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Hail
to the King (On Day Three, Anyway)
By Max Shapiro
Day three of the World Series of Poker championship was marked
by dramatic up and down chip movement. But the most extreme
change came at the tail end. Returning from the dinner break,
Bruno "The King" Fitoussi, who runs the Aviation
Club in Paris, was down to $10,000. Three hours later, when
the field had been cut down to the target of 45, he had become
the chip leader with an astonishing total of $671,500. He
had started the day in 36th place with $89,000.
The 45 finalists will return tomorrow to play down to the
nine who will be at the final table on Friday.
Fitoussi, of course, experienced more than his share of luck
to zoom upwards so breathtakingly. In one hand, he gambled
with a 10-8 against Abraham Rosenkrantz' pocket kings and
outran him. Another time, he started with pocket sixes against
Amir Vahedi and made sixes full when the board came Q-8-2-6-Q,
relieving Vahedi of close to 100k.
THE REALLY BIG QUESTION
Unfortunately, "Minneapolis Jim" Meehan busted
out early and I was unable to ask him the question on everyone's
lips: What did he have when he moved in against Andy Glazer,
causing Andy to make a big laydown with pocket kings on Day
Two? So, for the time being, we will have to go with what
Meehan told Amir Vahedi, that he also had pocket cowboys.
Day Three started with Vahedi the chip leader with $404,400,
followed by British policeman Bryan Watkins with $247,900.
Just before the 4:30 break, I wandered around eyeballing chips.
Amazingly, Vahedi and Watkins were now virtually dead even
co-chip leaders with around $390,000 each. Watkins had largely
evened up against Amir when he relieved him of about $50,000.
Watkins, the British police officer, moved in when he made
a straight, and Vahedi, holding As-7s, was on a flush draw,
and decided not to gamble and folded. Others with substantial
chips at that time included Scotty Nguyen, $185k; Jeff Shulman,
175k; Phil Hellmuth, 160k; Phil Ivey, 160; Howard Lederer,
120; Men "The Master" 105k; and David Chiu, 100k.
THE COP SAYS YES!
At 5:15, a yell of YES! Shook the room. Card Payer associate
editor Mark Gregorich had gone all in with pocket kings against
Watkins' pocket 10s. Gregorich took the lead when a king flopped
and then made trips when another king turned. But a river
10 gave Watkins a full house. He knocked out Gregorich and
took the chip lead with about $600,000. The British cop later
hit a peak of about 700k before dropping down to $360,500
at day's end, while Vahedi ended up with $237,500.
When the day's action ceased at 10:30, there was still an
hour and 59 minutes left at level 14, which had $500 antes
and blinds of $1,500-$3,000. At these limits, it was costing
$9,000 to play each round.
THREE CHAMPS LEFT
Three world champions will be returning tomorrow: Scotty
Nguyen with $428,500, Phil Hellmuth with $362,000 and Dan
Harrington with $175,000. The last woman in the tournament
was Annie Duke. She was knocked out in 47th place when she
held pocket jacks and couldn't overcome Jason Lester's pocket
kings. This leaves Barbara Enright as the only woman ever
to make the championship final table. In 1995 (when the final
table started with only six players) she finished fifth on
a terrible bad beat. She moved in with pocket eights and was
called by Brent Carter. He had 6-3 of diamonds and flopped
two pair.
THE LOG HITS THE JETT
There were any number of bad beats and theatrical hands that
cropped up during the day. In one such hand, Chip Jett got
knocked out by Oregon logger Dennis Waterman. Jett flopped
a set of kings while Waterman flopped a set of fives, and
then made quad fives on the river.
Sam Farha, who on Day One made a straight flush 15 minutes
into the start to beat flopped quads and knock out two players,
has had a real roller-coaster ride. The first day he was down
to 4k, then won six hands in a row to move into strong contention.
On Day Two he was back down to $10,000 at one point, then
won four hands in a row to climb back up to $130,000, and
ended the day with 58k. Then, at 6:15 of the Day Three, he
called with pocket kings against a player who moved all in
with pocket aces. Farha flopped a king, busted the player
and picked up a pot of about $80,000. If the two players had
slow-played pre-flop and on the flop, Men "The Master"
would have been gone too. Men had raised pre-flop but folded
after the player with aces moved in. Had Men been around for
the turn, he would have hit a set of sevens and been trapped.
