Interior Designer Carol Everton
Wins 1st St. Maarten Paid Event
Carol Everton, a British interior designer who won last year’s no-limit hold’em event, took down the first paid entry tournament of the second annual St. Maarten open, $150 limit hold’em. The kick-off event the day before was a freeroll for five seats to the $1,500 championship.
The contest lasted until nearly 5 a.m., when the limits had climbed to an astounding $24,000-$48,000, exceeding the tournament clock’s capacity. Even so, it took Everton 20 hands to subdue Dan Lovegren, a transportation researcher for the state of California, in a back and forth heads-up finale. The victory was worth $11,880 for Everton, a poker enthusiast who plays mainly small limit events at her local club in Worcester, England.
Adding extra interest to the proceedings, a $600 Oakley watch is being given away each day to the first winner of a “high-low” game. Seven face-down cards are turned up one at a time. A randomly chosen player guesses if the next card will be higher or lower in rank. Any player making all six guesses correctly wins the watch. The best all-around and winner of the championship event also gets an Oakley timepiece.
There was a bad beat the first day. With two cards left, an ace was turned up and the player called out “low,” thinking he had a sure thing. He had forgotten that in this game the ace was low. Look for “high-low poker” to replace no-limit hold’em in next year’s World Series championship.
Oakley, which donated the watches, also provided sunglasses for each player ending on the bubble. “For disguise,” quipped tournament director Warren Karp.
When the final 10 regrouped, they were playing with blinds of $2,000-$4,000, limits of $4,000-$8,000, 4:02 left. Farina Valter from Guadeloupe, a familiar face from last year, was chip leader with $75,000. By far the shortest with $7,500 was Miami realtor Scott Minchew and he was gone in four hands. He moved in with A-Q. Lars Christoffersen, who won this year’s Danish Open Championship, called with K-10 suited and flopped a king.
Two players exited on hand nine after limits had gone to $6,000-$12,000. Poker veteran Asher Derei raised with A-10. Dave Binstock, a London financial adviser who came in second in a Barcelona pot-limit event this year, smooth-called with aces. Mick Davis, who won a $1,500 seat yesterday and runs a video game company, was all in from the big blind with J-4. Binstock put Derei all in when the flop came K-Q-3, and his aces held up. With $71,500, Binstock was now close to a tie for the lead with Valter.
A few hands later, Ohio retiree Richard Cardarelli raised his last $3,500 from the small blind with J-9 and couldn’t outrun Christoffersen’s A-7.
Binstock became the chip leader at the expense of Valter on hand 24. He took in a $92,000 pot when he turned a queen and his K-Q beat Valter’s Ah-Kh.
The key pot for Everton came on hand 33. With a flop of 10-8-7 in a re-raised pot, Simon Nowab of England bet, Binstock called and Everton raised. “I need a cigarette,” Nowab said when Everton bet the turn, and then decided to fold. Everton bet the river, and when Binstock dropped, she had a chip lead of about $160,000. The lead would change hands several times in in subsequent action, but she would always remain in strong position.
A few hands later Valter went out in sixth place when Binstock, again with pocket aces, beat his Kd-Jd.
With limits at $12,000-$24,000, Nowab’s aggressive raising had moved him into second spot. The rough chip count was: Everton, 165k; Nowab, 95k; Lovegren, 50k; Binstock, 48k; and Christoffersen, 15k. The Dane managed to survive a couple of all-ins, but finally bowed out fifth in three-way action. He had A-Q and flopped a queen, but Lovegren made a set of 9s on the river.
Right after limits went to $16,000-$32,000, Nowab grabbed the lead from Everton when he forced her to fold after a flop of 8c-5c-2c. When the players took a break, he had about $165k, almost double her chips. But she later rebounded in a big pot when she bet into a flop of Q-9-8 and he folded.
Nowab, outdrawn several times, went downhill from there, and dropped out of action as the clock went past 4 a.m. He tried a desperation all-in raise from the button of about $3,000 with just 8-6 and Binstock picked him off with pocket 4s which stood up when the board came K-J-4-Q-K.
Binstock finished third in a big pot on hand 71. With limits now at $20,000-$40,000, Everton raised from the button with 9-8 and Binstock three-bet it with Ah-3h. A board of 9h-5c-3c-6h gave him bottom pair and a nut flush draw. He bet all in for $5,000, losing to Everton’s paired 9 when an offsuit 7 hit the river.
Heads-up, Everton led with about 235k to Lovegren’s 140k. The clock couldn’t go any higher, and Karp announced new limits of 24k-48k. The battle was joined. Lovegren, fighting hard, went all in twice, winning once with pocket 7s, the next with Q-10.
He finally succumbed to a bad beat. He raised all in with A-K. Everton called with 10h-6h. Lovegren had a great flop of A-6-4. When a 9 turned, he looked like he would survive a third time. But then a river 10 gave Everton two pair, and the interior designer had designed herself another win in the St. Maarten series. —Max Shapiro
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