|
Bad Beat Can't Stop Shoten
At the third table, Charlie Shoten (aka Scotty Warbucks) was sitting pretty with a full house when Chip Jett rivered a straight flush, one of three he made all night. Jett tossed his hand in, but retrieved it in time when he realized what he had, and Shoten was left with five $500 chips. After that, a combination of good luck and avoidance of "problematical" hands moved Shoten steadily upward until, with four players left, he had $86,000 of the $147,000 in play. His three opponents weren't that far apart from each other, and after a brief negotiation, a deal was struck ending the third event of Legends of Poker 2003, $300 Omaha hi-lo.
After one hand, limits at the final table went to $1,000-$2,000 with $500-$1,000 blinds. On the second hand, Joe Whiting had only $500 left after posting his big blind and felt he had little choice to but to chase with K-10-8-4 even though it hardly fit the As-2s-6s flop. Poker player Greg Mascio broke him with aces-up and a better low.
Two-bracelet holder Thor Hansen started with an above-average chip count and then had absolutely no luck at the final table. By the time limits went to $1,500-$3,000, he posted his last chips in the big blind holding A-4-6-7 with a suited ace. A flop of 4-5-10 gave Thor an open-end straight draw and also gave nutritional distributor Ron Faltinsky, holding A-2-5-9, a nut low draw. Both missed, but a third five for Faltinsky was more than enough to send Hansen home.
As play continued, Mascio managed to stay alive after going all in and coming out four times with a straight, a wheel, a low and then with a nut low and nut flush. He ran out of luck on hand 48. With a 7-5-5 flop, Vince Burgio put him all in. Mascio, with A-3-8-K, was trying for a number two low. He ended up with kings-up and lost to Burgio's aces-up.
With $2,000-$4,000 limits, David Tran was in the big blind with one chip left and immediately tossed it in. With a board of A-3-4-5 and two clubs, Randy Holland bet out. Martin Corpuz, fresh from a stud victory at the Hustler’s Grand Slam, had $4,500 left and came close to mucking his hand. It would have been the worst laydown since Sonny Liston took that dive in his second fight with Muhammed Ali because a trey of clubs on fifth street gave him a wheel straight flush scoop and sent Tran to the sidelines. Flush with his victory, he asked for chop and was rebuffed. You're gonna be sorry" he said.
"Is that a threat?" asked Don Fraley. "No, a promise," Corpuz replied.
Shoten had climbed to about 50k after Vince Burgio made a good laydown with a king-high flush against Shoten's A-high. "You're playing a lot of hands,” Corpuz remarked after looking at Shoten’s growing stacks.
Burgio, meanwhile, was going in the other direction. He managed to survive one all-in when he made a bigger straight than Shoten’s. But the 44th hand was his last one. "I've got all high cards,” he said, turning up A-Q-J-9 after putting his last chips in. The board came 7-7-6-K-4 and his ace-high lost to just a paired six.
"Hey, wait for me, Vince," Randy Holland called out as he went all in on the next hand. Vince didn't have to wait because Randy scooped with aces up and a seven low. It was Don Fraley who followed Vince out. He had 2-2-3-5 and made a baby flush but lost to Shoten's treys full.
The limits immediately became $3,000-$6,000. Corpuz had about 26k, Holland, 21k; and Faltinsky, 14k against Shoten’s big lead. With such high limits, any of the three could easily go broke in one hand, so they decided to do a chop-chop and pocket their winnings.
Max Shapiro
When
BIOGRAPHY
Charlie Shoten has been playing poker since he was six or seven and living in the Bronx when family members would get together for fun and social games. He’s been playing more seriously since he came to Los Angeles in 1997 with his 12-year-old daughter. Over the years he’s cashed out in and won numerous tournaments. Just recently he finished second behind Chip Jett in Commerce Casino’s Cal State championship event. Before that, he won $112,000 in a Hustler no-limit championship event. Pot-limit Omaha and no-limit hold’em are his favorite games. Tonight, he said, his edge was his ability to “make the right choices” in deciding which hands to commit to.
Shoten has been involved in various enterprises, including computer software, and is currently in the business of buying and selling life insurance policies to seniors. He is also talking to Hollywood people in hopes of developing prime-time “poker entertainment” programming.
CHIP POSITION FINAL TABLE
Thor Hansen
$16,400
Don Fraley
$17,300
Joe Whiting
$1,500
Vince Burgio
$9,200
Ron Faltinsky
$17,500
Randy Holland
$4,700
Charlie Shoten
$18,900
Martin Corpuz
$25,000
David Tran
$28,000
Greg Mascio
$8,600
ALL-AROUND
PLAYOFF POINTS LEADERS*
Name Total
1. Barry Marfleet 61
2. Joe Whiting. 53
3. Nobuo Hamamoto 47
4. John Hoang 42
5. Vegen Sarkissian 38
6. Jose Joel Torres 34
7. Daniel Prado 30
8. Jesus Garcia 26
9. Stan Goldstein 22
10. Daniel Quach 20
*As of July 31
|
