Poker Tournament Results

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

John Bon Phan

Tournament Report

John Phan Becomes Third Repeat Champion at 2004 Jack Binion World Poker Open Yesterday, Can Kim Hua became only the second player in Jack Binion World Poker Open tournament history to win two gold and diamond bracelets within the same year. What were the odds that just one day later, the feat would be repeated again? Amazingly, Long Beach, CA poker pro John Phan overcame the odds again by topping a huge field and won his second championship at this year's tournament. Four days ago, Phan won his first bracelet, defeating a then-record 918 entries in the $500 buy-in Limit Holdem event. The number of entries in this record-setting Pot-Limit event (454) must have seemed easy by comparison. Indeed, Phan made it look way too easy in coasting to a $85,257 payday. The final table featured three former JBWPO bracelet winners (Devil Fish, Phan, and Vinas). Matthew McDaniel arrived lowest in chips and was the first player to make an exit. He was dealt A-9 and raised pre-flop. John Phan called with A-4 of diamonds and made a flush on the turn, when the final board showed 10-7-6-J-A -- with three diamonds. McDaniel, from Indiana, made a quick exit but to his credit has now placed in the money four straight years in this event. He added $3,055 to his poker bankroll for ninth place. Canadian player Grant Pittman made his final stand with A-K and was "all-in" against John Phan's 9-9. Pittman failed to catch a pair which gave John Phan the pot -- and the chip lead for the first time. Pittman went north of the border in eighth place with $4,074 American dollars. Billy Duarte, from Colorado, has several wins and cashes in his extensive poker career. But he could do no better than seventh place in this tournament. Short-stacked throughout his 30-minute stay at the final table, Duarte raised "all-in" with A-Q suited and was called automatically by Glen Bean, with A-K. Duarte caught two clubs on the flop giving him hope of making a flush, but when two red blanks fell on the turn and river, Duarte was out. He collected $4,685 for seventh place. Tommy Vinus, the winner of a gold and diamond bracelet in 2003, was down to about $20K in chips. Playing six-handed with blinds at $2K-4K, Vinus was caught in a fly trap when he made an "all-in" pre flop raise with A-J which was called quickly by Glen Bean with A-Q. Vinus' hand was dominated and he failed to spike a life-saving Jack, which meant a sixth-place finish for the former champ from Houston. Vinus received $6,518. David "Devil Fish" Ulliott is the defending Jack Binion World Poker Open champion. He won nearly $600,000 in last year's main event. The Devil Fish also won a gold and diamond bracelet back in 2002. One of only three players with two JBWPO wins to his name, the Devil Fish's bid for the tri-fecta came up short. The English pro went "all-in" with K-J suited versus Doug Paxton's 7-7. Devil Fish picked up a number of outs when the flop came Q-9-2. Any King, Jack, or Ten would give him a straight. Unfortunately, two blanks fell on the turn and river -- which meant a disappointing fifth-place finish for the defending JBWPO champ. Devil Fish swam away with $8,759. With John Phan in the chip lead, Ed Corrado then doubled-up with pocket Aces. The big pot put Corrado into a virtual tie for second place (in chips), along with Doug Paxton and Glen Bean. Phan's 3 to 2 chip advantage quickly increased at Bean's expense when he bluffed Bean out of a big pot, with a massive pot-sized bet. Ed Corrado decided he'd seen enough of Phan's antics and got involved in a bit of controversy on the following hand. Phan, who constantly utilized a "stall" tactic most of the day by delaying his decision at the expense of the timeclock and his opponents’ patience, made an initial raise. Ed Corrado was next to act and intended to re-raise, but his verbal declaration was somewhat ambiguous -- so the raise was disallowed. That turned out to be a good thing for Corrado who likely ended up making an additional $45K on the hand. Corrado had A-K, and came over the top of Phan's initial $20K bet with an "all-in" raise after the flop came K-Q-4. Phan called with Q-10, which essentially gave Corrado an extra $45K on the hand when Phan hit his pair. In just two hands, Corrado had rocketed into a slight chip lead. It wouldn’t last for long. Phan seized back the lead on the next hand when he raised with 9-7 -- good for top pair - after the flop came 9-6-5. Glen Bean pondered his decision and decided to call with A-K, hoping Phan was pulling a bluff. This time, he wasn't. Phan's pair of 9s held up and Bean was out. Bean, who delivers pizza for a living, made a lot of dough for fourth place -- $11,203. Phan and Corrado went heads-up again when Phan was dealt 10-10 versus Corrado's A-5. When the flop came 5-4-3, Corrado raised Phan's large bet and was "all-in." Phan was thrilled to call with his over-pair -- which held up and took down the $200K pot. Corrado, a retiree from Florida, added $19,351 to his pension. It didn't take long for Phan to close out the victory. Holding a 4 to 1 chip advantage, the final hand of the night took place when Doug Paxton was dealt J-10 against Phan's 10-6 of diamonds. The flop came A-Q-10 with two diamonds. Paxton, with bottom pair and an inside straight draw, made a pot-sized bet. Phan thought momentarily, then moved in with enough chips to cover Paxton. Phan, with bottom pair and a flush draw watched and stood up from the table as Paxton called. The turn paired the board with a Queen, effectively making it a split pot -- although Phan was still free-rolling with the diamond draw. As everyone in the audience stood and both Phan and Paxtonheld their breaths, a diamond rained down from the poker Gods, crushing Paxton's chance of staging a comeback. Doug Paxton, from Oklahoma, came into the final table with the chip lead and certainly had reason to be proud of his performance. He is the past President of the U.S. Custom Harvesters Association. Paxton finished fourth in the Pot-Limit Omaha event at last year's JBWPO. He collected $37,683 as the runner up in this event. But this night clearly belonged to John Phan, who wrote a new chapter in the five-year history of the JBWPO. Phan joins Scotty Nguyen and Can Kim Hua as the only players to win two titles in the same year. In only a week, Phan now has two gold and diamond bracelets and nearly a quarter of a million dollars in prize money. And now -- the race is on to see which poker player will be the first to win an unprecedented three poker titles. Stay tuned to the latest news from Tunica.