| Tournament Report
by Daniel Lazarek
24-year-old Eric Buchman won the event and collected the $275,400 grand prize. Buchman began Day 2 as chip leader, and protected his lead all the way to the end. He personally busted out five of his eight final-table opponents. It was an important win for Buchman, whose past achievements include a 3rd place finish at the 2002 U.S. Poker Championship (just behind John "World" Hennigan and Erik Seidel). Congratulations, Eric!
320 players gathered in the Sunset Ballroom of Foxwoods' Great Cedar Hotel for the NEPC championship event. Among the more accomplished entrants were Jay Heimowitz, Kathy Liebert, Mike Keohan, Russell Rosenblum, and Chris Ackerman. But predominantly, it was a field of non-professional locals from New York, New Jersey and southern New England. Of the 320 entrants, 184 won their seats through $280 satellites and $100 super satellites.
The tournament began at noon. The field narrowed rapidly, despite the very gradual increases of the blinds. Predictably, the game slowed to a crawl as the bubble approached. At approximately 2 a.m., Alan Thompson had the unfortunate distinction of being the last player eliminated out of the money. Thompson was in good shape pre-flop, all in with 10d 10c against Skip Kim's Ac 3c. But the board came 7c 5c 6d Jc Jd, and Kim's flush left Thompson gasping with $1100. The small blind immediately forced him all in with Qs 8h, and his new enemy Kim called with As Kd. The board came 8s 3c Kh 10c Ks, and Thompson headed for the door.
With Thompson's departure, the tension in the room evaporated. Relieved to have reached the money, the short stacks loosened up, and began busting out immediately. When youthful hotshot Chris Ackerman was eliminated in 19th, the game broke for the night.
Action resumed the next afternoon at the leisurely hour of 4 p.m. Within two hours, the field had narrowed down to two tables of five players. At one table, the stacks were very small, around $35,000. At the other table, the average stack was closer to $120,000. The rich stacks kept leering maliciously at their less fortunate neighbors, like predators drooling in anticipation of an imminent kill. "You guys have all the chips!" complained one of the short stacks. "And most of the skill," replied Harry Partridge, eliciting shocked delight from the crowd. Throughout the day, Partridge kept the spectators entertained with his good-natured, tough-talking, Brooklyn-accented attitude.
When Randy Allen busted out in 10th, the economically lopsided tables merged, and the short stacks suddenly found themselves in dire jeopardy. The chip counts for the final table were as follows:
Eric Buchman:
$237,000
Anthony Costa:
$167,000
Paul LaTraverse:
$114,500
Paul Lombardo:
$79,000
Harry Partridge:
$71,500
Anthony Aragon:
$58,500
Khenh Chanthamala:
$36,500
Frank Sciacca:
$22,000
Jim Scannell:
$15,500
Chanthamala, enormously short-stacked, jokingly suggested a nine-way chop of the prize money. Inexplicably, his proposal was not accepted! Chanthamala and Partridge brought some much-needed character to an otherwise sullen final table. Local hero Khenh "Kenny" Chanthamala is listed as a resident of East Lyme, CT, but according to some casino employees, he's actually a permanent inhabitant of Foxwoods Casino!
The huge disparity in chip counts made the short stacks extremely vulnerable. Four players were quickly eliminated, starting with Anthony Aragon. Aragon moved in with 7c 7h, and Buchman called with As Kc. The board came 3c Kh 8h 3d 8d, and Aragon hit the road in 9th.
Jim Scannell was next to go. Scannell raised all in and was not pleased to get two callers. Chanthamala moved all in from the button, and LaTraverse thought for a while before making a speculative call from the big blind. A rightfully concerned Scannell turned over 10s 8s. His hopes for a flush were destroyed when LaTraverse showed Ks Js. Chanthamala showed Ah Kh. The board came 4c Kd 5c 2c 6s. Scannell was knocked out in 8th, and LaTraverse was wounded but still breathing. Chanthamala, who had been in danger of busting out, tripled up to a formidable stack.
With the blinds at $2000-$4000, the newly empowered Chanthamala made it $15,000 to go. Paul Lombardo moved all in from the big blind for $60,000, and Chanthamala called. Chanthamala was a little anxious about his Ks Kc versus Lombardo's Ac Qd, but the board came 2c 5c 5d 6c 5s and the kings held up. The stacks were counted, and Chanthamala just barely had Lombardo covered.
Shortly thereafter, LaTraverse raised $20,000, and Buchman reraised $50,000 from the button. LaTraverse called, and the flop came Ad 3d 9h. LaTraverse moved all in holding As 4s, but Buchman called with Ah Qs. The turn and river were inconsequential, and LaTraverse was eliminated in 6th.
At this point, according to Buchman, the players tried to talk deal. The proposal was $175,000 for chip leader Buchman, and $105,000 for everyone else. Buchman declined, and made a counteroffer that he felt was more respectful of his significant chip lead: $235,000 for himself, $90,000 for the others. The "others" weren't thrilled with the offer, so play resumed, deal-less.
Without the security of a deal, the players became cautious and unconfrontational, allowing nearly every pre-flop raise to win the pot unchallenged. After three hours of tedious back-and-forth action, the game broke for dinner at 9:30 p.m. When the players sat back down at 11:00 p.m., who could have guessed that three hours of deadlock were about to end in a violent frenzy of pre-flop all in moves? Within ten hands, Buchman would be champion.
Frank Sciacca was the first casualty. Partridge moved in from the small blind with 7-7, and Sciacca called from the big blind with 8-8. A 7 hit the flop and sent Sciacca home in 5th.
4th place went to Anthony Costa, who got all in pre-flop against Buchman and lost.
Down to three players, Chanthamala made a move with J-7, and ended up all in against Buchman's K-7. A king on the flop sealed Chanthamala's fate. He seemed disappointed with his finish, but he played well and overcame a significant chip deficit to finish 3rd.
Finally, Buchman picked up Ac 3c, and raised all in from the button. Partridge called with Jd Qd, and the board came 6c 4s 3s 3h Qh. Partridge happily collected $145,800 for 2nd place. A weary and happy Buchman left with his girlfriend, $275,400 in cash, and a well-earned championship.
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