| John Phan Triumphs Over Record Field at the World Poker Open
Anyone still doubting poker’s booming popularity would be advised to look at the numbers from the Limit Holdem event at the 2004 World Poker Open. The second event of this year's WPO attracted a staggering 918 entries, making it one of the largest fields in poker tournament history. In fact, no tournament with a $500+ buy-in has ever attracted so many entries. Just minutes before the noon starting time on Day One, the event was declared "sold out."
Play on Day Two of this record-setting event started with $2K-4K blinds and limits at $4K-8K. John Phan, from Long Beach, CA came in as the chip leader with $194,000. Interestingly, Texan Bennett Flanagan came in with the lowest chip count. Proving that victory isn’t necessarily dependent on the number of chips one has coming into the final table, Phan and Flanagan would ultimately meet in the showdown.
It took an hour before the first player was eliminated. That moment came when Scott Robinson, a loan officer from Memphis, was short-stacked and lost his final pot of the tournament. Robinson, who was playing in his very first major tournament, collected $6,525 for a very respectable ninth-place finish.
Keith Copp, a rancher from Ponder, TX, came in with the second-shortest stack. He moved in with his remaining chips holding A-8 of clubs on a flush draw when the flop showed 9-4-2, with two clubs. Unfortunately, John Phan was holding pocket kings and called Copp's last bet. A club failed to rescue Copp from elimination, which put the father of three out in eighth place with $8,701.
After another round passed, blinds increased to $5K-10K with limits set at $10K-20K. Robbie Frank, who finished fifth in the WPO championship event in 2001, was eliminated next when he was dealt Q-Q. John Phan had 4c-5c and was pleased to see the flop come down 8-7-3, with two clubs. Phan had multiple draws, and when a third club fell on the river making the flush, Frank was bounced off the final table in seventh place with $10,006. The big pot rocketed Phan into a sizable chip lead.
Not much went right for Ayaz Mahmoud at the final table. He came in third in chips, but was never able to gain much momentum during his two and a half hour stay in the finale. Mahmoud's final hand of the night occurred when he was dealt 8-8. By the turn, Mahmoud was a clear favorite over "Da Blasta's" no-pair A-Q. But an ugly Ace fell on the river for "Da Blasta," which put Mahmoud out in sixth place. Mahmoud, a retail furniture dealer from Houston, received $13,921.
Vernon Harrison, from Hunt, TX came to the WPO to attend the Poker School Online Convention (PokerPages.com) and to play in the Limit Holdem event. Harrison, had made several final tables elsewhere, but thus far had not been able to break into a big payoff. Harrison had a great chance to acquire some chips when he was "all-in" with A-5 against John Phan's A-2 after the flop came Q-5-3. Harrison's pair of 5s were good until the river was dealt -- a dreaded Four – which stuck a knife into Harrison’s heart and gave Phan a gutshot straight. Harrison, an attorney and business owner, collected $18,706 for fifth place.
Mike Blankenau, who plays in major chess tournaments, was easily the calmest player at the final table. The chess grandmaster rarely showed any emotion and didn't get caught up in the table banter that increasingly made the finale a spectacle for viewers as the hours passed. Blankenau made his final stand with J-10 but was disappointed to see John Phan -- with K-5 -- catch a King on the flop. Blankenau failed to improve his hand and was checkmated off the final table in fourth place, with $23,927.
Dallas local Tony "Da Blasta" Passacantando was, by far, the most talkative player at the final table. He consistently baited his opponents with non-stop table chatter, most of it aimed at the chip-leader Phan. In the end, however, it was a fellow-Texan named Bennett Flanagan who blasted "De Blasta" out of the tournament.
Flanagan's experience at the final table can best be described as riding a roller coaster out of control. He was nearly thrown off the tracks twice within the first hour, but caught life-saving two- and three-outers to survive yet another hand. Initially, he rivered a Jack holding the heavy dog K-J versus K-Q on one hand. Then, he turned a third 10 versus a pair of Aces on the next. Over the next three hours, Flanagan turned a paltry few thousand in chips into a formidable stack size.
"Da Blasta's" final hand came after a successive run of bad cards when the limits escalated to $15K-30K. He ran “card dead” at the worst possible time and was forced to commit his remaining chips with a 10-7. Flanagan had pocket 6s and made a full house which put the talkative Texan out in third place with $41,328.
Heads-up play began with Phan holding a 3 to 1 chip advantage. In the most unlikely of scenarios, Phan had seen all of his adversaries slowly knocked off the final table one by one, only to be confronted in the final chapter by the player who initially seemed like the least likely to survive. Flanagan managed to win at least a dozen "all ins.” He prolonged the ending by another 35 minutes with a number of dramatic moments. Late in the tournament, Flanagan's most memorable hand occurred when his A-2 topped Phan's A-Q, when the board showed an innocent-looking Deuce. But Lady Luck eventually deserted Flanagan in his greatest time of need.
On the final hand of the tournament, Flanagan’s stack had been hammered down yet again by Phan’s ceaseless aggression and moved his last $50K into the pot with 10-5. This time, Phan was the sizable dog with 7-5, essentially needing a Seven to win the pot. The lucky Seven flamed down on the flop, igniting the crowd and essentially ending the tournament.
During his poker career, Phan has won major events at the Legends of Poker (Bicycle Club) and the LA Poker Classic (Commerce Casino). The 29-year-old poker pro ran wire-to-wire and managed to personally eliminate six of his eight opponents in the finale.
Second-place finisher Bennett Flanagan has a number of in-the-money tournament finishes to his credit, including cashes at the Orleans and Mirage. He added $80,481 to his prize winnings. However, in the end it was John Phan who won his first World Poker Open gold and diamond bracelet and took home $160,965 in the largest big money tournament in poker history.
Play started at: 4:00 pm CST
Play ended at: 9:30 pm CST
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