Second Win for Powers!
Ellix Powers keeps insisting he’s just a bum. If so, he’s the richest “bum” in town, because he’s now won two of the last three events of Legends of Poker 2004. His victory tonight was in event number 12, $300 pot-limit hold’em, with an official first place payout of $19,200. Two days earlier he won the $300 limit hold’em event with first place paying $27,335. He arrived at tonight’s final table with a very big chip lead, played shrewdly and stayed in contention throughout.
The key hand came when he flopped a set of 10s against chip leader David Tovmasyan, a land surveyor. Tovmasyan was crippled, and five hands later broke. Powers then made a deal with Jim Miller, shift manager/tournament director for the World Series of Poker, who had slipped through with his own short stack. The win moved Powers into second place in the best all around points race. Should he end up second, he’ll win a brand new car he can sleep in.
This event started with blinds of $500-$1,000, with 37:44 left. In two hands, two players were gone. First was Kenna James, whose finished 13th in Card Player’s 2003 rankings. Kenna, with A-K, was all in for $9,500 against restaurant owner Jerome Moss, who had A-J and $500 more. The board came Q-J-4-6-2, and James was excused. On the next hand, Jon Engelson, the CEO of a packing company, didn’t do any better with big slick. He went all in from the small blind with the last of his $5,000 in starting chips, and was clubbed out of action by a club flush. Then, three hands later, Tovmasyan finally showed how to play A-K when he held that hand. It held up and he knocked out real estate broker Jack Gevshenian, who missed his flush draw. Tovmasyan picked up more chips by knocking out Emad Rayyan on hand 21. Rayyan had pocket queens in the big blind. Tovmasyan had K-6 and flopped a cowboy. Tovmasyan eliminated yet another player when he had 10-9 in the small blind against Farrar, who was in the big blind with pocket 4s. A 10 flopped and another hit the river, and Farrar cashed in sixth.
One hand later, William Muir, a drapery installer, liked the flop. He had Q-10, and a 10-9-8 gave him top pair and an inside straight draw. He bet and Miller, whose J-10 also gave him top pair with an open-end straight draw, raised. A river 7 gave Miller his straight. He bet to put Muir all in and left him in fifth place.
Blinds now became $500 and $1,500. Moss lasted three hands. With a board of K-9-4-2, he gambled and bet his last 8k with A-J. Tovmasyan had an K-8, and when a 10 came on the river we were down to three. By now Tovmasyan, who had been head terminator, had taken over the chip lead with about 55k to roughly 40k for Powers and 35k for Miller.
The turning point came on hand 49. Powers raised pre-flop from the small blind with pocket 10s. Tovmasyan called with 10-9 from the big. The flop was J-10-3. Powers bet his set, Tovmasyan raised, Powers just called. An 8 turned, giving Tovmasyan a straight draw. Powers checked let Tovmasyan go all in for 31k, and when a king rivered, Powers had almost all the chips. Five hands later Tovmasyan went broke with pocket 7s when Powers, with J-8, flopped two more jacks.
Powers now had about a 7-1 lead over Miller, and they began negotiating. “You’ve got a big job,” said Powers, looking for the best deal. “I’ve been in this situation before,” countered Miller. They finally agreed and Powers had his second win.
Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
Two-time winner Ellix Powers, still pleading insolvency, says at least now he can sleep in a hotel instead of the park. As reported in his prior interview, he has some 30 years of experience playing poker and was a dealer for a short time at the Bicycle Casino when it first opened. He plays stud and hold’em in yellow-chip side games and has a few tournament wins along the way.
Tonight, he said, he had some rough spots but got lucky a couple of times. While his game of preference is limit hold’em, he feels comfortable with pot-limit, as opposed to no-limit. “Pot-limit is pretty much the same as limit,” he said. “You can just bet more chips.” With these two wins, and a lot of points, he plans to play more events now. “I want to win that car,” he said.
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