| KENNA JAMES SINGS, JOKES AND
OUTSHOOTS FIELD IN SHOOTOUT
Kenna James put on another one of his crowd-pleasing performances as he sang, chatted, made jokes about himself and, almost effortlessly, steered his way into a win in a $300 no-limit hold’em shootout event.
His final opponent, Bijan Ashkan, started with the chip lead and held it until James finally passed him in the late stages. Near the end, James had him all in holding A-3 to Ashkan’s Js-10s. But when Ashkan snagged a jack on the river to get back into contention, James, who still enjoyed a chip lead of more than $10,000 to $6,000, decided to lock up the win and the tournament ended in a deal.
This shootout event replaced the originally scheduled $1,500 Omaha hi-lo tournament. Once again, as with stud the prior day, the casino heeded the request of several Omaholics and set up a one-table Omaha/8 tournament, in addition to the shootout. (Something for everyone.) It paid three places: 70, 20 and 10 percent respectively. Luis Santini won it, Param Gill was second and “Super” Mario Esquerra came in third.
Santini, once a regular local tournament player, now plays infrequently because he’s kept busy developing a business in Florida. He ended up winning after having a chop request denied when he was in the big blind with a mere $150.
The shootout final table began play with blinds of $50-$100, 22:16 left. David Levi, who barely made it to the table with $575, lasted two hands. He had Ah-Kh in the small blind. Ashkan put him in with J-J and flopped a set.
“I love you but I’m glad to see you go,” Kenna James said to Levi in tribute. “You’re too tough.”
A couple of hands later Mickey Kim was all in for $1,225 with pocket 9s against Steve Mandelbaum’s pocket kings. “I can’t believe it, it happens every time,” Mandelbaum cried out, jumping up as Kim flopped a set.
David Chan went out when he re-raised all in for $875 with A-J and couldn’t catch Bijan Ashkan’s 10-10.
Blinds now went to $100-$200. Kenna James, always good for a few laughs at the table, was moaning how bad he was doing of late. “I’m eating tuna out of a can, and I have to give my meal tickets to my sponsor,” he claimed. A slight exaggeration, perhaps, from a man who had 18 final tables and eight wins last year, and finished third in a $10,000 event in Australia this year.
Demonstrating how “bad” he was going, James then knocked out Mandelbaum. He put him in for about $600 with pocket 10s, which held up against Mandelbaum’s K-J. Nine hands had gone buy and three players were already out.
Another 30 hands went by before we lost another player. Anthony Tran had been pretty much on the sidelines all through the final table, either because he was card dead or was trying to move up some notches. Down to about $1,100, he finally went all in with Ah-9h after Michael Leanos raised with K-J. Leanos took the lead when a king flopped, and Tran ended up in seventh place.
A few hands later Mickey Kim also tried an all-in move with a marginal A-8. “You got me,” he said when James called and turned over A-10. No 10 came to save him, and Kim cashed out sixth.
James, who had kept complaining about not being able to keep his meal coupon, now allowed that things were going a little a bit better and he might feel entitled to demand the coupon.
Alan Mintz, a trader, went out after limits had risen a couple of times to $200-$400 with $50 antes. On the button, he tried a steal with 10h-6h, moving in for $750. Ashkan, in the big blind, had an automatic call with Q-8. The board came A-J-8-K-2, and now four were left.
Doing a little razzle-dazzle to either amuse or confuse his opponents, James at one time asked Ashkan to check the flop. When Ashkan complied, James mucked his cards without any betting. He obviously had a hand that he didn’t care to get involved with no matter what came, but it was still a startling play.
Michael Leanos is a young player who already has several cash-outs at local casinos and seems to have a future in poker. Tonight he played well and made it to fourth place. He went out when he button-raised all in for $675 with Q-8. Leanos had the best hand going in when Ashkan called with J-10, but a 10 on the river ended the night for him.
Three-handed, Ashkan had about $10,000 to $3,800 for Tran and $2,700 for James. After blinds went to $300-$600 with $75 antes, Kenna took a big pot from Tran with pocket 10s and moved into the lead with about $8,000 to $6,000 for Ashkan and $3,000 for Tran. James then finished Tran off after the Sacramento pro moved in for $2,500 with Ad-9d. James called with just K-J, but that stands for Kenna James, as spectator Chris Grigorian reminded everybody. A jack came on the river and Tran was gone.
Soon after heads-up play started, James moved in with that A-3 and. Ashkan called with his Js-10s. The game appeared over when the board showed 8-7-2-4, but a river jack gave Ashkan new life. A few hands later the two decided to just make a deal. James had another trophy and now is entitled to ask his sponsor for his meal coupon. —Max Shapiro
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