| Curtis Bibb Earns 160 Grand the Hard Way in Largest Omaha High-Low Turnout in WSOP History
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CURTIS BIBB made $8,000 an hour, putting on a two-day clinic that might as well have been titled “How to Win an Omaha High-Low Tournament.” BIBB played 15 laborious hours on the first day, plus another eight hours of overtime on day two at the final table, and raked-in the last pot of the tournament – worth $160,000 in prize money.
The tournament began with 374 players, making it the largest Omaha High-Low field in World Series of Poker history. Big names like Scotty Nguyen, Carlos Mortensen, Phil Hellmuth, Mike Sexton, and several other former gold bracelet winners played in the event. But in the end, it was a 47-year-old local poker pro named CURTIS BIBB who won all the chips and captured his first world championship.
At 4:00 pm, the nine finalists took their seats at the feature table. CURTIS BIBB enjoyed an appreciable chip lead, with $125K over his closest rival – LOI TRAN with $85K. It took only a few minutes for the first player to go out.
Two-time bracelet winner STEVE ZOLOTOW started the day in decent position. But nothing went right at the final table for the former bar owner and financial consultant from New York City. “Z” was hoping to scoop a big pot with the powerhouse high A-A-K-Q, but was disappointed to see RICK FULLER prevail with J-10-9-8. The final board showed Q-8-4-8-4 giving FULLER trip eights. “Z” was making his 25th “cash” at the World Series (his first came in 1985). He added $10,320 to his lifetime winnings at the WSOP, which now totals $719,845.
Next, another final table veteran went out when GREG MASCIO exited in 8th place. MASCIO, a pro poker player from Fullerton, CA, has a remarkable record in Omaha High-Low events at the WSOP. He has a 16th, an 11th, an 8th, and a 2nd place showing in four Omaha cashes, since 2000. His biggest win, to date, was $90,820 in this same event back in 2002. Low on chips, MASCIO made his last bet of the night when he flopped two pair. But JIM MEEHAN rivered a straight, which put MASCIO on the rail with $15,480.
Nearly an hour later, SHAWNE PORTMAN found himself in a desperate situation. Low on chips and running “card dead” at the worst possible time, PORTMAN made his final stand with K-Q-Q-8. RICK FULLER had A-J-J-4 and flopped a jack, which essentially left PORTMAN drawing slim. He failed to hit the queen, and exited the table in 7th place – good for $20,640.
One of the more interesting personalities at the final table was MICKEY “MOUSE” MILLS. Proudly wearing a portrait on the smiling Disney character on his chest, the mouseman infested the final table for three hours before he was finally exterminated by CURTIS BIBB. MILLS went “all in” with a small raise before the flop with A-Q-9-8, and was called by two players. In the end, BIBB’s J-7-x-x stomped MILLS with a full-house when the final board showed J-J-7-7-3. MILLS, an attorney and real estate investor from Ocean Beach, CA, collected $25,800.
JIM MEEHAN was the subject of some controversy at this final table, due to his often lengthy (and presumably intentional) pauses between decisions. MEEHAN’s habit is to ponder each and every decision for several seconds, which sometimes extends past a full minute. Such action might not seem problematic – but when the action is delayed repeatedly over several hours, opponents are sure to become annoyed. That’s exactly what happened at this final table, as MEEHAN repeatedly stalled for time. PAUL PHILLIPS, the flamboyant dot.com multi-millionaire and poker champion became exasperated at several points, hoping to speed up play to a normal pace. PHILLIPS enjoyed some gratification when he finally knocked out MEEHAN – the winner of last year’s $2,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event. MEEHAN quietly walked away in 5th place, with $30,960 in prize money.
Things moved along quickly as another player went out just four hands later. LOI TRAN, from El Monte, CA had the chip lead at one point, but failed to close out the victory. On his final hand, TRAN made two pair, but lost to RICK FULLER’s higher two-pair, with a made-low. TRAN ran to the moneyman, and received $36,120 for 4th place.
Nearly six hours had passed and it was now PAUL PHILLIPS turn to sparkle as the chip leader. He amassed well over half the chips on the table when play became three-handed.
This was a special day for RICK FULLER. Not only was he playing at his first final table for $160,000 in prize money, it was also his 31st birthday. FULLER received a couple of nice birthday presents along the way, getting chips from unwilling donators at the final table. But CURTIS BIBB spoiled the party when he was dealt K-10-10-8 and made trip eights, effectively eliminating the birthday boy. FULLER, who had two 7th place finishes at the World Poker Challenge in Reno earlier this year was paid $41,340 as the third-place finisher.
The final duel was an “all Las Vegas affair.” The two local pros battled back and forth for nearly an hour before BIBB went on a massive rush and blew PHILLIPS off the table. PHILLIPS enjoyed the chip lead when the showdown began – with a $345 to $216 advantage. But BIBB gradually narrowed the gap and took control of the table in the closing minutes.
With nearly $80,000 at stake (the difference between first and second place), the finale pitted the dot-com millionaire turned tournament pro (PHILLIPS), against a longtime successful cash game player and Omaha High-Low specialist (BIBB). With all due respect to BIBB, who clearly earned his victory, he was pushed across the finish line by hurricane force winds, the benefactor of an enormous rush of cards that bulldozed PHILLIPS chips across the table into BIBB’s steadily growing stack. Close to midnight, the final hand of the tournament was dealt:
BIBB: A-J-7-3
PHILLIPS: K-J-10-9
When the flop came A-Q-8, PHILLIPS bet out and was “all in” with the straight draw. BIBB called with top pair, then turned another ace on fourth street. PHILLIPS missed the straight when another 8 fell, which meant CURTIS BIBBS was the new $1,500 buy-in Omaha High-Low champion.
PAUL PHILLIPS has enjoyed tremendous success in tournaments since he sold off his company and took up poker as a vocation. He steadily improved to the point where he is now one of the game’s most recognizable figures, his fame boosted by appearance at poker tournaments on television. PHILLIPS remains one of the game’s most expressive personalities, although his demeanor was largely subdued while at this final table. PHILLIPS took the defeat well, and collected $82,580.
“Paul could have won this tournament just as easily as me. He played very well,” the victor said afterward.
But PHILLIPS disagreed. “He was a stone lock (to win) when we got heads-up because he plays high-limit short-handed Omaha constantly – and Omaha (is not my best game).”
Just as CURTIS BIBB was about to be paid $160,000 in cash, he made some interesting personal observations: “I used to play in only a few tournaments a year. But this year, you’re going to see me a lot more. Television and the Internet have done a lot for poker. It’s brought in so many new faces. Years ago, when I played – there were 70 people in an event like this. You’d look around, and know just about every player. But now, when I play I see new players coming into the game. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Tournament Report by Nolan Dalla
Tournament Directors - Matt Savage and Jim Miller
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