A CRUISE IS BETTER THAN NOTHING
Sixty-three places are being paid in this tournament. As
it got close to the money, UltimateBet.com announced that
it was adding a consolation prize of a cruise to Aruba, valued
at $6,000, to the player unlucky enough to finish "on
the bubble," or one out of the money. That player turned
out to be John Strzemp, and it wasn't much consolation to
him. The former chief financial officer for Steve Wynn's enterprises,
Strzemp don't need no cruises. What he wanted was to win this
thing. Oh, well, happy cruising, John.
OH, HE RAISED TOO?
One of the saddest things that happened came after a player
made a $72,000 raise. An older gentleman, not realizing what
had happened, also said "Raise," intending only
to open for a modest $6,000 with K-J. But, having verbally
committed himself, he was forced to put up $147,000 in the
pot ($72k x 2, plus the $3,000 that had been in the pot, and
he ended up losing half his stacks. He accepted his mistake
and did not try to protest.
IS THAT SCOTTY?
Scotty Nguyen, incidentally, recently shaved his head, and
without his trademark black flowing locks now has some resemblance
to a space alien. As a service to our readers, who want to
know such things, I asked him if he had lost a bet, similar
to when Hellmuth went bald after wagering against Robert Varkonyi
winning the 2002 World Series. Nothing like that, he said.
His wife had complained that he loved his hair more than he
loved her, so to show his devotion, he got shorn. (Varkonyi
was incredulous when I relayed the story to him. "You
can't believe anything a poker player says," he cautioned
me.)
Well, it's a heartwarming story. I'd do the same to prove
my love for my sweetie, Barbara Enright, but nature beat me
to it a long time ago.
Of the 37 players players who got into the championship tourney
via PokerStars, two made it into the money: Olof Thorson and
Chris Moneymaker. The aptly named Moneymaker, still very much
in the race with $357,000, in fact busted a low-chipped Johnny
Chan right before the 4:30 break. Chan had repeatedly been
coming over the top against the uncertain Moneymaker. Finally
Chris picked up pocket queens and broke Chan, who held A-J.
After that, he seemed to lose his nervousness and played with
more assurance.
THE END IS NEAR
Players began getting knocked out fairly quickly as the field
narrowed. It took about 20 minutes to go from 61 players down
to 54, when there was a redrawing for seats. Things slowed
somewhat after that, but it was still a reasonably early hour
at 10:30 when Jules Bui busted out in 46th place. Look for
more of a marathon tomorrow. It might go fast in the early
stages, but nobody will give up easily when they're getting
