Jack Binion World Poker Open - Event 15

No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $2,000
Number of Entries: 369
Prize Money: $687,539

Official Results:
1. John Hoang, Alhambra, CA, $212,187 plus a seat in the $10,000 championship event
2. Martin Vallo, Copenhagen, Denmark, 109,519
3. Davood Mehrmand, Frankfurt, Germany, 54,759
4. Tony “Tekk” Seunsom, Houston, TX, 47,914
5. Bob Hume, Orlando, FL, 41,070
6. Tony Cousineau, Daytona Beach, FL, 34,225
7. Gavin Griffin, Darien, IL, 27,379
8. Dale Hackney, Durand, MI, 20,535
9. John Bolten, Overland Park, KS, 13,690
10. Don Moseley, Houston, TX, 8,214
11. Tracy Scala, Del Ray Beach, FL, 8,214
12. Lucy Rokach, Stoke-On-Trent, England, 8,214
13. Gullermo Ruz, Tampa, FL, 7,057
14. Chris Grigorian, Panorama City, CA, 7,057
15. Jimmy Cha, La Habra, CA, 7,057
16. Mads Andersen, Copenhagen, Denmark, 5,645
17. Jack Ward, Gulfport, MS, 5,646
18. Walter Anderson, Athens, AL, 5,645
19. Terry Garner, Hattisburg, MS, 4,234
20. Roger Tichenor, Sarasota, FL, 4,234
21. Dee Caldwell, Lexington, KY, 4,234
22. Lee Markholt, Eatonville, WA, 4,234
23. Dennis Waterman, Myrtle Point, OR, 4,234
24. Petar Ivancenic, Chicago, IL, 4,234
25. Joel Fishbein, Las Vegas, NV, 4,234
26. Peter Scayer, Birmingham, England, 4,234
27. Herman Zango, Miami, FL, 4,234
28. Paul Paez, Barcelona, Spain, 2,823
29. K.D. Groves, Dallas, TX, 2,823
30. Sam Pollack, Boston, MA, 2,823
31. Dominick Spadavechia, Boca Raton, FL, 2,823
32. Cal Ridyker, Las Vegas, NV, 2,823
33. Edward Ameen, New Orleans, LA, 2,823
34. Gerrald McClendon, Waxalachia, LA, 2,823
35. Richard Kirsch, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, 2,823
36. Shae Drobushvich, Moline, IL, 2,823

John Hoang Wins No-Limt Hold’em Event:
Former software engineer turned poker pro stages comeback win and earns $212,187 in first major tournament victory

A few years ago, John Hoang received some very bad news. The software engineer with Lucent Technologies was living in northern New Jersey and had just been fired from his job – the victim or corporate ‘outsourcing.’ Hoang was at a personal and professional crossroads in his life. He could either try and latch on to another job somewhere and compete with the other 60,000 unemployed ex-technology workers contending for entry-level jobs. Or, he could follow his dream to become a professional poker player.

Hoang packed his belongings and moved to Los Angeles, where he was destined to make his dream a reality. Hoang, who beat the middle and high limit Atlantic City games in his spare time back in New Jersey, found the action in California even better. His bankroll and confidence grew over the next year. Gradually, Hoang decided he wanted to start playing in more poker tournaments. And so, he arrived at this year’s Jack Binion World Poker Open. He was one of 369 entrants in the $2,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event.

On Day One, 360 players were eliminated. Twenty-six of these players, places 10 through 36 received prize money. Nine finalists returned for Day Two and players were eliminated as follows:

9th Place – John Bolten, a businessman from Overland Park, KS, was the first player to exit. On his final hand, he lost to a set of Nines. Bolten, who finished 6th in an event here back in 2001, collected $13,690 as the 9th-place finisher.

8th Place – In a big 3-way pot, short-stacked Dale “Milkman” Hackney lost with K-9 to Davood Mehrmand’s 10-10, who tripled-up on the hand. Hackney, a dairy farmer from Michigan was pasteurized in 8thplace – good for $20,535.

