Griffiths Lifts Off in Omaha!
“We have lift-off, write that down,” declared Ray Griffiths as all three Omaha finalists entered a raised pot. Lift-off was correct. Griffith had 10-10-Q-3, and when three 8s hit the board he scooped with a full house and lifted his chip count to about $85,000 of the $118,600 in play. Though five more hands were dealt, that essentially wrapped things up for the Aurora, Colorado software salesman who took home $10,445 for winning the 14th event of Winnin’ o’ the Green 2003, $200 Omaha hi-lo.
In the $15,000 all-around points race, meanwhile, Mario Esquerra took top prize of $7,500 while Kathy Liebert, finishing fifth tonight, moved into second place for $2,500.
A spectacular hand set the final table. With a board of K-K-Ad-3d-4d, an all-in Jerry Simon turned up a full house and Dino Medina showed a wheel. But Robert Mizrachi took three-quarters of the pot and discharged Simon, a retired Air Force colonel, with a wheel straight flush!
Final table limits started at $600-$1,200, with 15:20 remaining. On hand eight, with $1,000-$2,000 limits, John Emmons finished 10th for $595. His A-2-4 was triple-counterfeited when the board came 7-4-2-A-8. Griffiths, with A-A-3-J, scooped with a set of aces and a 7-low to Emmons’ aces-up and 8-low.
Two hands later, pro Paul Lee was all in with A-3-K-J. A flop of A-A-9 ruined his low but gave him three bullets. Holding A-4-8-Q, Robert Durant trailed with a smaller kicker. But a river 8 filled him and left Lee in 9th place for $675.
Steve Badger, who won the previous Omaha event, was all in on the flop on hand 10 with A-A-2-7. He earned a chop, but berated himself as a “stone idiot” for letting an opponent in by not raising pre-flop. Five hands later Steve was in for his last $1,000 with A-5-J-J. “Where’s the jack?” he cried futilely as 5-5-Q-3-6 arrived. Mizrachi, with A-2-4-7, scooped with a nut low and straight. Steve earned $735 for eighth.
Jennifer Levinsohn, testifying on her bio sheet that she won the WSOP in 1931, had been card-dead and anted down. She had her last $1,000 in the big blind with a weak 4-5-6-9 and couldn’t beat Mizrachi’s paired 4 with an ace kicker when the board came 10-7-2-4-Q. Griffiths, with A-3-8-9, had the nut low. On hand 18 Griffiths held A-7-7-J and scooped with a straight on the river when the board showed A-K-Q-5-10. Dino Medina, all in before the flop, missed his nut low draw holding 2-3-5-J and cashed out for $1,120.
On hand 25, Robert Durant scooped, but overlooked his full house and missed a river bet. Annoyed, he let a bad word slip and earned a 10-minute penalty which cost him $3,000 in blinds. Next out on hand 33 was Liebert, who won an earlier no-limit event. With limits at $2,000-$4,000, she was all in for $3,000 holding A-K-Q-8. Durant had A-5-6-10 with a suited ace and won with a nut flush. Kathy earned $1,375 for fifth.
On hand 42, Mizrachi was in for $5,500 with K-K-10-4. “You’re ahead,” Griffiths said, turning up A-5-7-J. “I’m ahead,” he corrected himself when the turn gave him aces and jacks and a winner. Fourth place paid $1,760 for the Florida computer sales/poker player.
On hand 45, a river full house gave contractor Duane Reed a brief lead with about $60,000. But he slipped back by not exploiting his advantage with aggressive play. With $3,000-$6,000 limits, the “lift-off” pot came on hand 62, putting Ray in a commanding lead. Durant, down to $4,500, went all in on hand 67. With a board of J-8-5-10-A, Reed bet and Ray, holding K-Q-4-2 for a Broadway straight and number two low, raised and scooped. Durant earned $2,655 for third. Reed, left with $3,500, accepted Griffith’s surrender terms and got $5,080 for second.
– Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
Ray Griffiths, 59, started playing poker in casinos when they opened in Colorado about 10 years ago. He plays mostly tournaments, and since the L.A. area is his sales territory, he sees a lot of action here. He’s won an Omaha event at Commerce and a 7-stud tournament at Hollywood Park, along with a second in pot-limit hold’em at Commerce. He prefers Omaha split, because he can’t seem to do as well in hold’em. In Omaha, he feels he has the necessary skill to read players well, along with knowing how to figure the odds.
Tonight he was never in trouble, never all in. His strategy: play solid and turn aggressive when you have chips. One of his secrets is to play differently when Omaha turns to a high game and not chase low draws without something going for you for high. That, he says, is a mistake many Omaha players make.
CHIP POSITION FINAL TABLE
Robert Durant
$22,500
Paul Lee
$8,300
Duane Reed
$20,900
Kathy Liebert
$9,300
Jennifer Levinsohn
$2,800
Steve Badger
$5,200
Ray Griffiths
$13,700
Robert Mizrachi
$22,300
Dino Medina
$3,100
John Emmons
$10,500
ALL-AROUND PAY-OFF POINTS
Name Total
1. Mario Esquerra 109
2. Kathy Liebert 93
3. Nash Rizk 89
4. Steve Badger 81
5. M. Duckworth 81
6. Tony Grand 77
7. Raymond Davis 77
8. Bijan Ashkan 70
9. Joe DeNicola 70
10.Dino Medina 70
11.Warren Karp 69
12.Ibrahim Jajo 67
13.Suriyan Bhinestien 61
14.Robert Bakovic 61
15.Joe Boghossian 61
16.Barry Bergida 61
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