close to that magical final table.
There will be redraws at 36, 27, 18, and a consolidation
at 10 (even though only nine will make the TV show Friday),
so even if someone draws a bad spot, he only has to outlast
nine players to get hope for a better position/table.
2003 WORLD SERIES OF POKER
$10,000 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP EVENT
DAY THREE RESULTS
| PLAYER |
CHIPS |
NEW TABLE |
NEW SEAT |
| FITOUSSI, BRUNO |
$671,500 |
3 |
8 |
| BOYD, DUTCH |
$491,500 |
2 |
9 |
| NGUYEN, SCOTTY |
$428,500 |
1 |
2 |
| HELLMUTH, PHIL |
$362,000 |
2 |
8 |
| WATKINS, BRYAN |
$360,500 |
5 |
9 |
| MONEYMAKER, CHRIS |
$357,000 |
3 |
4 |
| FARHA, SAM |
$354,000 |
2 |
6 |
| SINGER, DAVID |
$334,500 |
4 |
4 |
| SHULMAN, JEFF |
$327,500 |
1 |
8 |
| HOANG, CHUC |
$264,500 |
1 |
7 |
| LESTER, JASON |
$261,500 |
3 |
6 |
| NGUYEN, MINH |
$251,500 |
1 |
9 |
| VAHEDI, AMIR |
$237,500 |
4 |
8 |
| DEEB, KASSAM |
$232,000 |
4 |
6 |
| THORSON, OLOF I. |
$227,000 |
1 |
6 |
| BRENES, HUMBERTO |
$227,000 |
3 |
9 |
| LEDERER, HOWARD |
$224,500 |
1 |
1 |
| HARRINGTON, DAN |
$176,500 |
4 |
9 |
| LUSKE, MARCEL |
$174,500 |
5 |
4 |
| GRIGORIAN, CHRIS |
$174,000 |
4 |
2 |
| GEERS, ROBERT |
$165,000 |
2 |
2 |
| ROSE, MARK |
$162,500 |
3 |
5 |
| BENVENITSI, TOMER |
$159,500 |
5 |
8 |
| NGUYEN, MEN |
$159,000 |
4 |
7 |
| BILL JONES |
$157,000 |
2 |
7 |
| ANASTASYADIS, KOSTANTIN |
$144,000 |
5 |
2 |
| DUONG, TAM (TONY D) |
$141,500 |
2 |
5 |
| WHEELER, STUART |
$128,500 |
3 |
3 |
| SONG, KEVIN K. |
$124,000 |
1 |
5 |
| MILLER, JIM |
$122,500 |
3 |
7 |
| PAK, YONG |
$114,000 |
5 |
1 |
| WATERMAN, DENNIS |
$95,500 |
3 |
2 |
| RAMDIN, ANNJANO |
$70,000 |
4 |
3 |
| PLASTIK, DAVID |
$69,000 |
2 |
3 |
| IVEY, PHILLIP |
$67,000 |
1 |
3 |
| LENNAARD, KEN R. |
$65,500 |
2 |
1 |
| ROSENKRANTZ, ABRAHAM. |
$61,500 |
5 |
5 |
| KASTLE, CASEY |
$47,000 |
1 |
4 |
| THOMAS, HARRY |
$45,500 |
5 |
7 |
| ZEIDMAN, CORY |
$39,000 |
4 |
1 |
| HARDIE, GEORGE |
$31,000 |
3 |
1 |
| JAMES, KENNA |
$26,000 |
4 |
5 |
| GREY, DAVID |
$22,500 |
5 |
6 |
| DARDEN JR., PAUL |
$17,500 |
2 |
4 |
| JENSON, OOD ERLEND |
$16,000 |
5 |
3 |
PLAYERS BY TABLE
| PLAYER |
CHIPS |
NEW TABLE |
NEW SEAT |
| LEDERER, HOWARD |
$224,500 |
1 |
1 |
| NGUYEN, SCOTTY 1 2 |
$428,500 |
1 |
2 |
| IVEY, PHILLIP |
$67,000 |
1 |
3 |
| KASTLE, CASEY |
$47,000 |
1 |
4 |
| SONG, KEVIN K. |
$124,000 |
1 |
5 |
| THORSON, OLOF I. |
$227,000 |
1 |
6 |
| HOANG, CHUC |
$264,500 |
1 |
7 |
| SHULMAN, JEFF |
$327,500 |
1 |
8 |
| NGUYEN, MINH |
$251,500 |
1 |
9 |
| |
|
|
|
| LENNAARD, KEN R. |
$65,500 |
2 |
1 |
| GEERS, ROBERT |
$165,000 |
2 |
2 |
| PLASTIK, DAVID |
$69,000 |
2 |
3 |
| DARDEN JR., PAUL |
$17,500 |
2 |
4 |
| DUONG, TAM (TONY D) |
$141,500 |
2 |
5 |
| FARHA, SAM |
