| MARATHON STUDS
No, not those marathon studs! Where's your mind? I mean the Final Table 7-Card Stud players in Event #2 of the Five-Diamond Poker Classic at the Bellagio.
Will you still love us when we are 64? Evidently.
After 64 hands no one had left the 7-Card Stud table. I kidded Jack McClelland that this was a record that would never be broken at the Bellagio.
On hand 65 Michael Smirnov left for a vodka. Someone had to eventually. Only 100 short from the first day chip lead of Scott Fischman, Smirnov from Moscow Russia, got caught in a common Final Table syndrome. The all-ins couldn't lose. There had to have been ten short stack all-in bets that won prior to Smirnov's. Yet it was Michael's all-in that finally failed. Oddly, it was Scott Fischman who almost beat Michael to the rail.
On the hand that crushed Smirnov over ice, Michael couldn't even call Fischman's Ace high board for Scott's last 6,500. Scott only made a pair of 8's, but they were golden. "I almost finished 8th," Scott shouted to a friend walking by after Smirnov left. It took a 'running fours' full house by Jeff Burdsall to get Smirnov to muck his hand and leave in disgust.
Now that the spell had been broken, we could get on with the tournament. On hand 76 the leading candidate for the title 'nicest guy in poker,' Bob Feduniak, showed a bit of disgust himself as his wired 8's wouldn't improve. David Feder paired his 10 door card and the tens held up. ACTION! Boy, this 7-Card Stud is the game of the future.
The excitement was too much for the boys. They had to calm down for another 41 hands until 117 when Carl Brucker's luck finally ran out. This guy was a miracle incarnate. Seven all-ins. Seven wins. In every way possible, Carl pulled victory from the agony of defeat. Gutshot straights on the river, running flushes, backdoor full houses, Brucker could do it all. Yet with all the magic tricks, Carl never had many chips and left in a proud 6th to an ovation from the table. Jeff Burdsall did the honors with Queens up.
When the level went to 5,000/10,000 six handed, two time WSOP bracelet winner this year, Scott Fischman said, "It's a shootout, now. I like my chances in a shootout." Famous last words. Scott managed to beat Carl Brucker, but that's all. No one had enough chips to stand a 5k/10k betting level for long. There were only 330,000 chips on the table. Still 146 hands into this marathon it was Scott Fischman, who's turned into a pretty nice guy following his 'crew' days, that had to take a flyer with split 3's. David Feder had split Q's and didn't need the straight he got.
Now four handed, the average stack increased to about 80k which was eight big bets. Still life support for the table, but one with a tiny bit of play left. Luck was far more important than skill at this point, but who didn't need luck to win a poker tournament?
The once proud game of 7-Card Stud is dying a slow death in poker, trampled by No Limit Hold'em in particular. Every year there are fewer Stud tournaments. And every year there are fewer Stud players as the post-war baby boom busts up. As an example, I started playing 7-Card Stud when I was eight in 1954. Dwight Eisenhower was President. I'm now nearing 60 years old. Almost no one younger than me prefers to play this game anymore. Too bad, poker could use the diversification, but the end is near for this once great game. Like Omaha, Stud isn't photogenic for television. And television is now life itself in poker.
Sadist that he is, Jack McClelland likes to go home. How about a one thousand ante, three thousand bring in, eight thousand/sixteen thousand. Have you had enough fellas?
The personable Tom Edwards asked that I be "kind" to him in my report. I can only say he played great. I wonder, however, if all the smoke breaks and the New York Times crossword puzzle didn't break his concentration. He got to 4th with half his brain tied behind his back. Smart guy, and very pleasant to cover. The New York Times puzzle everyday in ink! Please.
At this level everyone was short stacked. On hand 162, Tom had to reraise all-in to protect his Ace in the hole. Edwards got all the way to a pair of 9's which were good until 7th street. Thor Hansen had wired 8's and rivered a second pair.
There was no play left now, go all-in and hope for the best. Jeff Burdsall knows how to play this game. But on hand 178 Jeff's pair of 7's couldn't hold off a pair of fours from Thor Hansen when a third four hit the river. Thor just shrugged. Someone has to win this thing, and that's probably how it will be done.
Heads up, Hansen has a 5-2 chip lead on David Feder. Oddly, after hours of tedium, the end comes in a flash. Two hands after Jeff Burdsall leaves, longtime Norwegian pro Thor Hansen has a 'god of war' like hand. He has pocket Aces and makes Aces up. David Feder makes Kings up. Of course, David is all-in. And we are finally all out. | 
