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Poker Tournament Results

35th Annual World Series of Poker

Event #4 - WSOP Limit Hold'em

April 25, 2004 at 12:00 PM
Binion's Gambling Hall
Tournament Schedule

Buy-In	$1,500
Prize Pool	$839,040
Entries	608
Report Available

Aaron Katz

Place	Name	Prize
1	Aaron Katz (Seattle, WA, USA)	$234,940
2	Richard Gardner-Brown (London, UK)	$121,480
3	David G. Pincus (Davis, CA, USA)	$67,120
4	Binh Do (Vancouver, WA, USA)	$58,740
5	Blair Rodman (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$50,340
6	Miami John Cernuto (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$41,960
7	Davood Mehrmand (Frankfurt, Germany)	$33,560
8	Cecilia Reyes AKA "Ceci" (Madrid, Spain)	$25,180
9	Jimmy Tran (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$16,780
10	John Scibelli (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$9,220
11	John Myung (Vienna, VA, USA)	$9,220
12	Yariv Levi (Van Nuys, CA, USA)	$9,220
13	David Templeton AKA "The Admiral" (Juneau, AK, USA)	$7,560
14	Richard Fong (San Francisco, CA, USA)	$7,560
15	Jason Sagle (Sudbury, ON, Canada)	$7,560
16	Tuan Nguyen (Chicago, IL, USA)	$5,880
17	Keith Sexton (Henderson, NV, USA)	$5,880
18	Dr Max Stern (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$5,880
19	Ellix Powers (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$4,200
20	Kiet Tuan (Westminster, CA)	$4,200
21	David "Dragon" Pham (Bell Gardens, CA, USA)	$4,200
22	Andrew Hallenbeck (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$4,200
23	Dennis Seagle (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$4,200
24	Dan Heimiller (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$4,200
25	Brian Green (San Jose, Costa Rica)	$4,200
26	Richard Katz (Pittsburgh, PA )	$4,200
27	James Athanas (Orange, CA, USA)	$4,200
28	Max "Italian Pirate" Pescatori (Milan, Italy)	$2,940
29	Toto Leonidas (Glendale, CA, USA)	$2,940
30	William Fredrick (Chicago, IL)	$2,940
31	Robert Geers (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$2,940
32	Michael Kaiser (Silver Spring, MD, USA)	$2,940
33	Ralph Chambers (Montevallo, AL)	$2,940
34	Albert Burruano (W Seneca, NY)	$2,940
35	Vince Burgio (West Hills, CA, USA)	$2,940
36	Chris Hinchcliffe AKA "Hinch" (Olympia, WA, USA)	$2,940
37	Scott Silverman (Lone Pine, CA, USA)	$2,520
38	Ken Robison (Wheelock, TX, USA)	$2,520
39	Erik Seidel (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$2,520
40	Robert Labella (Henderson, NV, USA)	$2,520
41	Joseph Zewin (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$2,520
42	Tom Brownscombe (Newburg, NY, USA)	$2,520
43	Hung Ly (Garden Grove, CA, USA)	$2,520
44	Tristan Baum (New York, NY, USA)	$2,520
45	David Dobrofsky	$2,520
46	David Hayano (Topanga Canyon, CA, USA)	$2,100
47	Ken Regan	$2,100
48	Tim Lyons AKA "The Alaskan Assassin" (Anchorage, AK, USA)	$2,100
49	Scott "Magic" Lazar (Studio City, CA, USA)	$2,100
50	Simi Swearingen (Beverly Hills, CA, USA)	$2,100
51	Elizabeth Evans (Las Vegas, NV)	$2,100
52	Irene Kristal (Sherman Oaks, CA, USA)	$2,100
53	James Allen (Glendale, CA, USA)	$2,100
54	Albert Song (Bell Garden, CA, USA)	$2,100
55	Logan Trindade (Los Angeles, CA, USA)	$1,680
56	Bob Redman (Liberty, MO, USA)	$1,680
57	Jerome Puckett (Ypsilanti, MI)	$1,680
58	John Hom (San Rafael, CA, USA)	$1,680
59	Chuck Naumann (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$1,680
60	Andre Boyer (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$1,680
61	David Cossio (El Paso, TX, USA)	$1,680
62	David Warga (Tempe, AZ, USA)	$1,680
63	Tanya Liew (Las Vegas, NV, USA)	$1,680

