Douglas "Deadly Venom" Farmer Bites
Off $136,985 and Wins No-Limit Holdem Title
A record 404 players, the highest ever number of entries for this event, entered the $1,000 buy-in No-Limit Texas Holdem tournament at the 2004 Jack Binion World Poker Open. Play at the final table began with Reggie Jackson as the chip-leader, along with Douglas "Deadly Venom" Farmer, who was a close second.
Three hands into Day Two, Ricky "Hot Lava" Afalava, from Hawaii, moved "all-in" before the flop with Q-Q and was called by Carlos Fuentes with 8-8. Fuentes spiked an 8 on the turn and won with trip 8s, which meant Aflava was the first player out. “Hot Lava” was steamed and flowed off the final table in ninth place with $5,924.
A few hands later, short-stacked Donny Kerr was desperate to pick up some extra chips from the big blind and called Jake's Austin's "all-in" raise, with A-3. Austin had 10-10, which held up and eliminated Kerr in eighth place. Kerr, who won the 1996 California State Poker Championship and a number of other poker tournaments, received $7,405.
John Callahan's time at the final table expired when he was in the big blind and faced an "all-in" decision with Q-9 suited. Larry Daigle was in the small blind and raised with Q-Q. Callahan decided to call the raise, which was a mistake, leaving Callahan in dire need of a miracle. Callahan caught a 9 on the flop, which provided some hope, but he failed to catch a third 9 and walked away in disappointment. Callahan, who is from Chicago and is a self-described "Cubs Fan," knows the disappointment of coming up short all too well. Nevertheless, he did collect $9,256 -- which should sooth the pain somewhat.
Jake Austin took the worst of it on the next key hand when he was "all-in" with A-K against Douglas Farmer's 8-8, after an 8 flopped. Austin managed to catch a King, but lost to trip 8s. Austin, a retiree from Georgia, went out in sixth place with $12,958.
Reggie Jackson came into Day Two with the chip lead, but encountered a string of misfortune and was the next player to be eliminated. Jackson came over the top of Carlos Fuentes with a $40K re-raise with A-10 suited, and Fuentes re-raised "all-in" with 6-6. Jackson contemplated his decision and decided to call the additional $80K raise, as a $250K pot was at stake. The final board showed J-J-9-5-J, giving Fuentes the enormous pot with Js full of 6s. Reggie Jackson, a casino supervisor from nearby Lake Cormorant, MS, struck out on fifth place, receiving $16,661.
That gave Carlos Fuentes a monster-sized chip lead. Fuentes then lost two successive hands when he doubled up Peter Moore and Douglas Farmer -- each time running into pocket Aces. Incredibly, just a few hands later Fuentes picked up the same A-A and eliminated Peter Moore. Fuentes was in the big blind and smooth called with the premium pair, but then Moore raised from the big blind with K-J. Fuentes beat Moore into the pot with his chips and watched as Moore failed to connect with the board. Peter Moore, a retired business owner from Atlanta who has previously made final tables here at the JBWPO in addition to events at the Horseshoe and Bellagio in Las Vegas, collected $22,214 for fourth place.
Larry Daigle was on life-support and was forced to go "all-in" a short time later, with Q-10 suited. Douglas Farmer won the pot with 5-5 when the final board showed A-7-6-7-4. Daigle, a retiree from Breaux Bridge, LA who finished in the money at the Four Queens and the Frontier in Las Vegas, received $35,172 for third place.
When heads-up play began, the chip counts stood as follows:
Farmer -- $307K
Fuentes -- $179K
The two finalists battled back and forth for about 45 minutes. After roughly 30 hands and several potentially big confrontations, Fuentes seized a slight chip lead before Farmer won the key hand of the tournament. Fuentes opened with a $90K raise with A-9 and Farmer moved "all-in" with Q-Q. Fuentes called. The pocket Queens held up and at that point, Farmer had a 6 to 1 chip lead. The final hand was dealt a short time later:
Farmer -- 8s-5s
Fuentes -- Kd-10s
Final Board -- K-7-6-9-4
On the hand, Fuentes raised "all-in" before the flop with his last $60K. Farmer called. Fuentes caught a King on the flop, but Farmer had an outside-straight draw. Farmer made a straight when a 9 came on the turn. But Fuentes still had outs and was drawing to a 10-high straight. A harmless 4 fell on the river, and Farmer won the final hand of the tournament.
Carlos Fuentes is from Pamplona, Spain -- famous as the site of the annual Running of the Bulls." He managed to flatten 402 opponents in this event, but was finally trampled in the end by Farmer, the ultimate champion. Fuentes was paid $70,343 as the runner up.
Douglas "Deadly Venom" Farmer, makes Southwestern-style jewelry for a living in Colorado. Farmer added another piece of jewelry, the coveted gold and diamond bracelet to his collection for the win. Indeed, the player known as "Deadly Venom" put a bite into the prize money, winning a whopping $136,985 for first place.
Final Table Started: 4:00 pm CST
Final Table Ended: 7:40 pm CST
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Tournament Director -- Jimmy Sommerfeld
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