| Making Poker History: Scott Fischman Becomes Youngest Player Ever to Win Two Gold Bracelets
-- 23-year-old Las Vegan triumphs again, three days after winning first title
I’ve been in the zone for two months, now.
-- Scott Fischman (two-time champion in 2004)
First there was Stu Ungar. Then, Phil Hellmuth. Then, Phil Ivey. When these youthful champions burst upon the poker scene in their respective eras, they were widely considered to be prodigies – supremely-talented poker players with a gift for cards far beyond what might expect at such a young age. It’s seems inconceivable that any of today’s players could match the achievements of those young superstars, but that’s exactly what happened in the $2,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. event at the 2004 World Series of Poker.
Scott Fischman, at age 23, became the youngest player ever to win two championships. He collected $100,200 for first place. Only three days ago, Fischman won his first gold bracelet in the $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event – netting $300,000. This now puts his money winnings at this year’s WSOP at $400,200 – the highest of any player at the moment.
What makes Fishman’s poker accomplishments all the more impressive is that he did it versus gigantic fields. Years ago, most poker tournaments attracted no more than a few hundred players. But this year, Fischman faced the daunting task of plowing through 831 players in the No-Limit hold’em event (which he won) and another 237 players in the H.O.R.S.E. event (another win). Hence, what we have witnessed here at the WSOP within a two-day period has indeed been history making.
Fischman’s victory in the H.O.R.S.E. event proves at least on other thing. Fischman’s win a few nights ago was certainly no fluke (they said Stuey was “lucky,” too in 1980 – then he came back and won the next year, too). Make no mistake -- Fischman can flat out play, and his poker abilities were proven when he won one of the most challenging WSOP events of all – the H.O.R.S.E. tournament.
H.O.R.S.E. is an acronym for a rotation of poker games, which includes: (1) Texas hold’em (2) Omaha (3) Razz (4) Seven-Card Stud and (5) Stud-Eight-or-Better. Winning such an event requires the unique talent to play all games.
After the overwhelming majority of players were eliminated on day one, the nine finalists returned the second day at the final table. Interestingly, all nine players had been at the final table at least once before at the WSOP. They went out, as follows:
9th – BRIAN NADELL – The Detroit native is a 47 year old poker player, who has made many final tables at major events. He has 16 cashes at the WSOP, including three seconds. Nadell was playing Stud Eight-or-Better when he started with a pair of 10s, but failed to improve. He lost to a pair of aces. Nadell collected $5,500.
8th – CHRIS GRIGORIAN – During the Limit Hold’em leg, Grigorian bet “all in” with K-Q off-suit and lost to A-5 when an ace flopped. Grigorian, a.k.a. “The Armenian Express,” was one of the hottest players in poker a year ago, but has struggled most recently. His best WSOP finish to date was 5th in the S.H.O.E. event two years ago. Grigorian broke a bad streak by making the final table and cashed with $9,160.
7th – MIKE WATTEL – Two players went out on the same hand when the short-stacked Wattel raised from the button and was “all in” with K-4. Don Zewin went “all in” (holding 9-10) on a straight draw after the flop came 8-7-7. John Cover had A-6 and won the pot with ace-high after two blanks fell – which eliminated both Wattel and Zewin. Wattel, a 33-year-old poker pro from Phoenix who won a gold bracelet here in 1999, received $12,220.
6th – DON ZEWIN – Zewin took the higher-place finish since he had more chips at the start of the hand. Zewin was $15,280 richer at the end of the day. Zewin, a local Vegas pro who was third in the main event ($10,000 world championship) in 1989, locked up the 6th place spot.
5th – GREG MASCIO – Playing Razz, Mascio lost a big pot to a wheel, then committed his last chip with 2-4-6-8. He caught three bricks and lost to 8-7-5-3-2. This was Mascio’s seventh time to cash at the WSOP, with his bet showing in the Omaha High-Low event back in 2002.
4th – “SYRACUSE CHRIS” TSIPRAILIDIS – Born in Greece, “Syracuse Chris” migrated to upstate New York and opened a restaurant. He started playing tournament poker about 15 years ago and has cashed in and won several events – including at the World Series of Poker ($3,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em in 2000). Unfortunately, the final table was a nightmare for Syracuse Chris, as he failed to gain any momentum during his two-hour stay. Syracuse Chris finally went out when he bricked and paired with three successive bad cards in Razz, and ended up as the 4th-place finisher. Syracuse Chris has now cashed 20 times at the WSOP.
3rd – ALAN BOSTON – Boston is perhaps best known for his success as a high-stakes sports gambler. He was featured in the 2002 book called “The Odds,” which described Boston’s daily sports betting ritual during college basketball season. Boston considers himself a seven-card stud specialist, although he certainly played well in each and every leg of this event. This was his fourth final table since his first appearance at the WSOP in 1998 (best finish – third in $2,500 Seven-Card Stud, in 2002). Boston was eliminated playing Razz when his 9-7 was burned by a made-7. Boston added $33,060 to his gambling bankroll for third place.
HEADS-UP: The heads-up match between SCOTT FISCHMAN and JOHN COVER lasted about two hours. At the start, chip counts were as follows:
FISCHMAN – $195K
COVER -- $137K
It looked as though COVER might win the match quickly, when he seized the chip lead, then had FISCHMAN “all in” at one point. Playing Seven-Card Stud, FISCHMAN managed to survive when he caught a second pair – jacks up. However, many of those chips were lost a short time later when COVER beat FISCHMAN with flush over flush. Facing a 3 to 1 chip disadvantage, things turned around for FISCHMAN on the Stud Eight-or-Better round, which he dominated. When the game turned to hold’em, FISCHMAN seemed to enjoy even more of an advantage as he countered COVER’s increasingly aggressive tendencies with some aggression of his own. Before the flop, many hands had been raised, re-raised, and re-raised again. Playing $10K-20K, FISCHMAN was in control most of the way and finally won when both players got into a raising war – FISCHMAN’s 8-8 versus COVER’s A-5. COVER tried to steal the pot with no pair after the flop J-10-6, but FISCHMAN was committed at that point, check-raised, and won the last pot of the night when two blanks fell on the turn and river. FISCHMAN finished off his adversary at 7:00 pm to a cheering crowd of supporters.
When asked about the meaning of winning a H.O.R.S.E. event, which is more representative of “overall” skill, as opposed to an event involving a single game such as hold’em or stud, FISCHMAN said, “Someone told me that Doyle Brunson won this event last year – and I think that’s all you have to say. It definitely feels good to win this tournament.”
“I’ve been in ‘the zone’ for two months, now. I cashed 13th in the pot-limit event, I won a few days ago, and I won here again today,” FISCHMAN added. When asked about a the possibility of becoming only the fourth player to win three gold bracelets in a single year, FISCHMAN said, “Yeah, I would love it. No, I’m not going to predict it.”
FISCHMAN was mobbed by his supporters, which included his family, who posed with the smiling new champion holding up two bracelets. As pictures were taken and cameras rolled, runner up JOHN COVER, a real estate developer and amateur poker player, was asked about the disappointment of finishing second.
“(FISCHMAN) changed gears at the end. He was very tough to figure out….Actually, I prefer playing heads-up, but this was a real challenge. I really liked playing with Scott today, because he plays rock n’ roll poker. It was fun.”
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