Tournament Report

At Final Table, Aaron Katz Survives Cold Run of Cards, Heats Up, then Scorches His Rivals in Limit Hold’em Event
Editorial Note: There are rare moments when poker champions use their moment in the spotlight to push an agenda. Aaron Katz, the winner of the $1,500 buy-in Limit Hold’em event, is such a champion. Immediately after winning this event, he said: "I really want to mention this - the rounds being so much longer (than most tournaments) gave me the opportunity to play my game and not go broke. I didn't get a playable hand for one hour (an eternity at a final table). This structure is, by far, the best I have ever played with. So, I want to point out that the structure of this tournament was one of the big reasons I ended up winning."
One of the largest fields for a Limit Hold'em event in the illustrious 35-year history of the World Series of Poker gathered at the Horseshoe Casino in downtown Las Vegas to compete for nearly one million dollars in prize money. After 595 players had been eliminated on day one, 13 finalists returned on the second day. Two hours after resuming play, the field was down to nine. Three of the finalists had previously played at a WSOP final table – AARON KATZ, and BLAIR RODMAN and “MIAMI JOHN” CERNUTO. Most noteworthy, longtime pro CERNUTO was making his 28th "cash" at the world's most prestigious poker tournament. His goal was to become one of only 34 millionaires in World Series history. With about $850,000 in lifetime earnings, a first or second place finish would put CERNUTO into the 'millionaire category. AARON KATZ started out as the chip leader, with $214K.
Fifteen minutes into the finale, the shortest stack at the table, JIMMY TRAN exited in 9th place. TRAN's K-Q was topped by RICHARD GARDNER-BROWN's A-J. TRAN, from Las Vegas, received $16,780.
Spaniard CECILIA DE MORTENSEN, the wife of the 2001 world poker champion (Carlos Mortensen), has enjoyed her own prosperity on the tournament trail. She won a Limit Hold'em event at the Jack Binion World Poker Open last year, and on this day she was making her very first WSOP final table appearance. On her final hand, DE MORTENSEN flopped top pair with A-Q, but a 9 on the turn gave DAVID PINCUS a straight, which meant the pair from Spain would come up short in their bid to become only the third married couple to own "duel" gold bracelets.
Down to seven players, MEHRMAND would be the next to know the painful feeling of elimination. After losing a few pots, he raised "all in" from the blind with his remaining chips and BLAIR RODMAN called and caught a king on the flop – good for top pair. That was enough to bust MEHRMAND who received $33,560 for 7th place.
"MIAMI JOHN" CERNUTO looked to be a force as play became six-handed. But he ran cold at the worst possible time when he failed to drag a pot of any significance over a full round of play (one hour). CERNUTO watched in dismay as his respectable $100K stack dwindled to a point of destitution. He went out in sixth place and added $41,960 to his WSOP lifetime winnings (now, every close to $900,00).
BLAIR RODMAN has his own evolving WSOP resume, which includes 12 times in-the-money. To date, his best finish had been 4th in an Omaha High-Low event ten years ago. He got close, but failed to improve on that finish, by coming in 5th in this event. RODMAN was severely short on chips and committed himself holding an ace, after an ace flopped. However, RICHARD GARDNER-BROWN had an ace with a better kicker, and RODMAN was out. RODMAN's $50,340 in prize money represents his best windfall ever.
It appeared GARDNER BROWN and PINCUS would battle for the championship, since they enjoyed significant chip advantages over KATZ and DO. Limits increased to $10K-20K.
BINH DO had been “all in” numerous times and survived each time. However, his luck finally ran out when he made his final stand with K-Q, which was steamrolled by AARON KATZ'’ A-Q. DO desperately needed to catch a king, which failed to ride to the rescue. KATZ"s no-pair ace-high took out another player, and the final table was down to the last three. BINH DO, from Vancouver, WA, collected $58,740.