$354,000 |
2 |
6 |
| BILL JONES |
$157,000 |
2 |
7 |
| HELLMUTH, PHIL |
$362,000 |
2 |
8 |
| BOYD, DUTCH |
$491,500 |
2 |
9 |
| |
|
|
|
| HARDIE, GEORGE |
$31,000 |
3 |
1 |
| WATERMAN, DENNIS |
$95,500 |
3 |
2 |
| WHEELER, STUART |
$128,500 |
3 |
3 |
| MONEYMAKER, CHRIS . |
$357,000 |
3 |
4 |
| ROSE, MARK |
$162,500 |
3 |
5 |
| LESTER, JASON |
$261,500 |
3 |
6 |
| MILLER, JIM |
$122,500 |
3 |
7 |
| FITOUSSI, BRUNO |
$671,500 |
3 |
8 |
| BRENES, HUMBERTO |
$227,000 |
3 |
9 |
| |
|
|
|
| ZEIDMAN, CORY |
$39,000 |
4 |
1 |
| GRIGORIAN, CHRIS |
$174,000 |
4 |
2 |
| RAMDIN, ANNJANO |
$70,000 |
4 |
3 |
| SINGER, DAVID |
$334,500 |
4 |
4 |
| JAMES, KENNA |
$26,000 |
4 |
5 |
| DEEB, KASSAM |
$232,000 |
4 |
6 |
| NGUYEN, MEN |
$159,000 |
4 |
7 |
| VAHEDI, AMIR |
$237,500 |
4 |
8 |
| HARRINGTON, DAN |
$176,500 |
4 |
9 |
| |
|
|
|
| PAK, YONG |
$114,000 |
5 |
1 |
| ANASTASYADIS, COSTANTIN |
$144,000 |
5 |
2 |
| JENSON, OOD ERLEND |
$16,000 |
5 |
3 |
| LUSKE, MARCEL |
$174,500 |
5 |
4 |
| ROSENKRANTZ, ABRAHAM. |
$61,500 |
5 |
5 |
| GREY, DAVID |
$22,500 |
5 |
6 |
| THOMAS, HARRY |
$45,500 |
5 |
7 |
| BENVENITSI, TOMER |
$159,500 |
5 |
8 |
| WATKINS, BRYAN |
$360,500 |
5 |
9 |
ELIMINATED DAY THREE (IN THE MONEY)
| 46 |
Bui Jules |
$20,000 |
| 47 |
Annie Duke |
$20,000 |
| 48 |
Timothy D Johnson |
$20,000 |
| 49 |
Barry Greenstein |
$20,000 |
| 50 |
John Inashima |
$20,000 |
| 51 |
Matthew W Allen |
$20,000 |
| 52 |
Daniel R Dumont |
$20,000 |
| 53 |
Charles S Doumitt |
$20,000 |
| 54 |
Julian Gardner |
$20,000 |
| 55 |
David Chiu |
$15,000 |
| 56 |
Julien J Studley |
$15,000 |
| 57 |
Rory F Liffey |
$15,000 |
| 58 |
Jonathan Kaplan |
$15,000 |
| 59 |
Tod L Reichert |
$15,000 |
| 60 |
Brian Nadell |
$15,000 |
| 61 |
Bruce Atkinson |
$15,000 |
| 62 |
Charles Shoten |
$15,000 |
| 63 |
George Rechnitzer |
$15,000 |
ELIMINATED DAY THREE (OUT OF THE MONEY):
ALIMI, DAVID; ANDREW, HOWARD "TAHOE"; APPLEMAN,
MICKEY; BARCH, JOHN D.; BEHL, RICHARD; BENICHOU, PAUL S.;
BERMAN, LYLE A.; BROWN, CHAD; BUONOCORE, BRYAN C.; CANTOR,
CLIFFORD; M. CHA, JIMMY; CHAN, JOHNNY; COMEE, WILLIAM D.;
DELAMOS, PETER; DYKES, CALVIN R., DDS; EPSTEIN, MICHAEL; FAN,
FRANCIS; FRED, SAMUEL; FRITZ, ANDREAS; GREGORICH, MARK; HALE,
JOHNNY; HALLAN, PRIYANAND; HAUGAN, PETER; HAVESON, BRIAN D.;
HENEGHAN, PAT; HOELLEIN, JON; JACOBS, KEN; JETT, CHIP; KALLAKIS,
ACHILLEAS M;. KLINGER, PEPE; LAZZARO, KEVIN K.; LOTT, STEVE;
LUMLEY, DAVID L.; MAHMOOD, AYAZ; MAY, MIKEl MAYFIELD, SCOTT
D.; MCCLAIN, MICHAEL; MEEHAN, JAMES M.; MCKLEROY, MIKE K.;
PERRY, RALPH; PIPE, RICHARD S; QUINTERO, REFUGIO V.; SARCONE,
JAMES D.; SIMMONS, REGINALD B.; STRZEMP, JOHN; THUNG, ROY;
VANHORN, BRUCE M; VINAS, TOMMY.
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