A Threepeat for Mike Sales!
By Max Shapiro
Mike Sales
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Mike Sales experienced wild chip fluctuations in the late stages of
this 24th event, 7-card stud hi-lo. But when the last four players
left standing agreed on a deal, he had a small chip lead, and that was
all he needed to chalk up his third first-place finish in Legends of
Poker 2000.
In the points race, an important consideration in the protracted deal
negotiations, Sales moved into second place, four points ahead of Brent
Carter. Both are still well behind Barbara Enright, and both would
need a win in tomorrow's final points event to overtake her, even if
she were shut out. In Carter's case, he would also need at least 300
entrants to rack up the 61 digits he needs.
At the second table, Sales had only about $5,000 when he started
with buried queens and proceeded to be dealt four consecutive sixes.
Even with quads showing, he got full value in four way-action until
he went all in on the river because the other players all had lows. On
the next hand he started with rolled-up jacks and filled, and then
followed that up with an ace-high flush.
George Shahrezay had a much harder time making it to the final table,
going all in four times and surviving with three chops and a scoop.
Having less luck was the ninth-place finisher, Rich Korbin. He bet
all in with sevens and fours, and Dan Heimiller showed him aces-up.
Shahrezay, who is in real estate, arrived with only $1,200. He escaped
two more all-in encounters, but on the fourth hand moved in again with
buried aces. He didn't help and Stan Goldstein creamed him with deuces
full of queens.
George Rechnitzer was making his first final-table appearance at Legends
2000, though his son, Gerard, got there in Sunday's 7-stud event. The
elder Rechnitzer was badly depleted when Stan Goldstein scooped him
with a low and two eights. A couple of hands later, left with only $400,
he was the $300 forced bet with a low card 3 and K-J down. The best he
could come up with after the cards were dealt was two eights, not nearly
enough against Goldstein's aces and tens.
Sales, meanwhile, was getting no cards and making no sales at the final
table, and his chips had dipped down to about $5,600. With limits raised
to $2,000-$4,000 with a $300 ante and $500 bring-in, he picked up antes
and bring-ins a couple of times, but still was going no place. Suddenly a
big pot developed. Showing 10-7-Q-A, Sales bet all in with a straight
draw. He was called by Goldstein, with 4-10-8-9 and Julio Anicete, an
Asian games dealer, who showed 7-10-2-Q. Sales paired a king on the
river and pulled in a scoop pot of about $28,000 in what proved to be
the key hand of the night.
"Lucky Larry" Kantor, meanwhile, was living up to his name by going
in four times and living to tell about it. The second time he had a great
hand, a seven-low and a flush, but didn't start with enough chips to
build up much of a gain. Finally, Kantor went all in a fifth time,
starting with A-K-A against Anicete and Levi. Anicete also went all
in on sixth street, but scooped with aces-up, leaving five players.
Soon after, both he and Heimiller showed door card aces. Julio raised
and Dan re-raised. Dan then caught two tens and bet all in for his last
$300 on the river. Anicete, who had kings down and fives showing,
called, very reluctantly, and lost to aces-up.
Now Levi gets very short-chipped in a hand against Sales when Mike
turns up three clubs for a winning flush. "All it takes is a chip and a
chair," another player tells him encouragingly. "I have a chair, but I
don't have a chip," Levi replies. But after going all in and keeping in
action two times, David finally gets some chips in what proves to be
the last hand of the evening. With a 2-5 down and a 3-4-10 showing,
he goes all in against Heimiller and Anicete, who had also put all his
chips in. Heimiller made three sevens, but Levi caught a four on the
river to give him a scoop wheel and knock Anicete out of action.
The four finalists now talk deal. Sales has $37,300 in chips, Heimiller
$32,600, Goldstein $29,700 and Levi $15,300. Again and again
negotiations break down, but finally enough concessions are made to
seal an agreement and this hi-lo event is in the books.
Biography - Mike Sales
Mike Sales still can't believe that he's won three Legends events.
"Unbelievable," he exclaims. It's even more remarkable, he adds,
because he was up against some of the toughest players he's ever
seen. Usually, there's a fairly high percentage of dead money in
tournaments, he points out, even at the World Series and Orleans
events. But at Legends he found strong players top to bottom.
These are the most events he's ever played in a tournament series.
Usually he plays only about 30 percent of them, but this time,
especially because of the points, he played every one, except the
August 15th tourney, which was his anniversary.
Tonight, he built up his chips early, but then was in a narrow
range of $3,000 to $4,000 in chips most of the time, simply trying
to survive, until he caught those three great hands when they were
12-handed, and that brought him to the final table with only a
little less than average chip count.
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