After a short break, everything at the final table changed dramatically. AARON KATZ, who had sat patiently and waited for over an hour hoping desperately to catch a hand and gain back some momentum, went on one of the biggest rushes in recent memory. He won several decisive hands, and as each chip was stacked one-by-one in front of the talkative KATZ, he became more animated and confident. KATZ became relentless with the chip lead, raising and re-raising to the point his arm must have been exhausted. He won 25 of 30 pots at one point, and as day turned to night, KATZ's victory appeared to be a foregone conclusion. KATZ eventually got up to a 7 to 1 chip lead over both of his opponents.
Afterward, DAVID PINCUS insisted that he still had hope that he could come back and win at that point. "As long as you have a chip and a chair, there's a chance," he said.
Unfortunately, there would be no dramatic comeback for PINCUS. He was "all in," and lost to a flush, held by KATZ. PINCUS was playing in only his third ever WSOP event, and received $67,120.
"I'm just happy to be here," he said later. "I'm not really a tournament player. I prefer cash games. Just to come to the final table of the World Series is really special for me."
When heads-up play started, KATZ enjoyed an 8 to 1 chip lead over RICHARD GARDNER-BROWN. KATZ continued to pound away at his opponent, and there seemed to be nothing GARDNER-BROWN could do to stop the onslaught. The final hand was ugly for GARDNER-BROWN. He was forced to call the last bet of the night with 7-3 offsuit, not one of holdem's premier hands. KATZ had so many chips, that his raise with 9-7 was certain, given the turn of events over the past hour. The final board of the tournament showed: 9-6-8-K-A KATZ had a pair of 9s and his first WSOP victory. GARDNER-BROWN had a second-place finish, worth $121,480.
"If someone had said (I was) going to end up at the final table, I would have jumped over the moon," GARDNER-BROWN said with a smile. "It's my first time over here in Vegas. This is only the second time I've played limit poker, so I'm ecstatic with the result."
The new poker champion is AARON KATZ, a 30-year-old poker pro from Los Angeles. KATZ is accustomed to winning big money in side games played in cardrooms throughout Southern California, but this represents his biggest tournament cash, so far. He now has three cashes at the WSOP, with his best performance coming in the 2001 main event - where he finished 22nd and collected $39,000. KATZ's most common games are $400-800 limit up to (white chip) $1,000-2,000 games, usually spread in the top section at Hollywood Park, the Commerce, and the Hustler.
"I really don't play that many tournaments. But (some friends) explained to me that there's a lot of equity in hold'em tournaments. So, I started playing in them," said KATZ. "I guess that ended up as a pretty wise decision."
When asked about strategy, he added: "I folded just about every hand at one point when I was running cold. I must have folded (90 percent) of my hands because I could not catch a playable hand. But, things eventually turned around."
KATZ joked afterward about running bad and being low on chips, then drinking a greyhound (cocktail) at the break. “I was bored and getting demoralized. So, I had a drink, a greyhound, during the break to change my luck - and I won the first hand, and the second. Then, I bluffed a few times and won. Once you get an image of (a winner) you can start firing a bit more and they often don't call."
With the fourth event of this year's World Series now concluded, many top names have been seen on the money list. The last two winners - TED FORRST and AARON KATZ - are professional players.
"It seemed like for a while, many of the players winning tournaments were not professionals. Now, it's kinda' nice to see some of my friends who are professionals, and myself win a tournament. The terrific structure at the World Series really made all of this possible."
Tournament Report by Nolan Dalla
Tournament Directors - Matt Savage and Jim Miller