Guard is Winner in Hold'em!
Ibrahim Jajo, a guard for a security services company whose poker playing mostly centers around tournaments, scored his first major win in the eighth event of Winnin 'o' the Green, $200 limit hold'em. He came to the final table with the chip lead and held onto it until a four-way deal ended the event. Even with the abrupt ending, the tournament lasted until nearly 5 a.m. Much of that time was consumed with the deal negotiations that stretched on nearly as long as the mid-East arms reductions talks and that included more advisors and backers milling around and involved in the discussion than there were players. With $91,000 of the $215,000 in play, Jajo was the clear winner. His official prize for first place was $18,045, his biggest cash-out ever.
Meanwhile, the $15,000, best all-around points payoff race remains surprisingly wide-open. After eight points events, nobody has more than 62, and a mere three points separates the nine top finishers.
Tonight's final table got there after restaurant manager John Droutsas, with pocket aces, polished off Benjamin Chung, who had Ac, 4c, and finished in 11th place. Blinds started at $1,000-$2,000, playing for 2-4k, with 20:45 remaining. Richard Flicker, son of veteran player Steve Flicker, flickered out on hand number four. Half the $4,000 he arrived with was posted in the big blind, and the other half went toward calling Art Andor's raise. Richard had 10-7 to Art's K-J, and he was drawing dead after two kings flopped.
With limits at $3,000-$6,000, Annibale 'Tony' Falato raised with K-Q on hand 24, then bet his last $1,000 into a flop of K-7-6. Mike Laos called with A-J and sent the pizza restaurant owner home when a jack and then an ace hit. Ninth place paid $935. Two hands later, Steven Bernstein, cardroom manager at Sycuan Casino, raised with A-4 and was called by Jajo, who had K-J. When the board showed K-J-3 A-8, Bernstein bet all in for $4,000 with his paired ace. But Jajo was holding the winner with kings and jacks. Steve earned $1,170 for eighth place.
Arturo Andor finished seventh, taking home $1,410. In the big blind with just 9-2, he called all in on the river with just a paired deuce, no match for Droutsas, who had a paired jack to his K-J. Andor walked away with $1,410.
K-J had knocked out two of the first three players, but it didn't do Sin Soo much good. Sin, who earlier had escaped an all-in encounter when four diamonds on board gave him a flush, was all in with K-J and flopped a king. But an ace also hit the flop, to pair Jajo's A-4. When the board showed A-K-7-4-5, the final table was without Sin, and he collected $1,885 for sixth place. Jajo, meanwhile, had spurted into a very big chip lead.
Just before the limits went to $4,000-$8,000, Rusty Mandap, tournament director at Hawaiian Gardens, had pocket queens and bet his last $6,000 into a flop of A-6-4, hoping that Droutsas, his lone opponent who raised pre-flop, didn't have an ace. He didn't, just pocket jacks, and Rusty got to stick around.
There were only three more deals at the new levels. Hugo Mejia, who had been nursing his small stack, was finally caught in the big blind with just a 6 and a 5. When the flop came A-10-4 it was bet by Michael Laos, a carpenter by profession, who held pocket 9s. Mejia called all in, hoping for and needing a small miracle. It didn’t come, Mejia picked up his fifth-place winnings of $2,360, and now four were left.
Jajo led with $91,000, Laos had $54,000, Droutas had $36,000 and Mandap trailed with $34,000. The talks got underway, and after a lot of give and take, a deal was finally struck to end the night's festivities.
-Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
Ibrahim Jajo is a 42-year-old security guard for Security Watchman Services who is originally from Iraq. He has been playing poker for more than 12 years. His biggest prior cash-out came when he finished second in a limit hold'em event at the Normandie Casino. He's been playing $20-$40 limits in side games, but lately has dropped down a notch. He likes all games, though recently he finds that he has been doing better in stud and Omaha split games.
Jajo, describing himself as a solid player, says that he played his best game today. He found himself in a little trouble with six tables left, but he held on. When he got to the second table, he won a big pot when his Q-10 made a straight, and that put him back in business. A couple of times he had to make a move and bet, with absolutely nothing, into big pots without being called.
CHIP POSITION FINAL TABLE
Ibrahim Jajo
$39,000
Sin Soo
$31,000
Hugo Mejia
$7,500
Mike Laos
$27,500
Rusty Mandap
$15,000
John Droutsas
$23,000
Steven Bernstein
$19,000
Richard Flicker
$4,000
Tony Falato
$15,000
Arturo Andor
$34,000
ALL-AROUND PAY-OFF POINTS
Name Total
1. Joe DeNicola 62
2. Suriyan Bhinestien 61
3. Robert Bakovic 61
4. Joe Boghossian 61
5. Barry Bergida 61
6. Steve Badger 59
7. Nash Rizk 59
8. Kathy Liebert 59
9. Ibrahim Jajo 59
10.Daniel Dahan 58
11.Russ Rosen 53
12.Not Available 53
13.Joseph Isagulyan 53
14.B. J. Behboudi 53
15.Robert Landaw 51
16.Michael Laos 51
17.James Belcher 51
18.Chang Kim 51
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