| JUST DO IT
How tough was this? NOT!
Phil Hawkins owns the Dealer's Choice cardroom in Auburn, California. He must be practicing. It took him 45 hands in 75 minutes to wipe out the entire table.
FINAL TABLE
Seat/Player/Hometown/Chip Count
Seat 1 David Levi Las Vegas, NV 71,000
Seat 2 Mike Yoshihara Reno, NV 19,000
Seat 3 Chuck Mumford Lake Elsinore, CA 15,000
Seat 4 Phil Hawkins Auburn, CA 242,000
Seat 5 Matt Lefkowitz Inverness, CA 53,000
Seat 6 Paul Sherr Phoenix, AZ 11,000
Seat 7 John Cernuto Las Vegas, NV 90,000
Seat 8 Tony Cousineau Daytona Beach, FL 13,000
Seat 9 Fred Scott Fairbanks, AK 3,000
A few days ago we had a Stud table where no one left in 64 hands. Today, everyone left in 45. Four were gone in the first orbit. That's what happens when one player is so dominant that no one else can take a breath.
At the start of this Final Table Phil Hawkins has 20 big bets. No one else had as many as eight. Then it got worse for the others.
On the second hand Paul Sherr had see-through luck. Rather than wait for Fred Scott, with only 3k, to take his big blind, Paul found a hand and went for it. "The difference in prize money was so small," Paul said afterward. What's one thousand dollars to these big time pros? Valet tip money. Still Paul should have won the hand. He raised all-in with A K J 4 and top Clubs. As bad luck would have it, mister chips--Phil Hawkins--said goodbye to Paul in 9th when Phil's 8 8 3 2 in the big blind caught an 8 on the turn. Paul Sherr jumped like he'd been cattle prodded when the 8 hit, because Paul had flopped trip Jacks. Hawkins spiked a two-outer on him. That's how good this guy was running. Any questions?
Now Fred Scott got the extra 'gee' note. Scott was great to make it to hand 6 all-in for his big blind. Again, no surprise, it was Phil Hawkins who did the honors. Phil resided on Treasure Island today. He had pocket Aces that walked, as did Fred Scott in 8th.
Jack McClelland announced David Levi as one of the all-time money leaders at the Bellagio tournaments. Kiss of death. It took David all of eight hands to blow through 71k and drop to 7th. As you can imagine, Levi lost every hand he played. Mostly to the invincible Phil Hawkins. All-in with A Q 5 5 and his last 17k, it was Mike Yoshihara's naked 9 on the flop with A 9 2 2 in his hand that ended Levi's stress.
On the ninth and last hand of the first orbit, Chuck Mumford was all-in for 6k in his big blind. Nice guys that Omaha players are, three of them knuckled him. Chuck's pocket 5's are as good as his hand got. The other Phil--Hawkins--had 10's. Not even Ivey or Hellmuth has ever ironed out a world-class field like this one so quickly.
Hawkins let someone else do the dirty on hand 14. Matt Lefkowitz threw in his last few chips on a reraise by Mike Yoshihara. Matt had A 2 8 9. Mike had A 10 10 4. Matt knew he was through when the flop came 2 3 Q with two spades. Mike made the flush and the low to Lefkowitz Matt in 5th.
Over half the table gone in 14 hands? Looks like a half day for the tournament staff.
They had to wait all the way to hand 24 to pay the next victim. Tony Cousineau, with his lovely new wife sitting nearby, had tried to go out 8th twice by raising all-in on the fourth and fifth hands of these proceedings. But both times his A 10 made the nut straight. Now wealthy with a $15,016 payday for 4th place. Tony can afford to buy the missus something nice for Christmas. "I had two Kings," Tony said ruefully to me "and he has a King." 'He' is Miami John Cernuto. Certainly one of the most successful tournament Omaha players ever. Cernuto spiked a Jack on the turn for the nut straight just has Tony had done earlier to survive.
Four hands later we were heads up as Mike Yoshihara was all-in for his blind with 9 5 5 2. John Cernuto made a higher two pair with the hot hand of the day, A 10. In 52 minutes, seven tough hombres rode off into the sunset leaving poor Miami John alone to draw against the fastest gun in the west, Phil Hawkins. With a 4-1 chip lead, the cardroom owner didn't look too concerned that he was playing against one of the best.
On his baseball cap, Hawkins has the Nike swoosh that means "Just Do It." And he just did it about as easily as it's ever been done. On hand 45 the flop comes K 7 6. Phil and John are betting. John is deciding whether to go all-in. Finally Cernuto flips in his last 20k, four chips. The turn is a Queen and the river is a 7.
Normally at this point Jack McClelland would ask both players to turn up their hands. The dominator, Phil Hawkins shows Q Q 3 3. John Cernuto just laughs at the top full house and mucks. Game over.
Just think about those poor players in Auburn. They have to play with this guy everyday. I don't doubt he just does it to them, too.
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