EVENT #15 POT LIMIT OMAHA
Friday, July 21, 2000
$260 BUY-IN w/One $200 Rebuy
$600/$600 in chips
ACES AND KINGS TRA-LA
By Mike Paulle
Even at the Final Table with the blinds so high, pocket Aces and Kings were
the hand of choice in this rock solid group. If you had them you raised, if
you didn't you called or folded. Those who didn't follow this rule usually,
but not always, paid for it.
There were 191 entrants and 167 rebuys in the $260 Buy-In Pot Limit Omaha for
a total prize pool of $139,970. Two tables were paid, a total of 18 players.
The Final Table was set up when the rich got richer. The substantial chip
leader with K Q, Gus Echeverri turned trip Kings against the all-in Randy
Edmonson with A Q J 9.
THE FINAL TABLE:
24 mins left of 45. The blind are $5,000 and $10,000
| Player/Hometown | Chip Count |
| Seat 1: Tam Ho (Las Vegas, NV) | $64,500 |
| Seat 2: Ray Green (Bismarck, ND) | $27,100 |
| Seat 3: Gus Echeverri (San Jose, Costa Rica) | $80,700 |
| Seat 4: Randy Holland (Tallahassee, FL) | $48,800 |
| Seat 5: Tony Le (Reno, NV) | $19,900 |
| Seat 6: Steve Rydel (Las Vegas, NV) | $12,400 |
| Seat 7: Billy Boutte (Broussard, LA) | $19,800 |
| Seat 8: Mike Lesle (Lake Elsinor, CA) | $1,200 |
| Seat 9: Dan Girard (Harrison, PA) | $7,600 |
With only enough chips for one hand, Mike Lesle went in with the first pair
and flush draw he saw. Randy Holland could afford to call the all-in and made
10's and 6's. Lesle did get a nice piece of change more than Randy Edmonson,
though, for hanging on to finish 9th.
Second in chips at the start, Tam Ho didn't win a hand at this table. In
shock, really, he couldn't believe what was happening to him. Tam made the
mistake of trying to isolate himself against an all-in with only pocket
Jacks. Ray Green had Aces, also all-in, behind him. Tam lost to both players
for a third of his chips. More in frustration it looked like, than anything
else, Tam called Dan Girard with practically nothing and went out 8th when
Girard made a flush.
It wasn't that good being Green. Ray could never get enough chips to be
competitive against the constantly raising big stacks. Green went all-in on
the button for 7th on a low draw 7 6 5 4 and was called by Randy Holland in
the big blind with A Q 5 3. Randy made trip Queens on the river.
Another guy who couldn't make a hand was Tony Le. He tried pocket Queens
all-in from the small blind. Dan Girard had the pocket Aces this time and
Tony was Le Sixth.
They were playing $10k/$20k now, not a good time to take bad beats. But
that's what happened to Dan Girard. Dan Girard was the exception to the Aces
and Kings rule. Everybody else won with the hands but him. First, Randy
Holland rivered a wheel with A 4 against Dan to crack Girard's pocket Aces.
Then right afterward an all-in Steve Rydel rivered a six high straight with a
K Q 6 5 when the board came perfect perfect to crack Dan's pocket Kings.
After a huge comeback from only $7,600 at the start to second in chips at one
point, Dan now needed help. Girard raised under the gun with 8 7 6 6. Gus
Echeverri reraised Dan all-in with A A Q J, which held up to give Dan a
disappointing 5th.
Of the last four players, three of them were WSOP bracelet holders. Steve
Rydel moved to Las Vegas last year from Stoke-on-Trent, England after winning
his WSOP title. Steve wasn't able to protect his Kings with only an extra
$6,000 all-in. Randy Holland called the few chips from the big blind and made
7's and 3's to give Steve a ride out in 4th.
At this point Billy Boutte wanted to know if he could get some extra money as
he was ticketed for 3rd place. They did a chip count and agreed on a deal.
Randy Holland had $131,500 in chips and received $21,495. Gus Echeverri had
$109,000 in chips and received $19,190. Billy Boutte had $41,000 in chips and
insured he'd get $12,000. The three played for the TOC and the trophy.
It was a good thing Gus Echeverri made a deal because he didn't win another
hand to finish in 3rd. So Gus made an extra $11,490 for signing on the dotted
line. Gus is one of the infamous crew that comes up here from Costa Rica to
take the gringo's money. He went all-in with my far the best hand, but it did
him little good. Gus had pocket Queens with an A 5 of Clubs. Billy Boutte had
K 10 9 8 with worse clubs. The board came J 8 7 to give Boutte the nut
straight.
With only two left, Randy Holland had better than a 2-1 chip lead. Billy
Boutte didn't care about the TOC so he accepted $700 for his chips. WSOP
bracelet holder and tournament veteran, Randy Holland had another trophy for
his bulging case.
Official Money Winners
| 1. Randy Holland | $29,990 |
| 2. Billy Boutte | $15,805 |
| 3. Gus Echeverri | $7,700 |
| 4. Steve Rydel | $6,485 |
| 5. Dan Girard | $5,675 |
| 6. Tony Le | $4,865 |
| 7. Ray Green | $4,055 |
| 8. Tam Ho | $3,240 |
| 9. Mike Lesle | $2,430 |
10th-14th received $1,015
Randy Edmonson, Jim Spain, Bill Taylor, Larry Cole and Avi Levy
15th-18th received $810
Frank Henderson, David Rabbi, Boris Alic and Tom Baylor
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