Poker Tournament Results

5th Annual Jack Binion World Poker Open - WPT Season 2

Bob Mangino

Tournament Report

Buzz Saw Cuts through Wildly-Entertaining Final Table and Wins $166,702 in Record Breaking Poker Tournament The 2004 Jack Binion World Poker Open continues to shatter records. A whopping 950 players -- the largest JBWPO field in the tournament's five-year history -- entered the first major No-Limit Holdem event of the year. No tournament with a $500 buy-in has ever attracted so many entries. Nearly half-a-million in prize money was divided amongst the 36 top finishers, in what was according to many witnesses one of the most exciting poker tournaments the South has ever seen. A standing-room only crowd packed the second-floor grand ballroom at the Gold Strike Casino-Resort for the finale table, in an event jointly-sponsored with the Horseshoe Casino-Hotel in Tunica. Blinds started at $5K-10K with a $1K ante. The first major confrontation took place 30 minutes into play when two players were eliminated. Frank Vigna started with J-J and moved "all-in." Wolf Minsky sat two players to Vigna's left and came over the top with an "all-in" re-raise, with K-K. Chip leader Bob "Buzz Saw" Mangino had a big enough stack to call from the big blind with A-8 suited. The flop came 8-7-3, which made it seem as though the Kings would triple up. But two cards were still to come and when a dreaded Ace fell on the turn, it might as well have been a dagger through the hearts of both Vigna and the Wolf. Buzz Saw’s pair of pair of Aces held up and two players were knocked out. Paul "Wolf" Minsky was left howling a bad beat story and departed in ninth place with $6,758. Also eliminated -- Frank Vigna, playing in his first live tournament (he's played and won online tourneys) finished in eighth place and received $9,011. Billy Ray Shadwick became an instant crowd favorite when he won the next big pot in dramatic fashion. Shadwick moved "all-in" before the flop with A-J of clubs, which was called by Buzz Saw with 9-9. The flop came 6-7-8 with two clubs. A blank fell on the turn, but on the river Shadwick spiked a life-saving club, which sent the crowd into a frenzy. Whooping and hollering, Shadwisk high-fived several observers in the audience and yelled, "I need my heart pills." Fact was, the $50K loss barely put a dent in Buzz Saw's big stack. A few hands later, Bill "Aarrow" Williams took a shot with 9-9 and was "all-in" versus Bob "The Coach" Ciaffone's K-10. Aarrow watched in horror as the flop came K-K-7, giving Ciaffone trip Kings. A two-outer Nine failed to rescue Aarrow, which meant the owner of a California mobile home dealership was wheeled-off in seventh place with $10,363. John Lukas managed to survive until the second hour, when he made a raise with K-10 suited. Ciaffone came over the top with a re-raise holding A-Q. Lukas was obliged to watch with disappointment, as a pair failed to materialize. Ciaffone's Ace-high was good, which rocketed the noted poker author and columnist up to over $200K, posing the most serious threat to Buzz Saw's $220K. Meanwhile, John Lukas, a retiree from Las Vegas, took $14,418 for sixth place. Billy Ray Shadwick electrified the crowd a few moments later when he flopped a set of Queens against Ciaffone. Incredibly, Ciaffone also flopped a set (Jacks versus Shadwick's Queens). The pretty ladies held up and put the Shadwick – who was playing in his first tournament ever -- up over $100K. The deck quickly apologized to Ciaffone when he turned the tables against Tommy Vinus. This time, Ciaffone had the best of it by flopping set over set. Ciaffone started with A-A against Vinus' 7-7. When the flop came A-7-2, Vinus was left desperate, drawing to a single card which failed to appear from the deck. The final table was an absolute nightmare for Vinus, who must have come into the Day Two with higher expectations. He was dealt a long series of sub-par poker hands and failed to generate any momentum in the finale. Vinus, who is a former gold and diamond bracelet winner at the JBWPO in 2002, blasted off in fifth place with $19,374. Another stunning hand developed when blinds were raised to $5K-10K with a $2K ante. Juha Helppi, a former World Poker Tour event winner (Aruba -- 2003) was dealt Q-Q. After the flop, a harmless-looking 7-5-3, Buzz Saw moved his entire stack into the pot on a semi-bluff holding K-6 -- which was quickly called by Helppi. When a King fell on the river, it marked yet another stunning moment in the finale. As observers sat in stunned disbelief, Helppi -- from Finland -- staggered away from the final table in fourth place. He collected $24,780. Shadwick defied the odds again a short time later when he was dealt K-J and moved "all-in" with K-J against Ciaffone's A-5. The shorter-stacked Shadwick caught a Jack on the flopped and doubled up to over $200K. At that point, the chip counts stood as follows: Buzz Saw -- $373K Shadwick -- $243K Ciaffone -- $131K Shorted-handed play is an entirely different tournament animal, and Buzz Saw proved to be a tiger. He repeatedly cut down his two remaining opponents by coming over the top of their initial raises with "all-in" moves. Ciaffone decided he'd had enough of the Buzz Saw's antics and moved "all-in" on the turn when the board showed Q-4-2-4. Ciaffone was holding A-8, which amounted to a bluff and the Buzz Saw snapped it off immediately by calling with Q-7, good for a pair of Queens. An Ace failed to materialize from the deck, putting Bob "The Coach" Ciaffone out in third place with $42,802. A master gamesman, Ciaffone won the European Poker Championship in 1988 and also finished third in the 1986 World Series of Poker. At that point, Billy Ray Shadwick reached across the table and grabbed the coveted gold and diamond bracelet. That's as close as he would get to wearing the coveted top prize. Down about 5 to 1 in chips, Shadwick tried to make a move at the worst possible moment. With about $90K in chips, he moved “all-in” before the flop with A-5. Buzz Saw announced, “You made the wrong move at the wrong time,” and rolled over A-K of spades, which dominated Shadwick’s hand. The flop came K-6-4, which just about ended Shadwick’s chances of pulling off the comeback. Shadwick caught a five on the turn, giving him a last glimmer of hope, but it quickly faded when a blank 8 fell on the river, guaranteeing Buzz Saw’s victory. Shadwick was thrilled with his finish and had every right to be joyful. After all, how many players can say they won $83,352 in their first-ever poker tournament? After a hearty handshake between the two finalists, Bob “Buzz Saw” Mangino, from upstate New York, stood up in his chair and pumped his fists into the air as the large crowd filled into the tournament area. Congratulated by a sea of fans and well-wishers, Buzz Saw was clearly the sharpest player on this night, winning $166,702 and his first JBWPO title. Play started at: 4:00 pm CST Play ended at: 8:30 pm CST