| 5-BRACELET HOLDER FLACK
WINS OMAHA/8 IN A BREEZE
The perpetually cheerful Layne Flack, a slight chip leader when he came to the final table, gradually built a commanding lead and breezed to a win in the 13th event of 2003 Four Queens Poker Classic, $500 Omaha hi-lo. Flack, who has five World Series bracelets, including two this year and two last year, credited his win to two factors. First, he said, his girlfriend won a one-table satellite, so he felt compelled to finish at least seventh to surpass her. Second, he noticed that other players seemed to be "playing scared," just trying to move up one notch a time, so he was able to run over them.
This was the longest table to date, with players repeatedly going all in and surviving, notably David Rabbi, who recorded nine escapes. It was also the most sociable table so far, with Flack and Rabbi leading the chatter parade. Also, Flack's winning "in a breeze" was more than a metaphor. At one point there was an unscheduled five-minute evacuation break necessitated either by a sewer explosion or by one of the players having earlier consumed a double portion of the snack bar's chili bean special.
The final started with $400-$800 limits, 15 minutes remaining. Ken Wagner, a student, with only a few chips as far back as 18 players, arrived with just $400 and was soon all in with A-3-4-Q. He got double-counterfeited with a board of A-6-3-9-9, and Rabbi, with A-A-3-4, finished him with a full boat.
By the time limits had gone up twice, to $1,000-$2,000, Mike Crescanko had gone all in five times, Geoffrey Waxler four times and Rabbi and Ken Wagner once each, and still nine players remained. On break with 15 minutes left in the round, the chip count was: Flack, $29,800; Crescanko, $13,700; Ram Vaswani, $12,700; David Kutcher, $5,200; Rabbi, $3,800; Waxler, $2,400; Richard Klein, $1,300; and Max Pescatori, $1,200. Just before the break, Kutcher had a bad break when his set was beaten after Flack made a wheel on the river.
Level 12, hand 49: limits now $1,500-$3,000, more all-ins, and still nine players left. Finally, five hands later, Kunkel had the big blind, all in with 10-10-9-6. Flack had A-2-2-3 with hearts and made a scoop flush. Two hands later, Klein had no outs on the turn when Flack, with A-4-10-K, had an ace-high straight. Along with good hands, Flack had no shortage of wisecracks. When overly crowding spectators were asked to move back, Flack said, "Yeah, to the parking lot."
Immediately after the players returned from that five-minute "fresh air" break, Waxler, a photographer, got waxed when Max Pescatori of Milan, Italy, made a wheel. Soon after, Pescatori himself was all in with three-way action. Kutcher (aka David Kelly) showed an ace-high straight and Pescatori mucked without showing.
By now, Crescanko had gone all in six times. Rabbi surpassed him after Ram Vaswani, winner of pot-limit Omaha the day before, raised. "Well, Mr. Rambo, if I have two cards under a seven or two over a 10 I'll call," he promised, and did, getting the low end with 3-6-8-Q against Vaswani's A-A-7-9. Instead, it was Vaswani who bowed out a hand later when his K-K-3-2 lost to Flack's flush. Rabbi now got a round of applause for outlasting four players after being down to $2,500. "I'm the world's best short-stacked Omaha player," he said later.
But like the proverbial cat, Rabbi had only nine lives. "I'm buried," he said, going in for the 10th time and turning up A-2-8-9 to Flack's A-2-K-8. All Flack could make was ace-high with a king kicker, but that was all he needed.
Three-handed, Flack had a massive lead of around $55,000 to $15,000 for Kutcher and $10,000 for Crescanko. It was no contest. Five hands later Kutcher stoically raised his last few chips with Q-6-5-2. Crescenko had K-Q-J-4 and caught jacks full of kings. One hand later it was over. Crescenko committed his last chips with Q-Q-8-3. Flack had K-10-5-4, and filled when 9-7-4-K-K came.
And finally, this important historical note. When Barney and Ross Boatman came in 1-2 in a pot-limit Omaha event, they were reported to be the first brothers to accomplish this feat in a major tournament. However, an archaeological expedition digging through the ruins of prehistoric Las Vegas has just uncovered documents showing Puggy and J.C. Pearson were actually the first brothers to do this when they came in first and second in a tournament at the Frontier back in poker's Stone Age. --Max Shapiro
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