| 8-Way Finish for Omaha/8
Tonight’s Omaha hi-lo tournament ended without a shot being fired at the final table. The eight players who made it there did an immediate deal to abruptly end the $300 buy-in event, the third in the Bicycle Casino’s 2004 Legends of Poker, thus sorely testing the ingenuity of this writer.
The winner was Lee Duncan, a former poker dealer turned truck driver who scored his first tournament victory after starting to play poker seriously fairly recently.
OK, what else can I write about? How about some mood music?
It’s a quarter to three, there’s no one in the room but my computer and me.
I’d like to tell you a lot, but there’s not a single pot to be hoed.
So make it...
No, I guess lyrics won’t do it.
I could tell you that I was one of the original “Legends” when they had hosts for each event at the inaugural Legends of Poker in 1995, or that I’m now one of the “experts” at RoyalVegasPoker.com and you could win a cash bounty, tee shirt and copy of my book by knocking me out in their weekly “Expert” tournament online, but I’d probably get fired if I tried, so I won’t. All right, enough horsing around. Let’s see if I can fill space legitimately.
Only eight players made it to the final table when two players got bumped at the same time. At one second table, Alan Steinberg had a straight, but James Columbo made a nut flush on the river to leave Steinberg in ninth place, which paid $885. At the other table, Joe deNicola finished 10th and took home $750. He had aces up and a low draw, but missed his low and lost to a set of jacks to a player who wishes to remain anonymous as “Player X.” Well, it could have been worse. If “Player X” had won the tournament, there really would have been nothing to write about.
When the eight finalists arrived at the last table, they would have been playing with $1,000-$2,000 limits and 40 seconds left in the round had they chosen to play. Duncan, with $27,600 in chips, was the leader and took home an official $20,040. The key pot for him came with five or six tables left. He held K-K-9-9 and there were four callers. The flop brought a 9, giving him set over set. Two spades also flopped, but no flush came and when action ended, Duncan hauled in a huge pot he estimated at between $12,000 and $15,000.
Close behind Duncan were “Player X” with $24,100 in chips, who won an official $9,520; and pro player Don Halpern, who won $4,760 with $22,300 in chips. Halpern came in third in last year’s OE (1/2 Omaha hi-lo, 1/2 7-card stud hi-lo) Legends event. James Colombo, who has wins at Foxwoods in 7-card stud and Omaha hi-lo, won $3,005 for fourth. Phillip Penn Sr., who also finished fifth in yesterday’s limit hold’em event, got $2,255 for fifth tonight and took the lead in the points race. Kirk Oshiro got $12,900 for sixth; “Captain” won $1,255 for seventh; and Dr. Barry Marfleet, lowest-chipped with $7,100, got $1,000 for eighth. At Legends 2003, Marfleet won the first open event, limit hold’em.
Tomorrow’s rebuy event, $300 no-limit hold’em, is the first of two $150,000 guaranteed events.
Also, tournament director Denny Williams would like to remind players that the best all-around points champion will win a $5,150 seat in the no-limit hold’em championship event, which will be televised by the World Poker Tour. All players who have accumulated 10 points or more will also be invited to the $75,000 points play-off. First prize is a 2004 Cadillac Escalade plus $500 cash. The 2nd-4th finishers get a seat in the championship event plus cash, and 5th-18th get cash prizes. The top 16 players in all Legends events receive points based on the number of entrants in each tournament.
Finally, there’s the $10,000 super satellite pay-off paying three prizes: $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000. –Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
Lee Duncan, 42, is from San Diego and is a driver for a trucking company hauling construction materials. Before that he worked for a year as a poker dealer in the Lake Elsinore and San Diego areas. Although he’s played poker since the mid 90s, he’s only gotten serious about his game for the past year or two. Because of his work hours, most of his poker time is spent online, where he’s trying to develop his skills as a tournament player. His first online win came recently in a $50 pot-limit Omaha contest. In live games his preferences are pot-limit and no-limit hold’em, though he’s trying to develop his pot-limit Omaha game.
He describes himself as an aggressive player, almost as aggressive as Gus Hansen. He says he’s never read a poker instruction book and lost a lot of money learning the game. Now he’s dedicating himself to becoming a better player and is aiming for a seat in the World Poker Tour event.
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