7th Place – Lowest in chips at the start, Gavin Griffin took a tough beat with A-J on his final hand against K-J. The board brought not one, but two dreaded Kings, eliminating Griffin unceremoniously in 7th place. Griffin, a former WSOP gold bracelet from last year, received $27,379 in prize money.

6th Place – Tony Cousineau always seems to finish high in tournaments – with numerous cases and final tables. However, he could do no better than 6th place in this event. On his final hand, the Florida-based touring pro made top pair with A-7 when Seven came on the flop, but ended up losing to set of 10s. Cousineau collected $34,225.

5th Place – Bob Hume from Orlando, FL was short-stacked and started with the best hand, 10-10 against Davood Mehrmand’s 5-5. But a Five flopped, crushing Hume. Hume took home $41,070.

4th Place – Tony Seunsom (aka “Tekk’) took two tough beats in a row and went out next. On the first hand, he had A-Q and was ‘all in’ against Martin Vallo’s 6-6. A Queen flopped, but a Six fell on the river, igniting the crowd and ripping away nearly half of Seunsom’s stack. A few hands later, Vallo would prove to be Seunsom’s nemesis once again. This time, Seunsom was dealt A-Q against Vallo’s A-9. Vallo was in a horrible spot, but managed to flop a Nine, killing Seunsom’s prospects for victory. Seunsom, from Houston, TX earned $47,914.

3rd Place – The excitement really started when the game became three-handed. John Hoang was the low-stack and was down to his last 9,000 at one point – in contrast to Davood Mehrmand’s 500,000 in chips. But Hoang held on and regained a comfortable stack size after picking up several critical pots. One of the key hands of the tournament occurred when Davood Mehrmand was dealt K-J and tried to steal the pot pre-flop, running into Martin Vallo’s A-Q. Merhmand was the ‘all in’ player and desperately needed help. No problem. A King flopped, and Vallo was severely crippled. Incredibly, he came back a few hands later with a huge triple-up hand:
Mehrmand – A-9
Hoang – 7-7
Vallo – 5-5
Vallo and Hoang were both ‘all in.’ On the turn, the board showed 8-6-5-3, which meant all three players had outs. An Ace would give Mehrmand the win. A blank fell instead, which meant Vallo was right back in the tournament and the chips were now about equally divided.
Mehrmand had just about everything go wrong during the last hour. He went from decisive chip leader down to the felt in a few key hands, one of the most painful being when he lost with J-J to Hoang’s A-A. Mehrmand finally went out with Q-Q after Vallo made a pair of Aces with A-9. This marked Mehrmand’s third trip to the final table this year – the only player so far to pull off the trifecta. Unfortunately, the victory eluded Mehrmand this time as well, and the Iranian-born ex-patriot now living in Germany collected $54,759.

When heads-up started, Martin Vallo enjoyed a slight 5 to 4 chip advantage. Hoang won a few early pots, and seized the chip lead. It only took a short time for the classic hold’em confrontation to close the evening – a big pair versus A-K, close to an even-money proposition for both players:
Vallo: A-K
Hoang: J-J
The final board showed Q-4-3-4-5, which meant the pocket Jacks was the winner. Martin Vallo, one of a talented contingent of Danish poker pros which includes the likes of Gus Hansen and Mads Andersen, was the runner up. He officially collected $109,519.

This was certainly the second most unbelievable comeback win at the 2005 JBWPO, after Sirous B’s most improbable victory last week. Hoang had been down about 50 to 1 at one point when the action was at three-handed. But proving Yoggi Berra’s classic line, “It’s never over ‘til it’s over,” Hoang steadfastly never gave up and staged a remarkable comeback.

Whether overcoming adversity by following his dream after being lay off from his job, or coming back from a huge chip disadvantage in a poker tournament, John Hoang is an inspiration and example to everyone.

Final Table Started at: 4:00 pm CST
Final Table Ended at: 8:15 pm CST

Report by Nolan Dalla – JBWPO Media Director
Tournament Director – David Eglseder
Co-Tournament Director (Horseshoe) – Ken Lambert, Jr.
Co-Tournament Director (Gold Strike) – Robert McGovern