George could only hope was on a steal
with a marginal hand. Geros already had $10k in for the blind so he deposited
the rest with 7 6. Alex wasn't stealing, he had pocket Aces.
In a game where $55,500 was on the bubble at $5k/$10k blinds, Scotty Nguyen
raised with A J from early position. Calvin Moore pushed in $110,000 behind
him to put Scotty all-in. Nguyen had to know he needed help. It didn't arrive
for the former World Champion. Moore had pocket Kings and took no pity on
Scotty, who'd already won one event in this year's Open, in 8th.
The blinds were a terrible burden for the shorter stacks. When the blinds
went to $10k/$20k, John Horrocks had no choice but to call a raise by Klein
Bach. John put his last $18,000 in the pot with Q 10. Klein had the K J of
Spades. It only hurt a little for Horrocks in 7th when a Jack flopped.
Nobody in poker history has ever played Ace rag better than John Bonetti.
Alex Brenes found that out in 6th as Alex went all-in from the big blind
coming over the top of Bonetti on the button. Brenes had pocket 10's. Bonetti
had A 8 and called the Brenes reraise knowing he needed help like Scotty
Nguyen before him. Unlike for Scotty, however, an Ace ripped right off the
top of the deck for John in a $200,000 pot.
It was time for the hand of the night. Calvin Moore started it by raising to
$40k after Somers Pfeuffer folded. John Bonetti folded on the button and
Klein Bach made a fatal decision to only three-bet to $60,000. "If you go
all-in I have to muck my hand," Melissa Hayden told Klein Bach afterward.
Melissa now thought she might have the best hand with her pocket 10's. Calvin
Moore felt he had to call all-in with his K Q and Klein Bach called also with
pocket Queens. There was over $300,000 in the pot and Hayden had both guys
covered. The flop came 9 8 7 to give Melissa an open-ended straight draw.
With a blank on the turn and a 6 on the river. Hayden wiped out Moore and
Bach with a 10 high straight. Klein Bach got 5th place money because he
started with fewer chips than Calvin Moore in 4th.
There was only one more hand to play. Somers Pfeuffer raised with the K 9 of
Clubs. John Bonetti flat called. When the flop of 7 4 2 came with one club,
Bonetti went all-in and Pfeuffer called. John had an A 4 that stood up. Now
it was Bonetti with the 4-3 chip lead with over $400,000 in chips.
"Excuse me, I'm trying to hustle this guy," Melissa said as she came over to
talk to John privately. Melissa Hayden and John Bonetti are good friends. She
wanted to split the money evenly. "Give me some respect here, I have the chip
lead," Bonetti complained good-naturedly. They agreed to split the money, but
John wanted the TOC. Melissa wanted the trophy. "You want the trophy, too.
You want everything," John bellowed. They were both smiling. It was a good
day's work. Each got over $38,600. Oh, John kept the trophy.
If you ever feel depressed about your career in poker, please remember that
John Bonetti didn't win his first poker tournament until he was 58 years old.
Now at 72, after having won millions in poker, John also beat the Big C. So
don't feel depressed, keep trying. There were a few casualties of this war,
but it was over quickly.
Official Money Winners
| 1. John Bonetti | $51,050 |
| 2. Melissa Hayden | $26,215 |
| 3. Somers Pfeuffer | $13,105 |
| 4. Calvin Moore | $8,625 |
| 5. Klein Bach | $6,210 |
| 6. Alex Brenes | $4,830 |
| 7. John Horrocks | $3,450 |
| 8. Scotty Nguyen | $2,760 |
| 9. George Geros | $2,070 |
10th-14th received $1,155
Dave Mason, Jack Maxwell, Tom McEvoy, Tim Crast and Carroll Nagy
15th-18th received $915
Tom Lockhart, Denver Hendrix, Isaac Benitah, and David Dodgion
19th-23rd received $770
John Jackson, Jesse Jones, Bennett Flanagan, Wade Collier and Paige Williams
24th-27th received $630
Bob Feduniak, David Pham, Ernie Kimball and Joe Myers
28th-32nd received $490
Connie Brotherson, Mike Appling, Mickey Mouse, Johnny Walker and Minh Ly
33rd-36th received $350
Julian Levy, Robert Campbell, Bob Redman and Scott Niebling
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