Armenian Express Speeds on
The 11th event of Big Poker Oktober, limit hold’em, was no contest. Not even close. Chris Grigorian, the Armenian Express, arrived at the final table with a big chip lead of $63,500, immediately shoved the throttle up all the way and roared down the tracks so fast he soon became just a blur to the rest of the table. His chip count kept going higher and higher as he shoveled on the coal and knocked off players left and right.
With blinds of $1,500-$3,000, limits of $3,000-$6,000 and 13:22 remaining, the final table got underway. And with a bang! On the first hand, retired Air Force colonel Jerry Simon raised $2,500, going all in for maybe the10th time in the tournament. Brian Anderson called with A-10 and Grigorian with As-4s. By the turn Grigorian had a nut flush and the side pot locked up. The river brought a second queen, and spectators yelled as Simon turned up two more to take the main pot and survive with quads.
Two hands later, Grigorian derailed his first player. Allen Shirvanian raised pre-flop with A-9, bet the Q-5-2 flop, then raised and went all in when a king turned, still with just ace-high. Grigorian busted him with K-10 as Shirvanian collected $670 for 10th place.
As play continued, Grigorian was by far the most aggressive player at the table, raising almost automatically, pulling in pot after pot and running over the table. At the race-off, he had run his count to $112,000. The limits now went to $4,000-$8,000. Three hands later, the Armenian Express was speeding away with $128,000.
Then, on the next hand, he knocked out two players. Robert Bowers raised with Ad-9d. Grigorian called from the button with K-10, and Jimi Lee went all in from the big blind with 10c-3c. Grigorian bet the J-5-5 flop to put Bowers all in for $4,000. A queen turned, and then a river nine gave Grigorian a back-door nut straight. Bowers, a professional bull rider, was thrown and cashed out in eighth place for $1,075, while Lee settled for $805 for ninth.
Only 13 hands had gone by, and Grigorian already had about $150,000 of the $268,000 in play. Six hands later, the Express bumped another player. Jun Lu raised all in with pocket 10s. Grigorian called from the big blind with only A-5. No problem. He flopped an ace and caught another on the river for good measure. Lu left with $1,345 for seventh spot, and Grigorian’s chip count moved up to about $170,000.
Grigorian then took a breather and let Annie Liu knock out the next player, James Rael. He raised with A-Q, she re-raised and put him in with Q-Q, and when the board came K-J-9-5-3, he finished sixth and picked up $1,880.
A few hands later Chris went back to work and took the chips that Liu had taken from Rael. He had only 8-5, but paired the eight. “I’ve got lots of bullets to fire,” he said, explaining why he could go to war with such cards.
Then, just two hands later, he knocked out still another player. Grigorian, not letting up, raised pre-flop and again when the flop came Q-9-7. When a king turned, the pot was capped and Brian Anderson, holding K-Q, went all in with top two. Not nearly good enough. Grigorian, with J-10, had another nut straight, and Brian Anderson had $2,415 for fifth place. “I’d raise my brother,” said Grigorian, who by now had almost all the chips on the table. His three opponents, Simon, Liu and Jon Dean, surrendered, giving Grigorian first and chopping the remaining prize pool evenly. –Max Shapiro.
BIOGRAPHY
Chris Grigorian is having his best year ever as a professional player. In July he won three limit hold’em tournaments at the Hustler Casino’s Grand Slam of Poker. This feat, believed to be a first at a major tournament, was so extraordinary that Jeff Shulman raved about it in his Card Player column. In all he made six final tables at the Hustler and a total of 22 overall this year. He also finished 22nd at this year’s World Series championship. He’s gotten close in major events and his remaining goal this year is to win one, such as at Foxwoods.
Tonight, his calculator showed he was always above average in chips. His final table opponents, he said, were all nice people but obviously not experienced tournament players, so he was able to play more aggressively than usual. That, and a lot of luck, he conceded, made the difference.
CHIP POSITION FINAL TABLE
Jun Lu
$26,500
Brian Anderson
$44,000
Chris Grigorian
$63,500
Jon Dean
$27,500
Jimi Lee
$21,000
Robert Bowers
$17,000
Jim Rael
$24,000
Annie Liu
$21,500
Allen Shirvanian
$17,500
Jerry Simon
$5,500
ALL AROUND PLAY-OFF POINTS
Name Total
1. Van Mahesh 79
2. Eric Hamilton 78
3. Manalito Navarro 61
4. Viet Tran 61
5. James Mena 61
6 Angel Juarez 61
7. Michael Wong 61
8. Peter Wu 61
9. Larry Jensen 60
10 Binh Do 59
11. Patrick Schulze 59
12.Jorge Legaspi 59
13.Chris Grigorian 59
14.Andre Maloof 57
15. George Shahrezay 54
16.Chris Straghalis 53
17 Jin Son Gu 53
18.Gioi Luong 53
19.Gary Vick 53
20.Steven Goldman 53
21.Cliff Cantor 53
|
