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SPEED TO BURN
Mark said " 6 pm " and 6 pm it was.
"You are awesome," Nolan Dalla said to Mark Napolitano when he was shown the time. Mark had nailed his over/under guess for the conclusion of this Final Table to the minute.
They dont play any faster than this at the Indy 500.
FINAL TABLE
Seat/Player/Hometown/Chip Count
1 Manelic Minaya Tampa FL 63,000
2 Joe Rutledge Pasadena TX 123,000
3 B. Nijran London, UK 35,000
4 Gene Frank Evansville IN 20,000
5 Ray Weaver Birmingham AL 136,500
6 Randy Edmonson Columbus MS 1,500
7 Billy Duarte Berthoud CO 39,000
8 Luis Velador Lake Elsinor CA 235,000
9 Tommy Grimes Houston TX 62,500
9:37 remain in the 1,500/3,000 level.
This all happened so fast we never did find out what the B in B. Nijran stood for.
The inevitable sometimes takes 16 hours longer. Randy Edmonson, by all rights should have been eliminated in 10th last night. But Qasim Tiwana and Luis Velador decided to tangle while Randy only had 1,500 left. "Thank you," Randy said. On hand three today, however, there were no more gifts being dispensed. Randy raised all-in with that same 1,500 and was called by Manelic Minaya.
Randy was leading on the flop with K K Q J, but Manelic had a 9 and a 5. Who could beat that? The 9 came on the flop and another one on the turn. The 5 came on the river to fill up Randy with frustration.
The short stacks were one good flop away from disaster as the bet on the turn would put them all-in. Frankly my dear, Gene gave a damn but to no avail. Gene Frank found A 10 10 3 and chucked in his last 4k on the flop. Ray Dream Weaver (Thank you, Shane) called with A Q Q 3. With the flop of 7 7 2, Gene was drawing slim, and none got there. Let's be Frank for a second, maybe not he was 8th.
Seven hands down, seven players left.
Billy Duarte had a terrific 2004. This year is starting out just as well. When Billy has cooled off a little, he will realize how fortunate he was to get this far. With 28 players left last night he had about 3,000. Somehow he got all the way up to 6th in chips to start today. But he was up against the REALLY hot guys now. Joe Rutledge sent Duarte home with K K 10 9 and King high hearts. The flop came 10 9 2 with two hearts, a monster flop for Rutledge. Joe checkraised Billys 30k on the turn to put the then pot-commited Duarte all-in if he called. The river came a heart for the second nut flush. Duarte was 7th.
To keep our speed from lagging, hand 18 sent another one to the rail. B. Nijran had only 15k left when he picked up Q Q. Good hand unless someone has A A. Ray Weaver did the dirty. B must stand for be sixth.
Starting out like a house afire, Manelic Minayas house burnt down in 5th. Its hard to play against guys who own the deck. Minaya made his move on the turn for his case 38k and Queens up with third nut flush draw. Ray Weaver had 9 9 and caught a 9 on the flop. No diamond, no queen, no Minaya.
To catch our breath we actually waited a whole eleven hands before the next exit.
Tommy Grimes may have been the most famous player at the table, but Joe Rutledge suggested he might be called James dad. James Grimes is an up-and-comer on the tour. And Tommy would probably tell you he gets a bigger kick out of seeing James win than winning himself. The only kick Tommy got today was in the pants on his way out in 4th. Joe Rutledge let Tommy bet himself all-in with 20k on the turn.
Joe wasnt going anywhere with the top two pair Jacks and Nines. Tommy had the complete wrap with his Jack and a Queen kicker, Q J 10 7. None of Tommys 30 or so outs came on the turn or river.
The last three were the starters with over 100k to begin. It looked like we might have a respite from all the excitement, but NO! Four hands later on number 39 we went to heads up. Joe Rutledge knocked out two players in a row with J 9. This time he flopped the nut straight. Ray Weaver flopped just enough to get into trouble, top two with Queen Ten. Ray couldnt get off the hand even when he was checkraised by Joe on the flop. Dream Weaver is a classic rock and roll tune. Ray Weaver got rocked then rolled out in 3rd.
In one hour we were heads up. Joe Rutledge had a 4-3 chip lead. At first he suggested a deal to Luis Velador which was accepted, and then Joe changed his mind. They played it out for all the cash, 10k the seat and a beautiful diamond studded bracelet for the winner.
To bad for Luis, the deal would have made him an extra $20,000 and the 10k seat. As it was he didnt have a chance. His stack went straight down to the felt. One of the key hands was especially interesting. Joe Rutledge has fallen behind. He goes all-in on a bluff. Its assumed that if Luis calls the bluff, he wins the pot and the title. Luis doesnt call.
Joe shows his a busted flush and busted straight. Joe has a pair of 8's with an Ace. "I had to do it to ya," Joe says as he flips up the bluff. Funny thing was that it wasn't a bluff. Luis said afterward he couldn't beat the 8's.
Luis couldn't win a hand on it was over when he went all-in with pocket Queens. The card rack, Joe Rutledge had pocket Aces.
Rutledge is a 40-year-old gambling merchandise store owner in Houston. He wants everyone to know that every penny of this $104,021 first prize is going into his daughter Lillie's college tuition fund. Lillie is 15 and wants to be a vet.
Good luck keeping those funds segregated, Joe.
Two hours on the nose, just like the boss called it. That's speed to burn.
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