Jack Binion World Poker Open - Event 17

Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $3,000
Number of Entries: 386
Prize Money: $1,082,671

Official Results:
1. Jess Yawitz, St. Louis, MO, $334,701 plus a seat in the $10,000 championship event
2. Dr. Andy Philachack, Garland, TX, 172,747
3. John Phan, Long Beach, CA, 86,374
4. Eddy Scharf, Cologne, Germany, 75,577
5. Nick Frangos, Mars Landing, NJ, 64,780
6. Billy Duarte, Berthoud, CO, 53,983
7. Mark Rose, Edna, TX, 43,186
8. Victor Eskew, Atlanta, GA, 32,390
9. Farzad Rouhani, Germantown, MD, 21,593
10. David Bach, Athens, GA, 12,986
11. Carlo Sciannameo, Worcester, MA, 12,956
12. William O’Connor, Houston, TX, 12,956
13. William Edler, Las Vegas, NV, 10,797
14. Lawrence Gosney, London, England, 10,797
15. Dewey Tomko, Winterhaven, FL, 10,797
16. Dr. Max Stern, San Jose, Costa Rica, 8,637
17. David Chiu, Roland Heights, CA, 8,637
18. Malbek Gracz, Raleigh, NC, 8,637
19. Daniel Alaeci, Santa Fe Springs, CA, 6,687
20. Hans “Tuna” Lund, Sparks, NV, 6,687
21. D.W. MacDonald, Calgary, Canada, 6,678
22. Matt Lefkowitz, Inverness, CA, 6,678
23. Allyn Jaffrey Shulman, Laguna Nigel, CA, 6,678
24. Michael Booth, Jacksonville, FL, 6,678
25. Adeeb Harb, Long Beach, CA, 6,678
26. Gary “Hog” Haubelt, Pittsburgh, PA, 6,678
27. Paul L. Clements, Baraboo, WI, 6,678
28. Douglas Farmer, Corrales, NM, 4,452
29. Tommy Vinas, Houston, TX, 4,452
30. Chris Crockett, Costa Mesa, CA, 4,452
31. Surinder Sunar, Wolverhampton, UK, 4,452
32. Dale Hackney, Durand, MI, 4,452
33. Guillermo Ruz, Tampa, FL, 4,452
34. Jimmy Cha, Alhambra, CA, 4,452
35. Rogen Chambra, Jackson, MS, 4,452
36. Jim Worth, Toronto, Canada, 4,452

Poker Rookie Jess Yawitz Teaches the Pros a Thing or Two:
St. Louis teacher wins Event #17 and $334,701 in prize money

Consider the following Day One starting table in the $3,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event:
Seat 1: David “Devilfish” Ulliott
Seat 2: John Juanda
Seat 3: Anonymous cash game pro
Seat 4: Phil Hellmuth, Jr.
Seat 5: Paul Wolfe
Seat 6: Freddie Deeb
Seat 7: Anonymous cash game pro
Seat 8: Chad Brown
Seat 9: Jess Yawitz – who has been playing hold’em for exactly eight months

Of these names, which do you think made it into the money? Of these names, which do you think made the final table? Of these names, which do you think won first place and $334,701 in prize money?

If you guessed Jess Yawitz – please see the nearest mental health professional.

Yes, Jess Yawitz – a 58-year-old former teacher from St. Louis, MO – did the unthinkable. He crushed a tough field of 386 players and ended up with the Jack Binion World Poker Open gold bracelet for Event #17. The story went as follows:

On Day One, 377 players were eliminated. Nine of these players, places 10 through 36 received prize money. Nine finalists returned for Day Two and players were eliminated in the following order:

9th Place – Former JBWPO gold bracelet winner (2003) Farzad Rouhani, from Germantown, MD, got into a three-way pot early. Rouhani started with 10-10, which was hammered by Eddy Scharf’s Q-Q. Rouhani collected $21,593 for 9th place.

8th Place – On the same hand, Victor Eskew was dealt A-K. Against Rouhan’s 10-10 and Scharf’s Q-Q, Eskew had a chance to triple up. Instead, he hit the rail in 8th place when an Ace or King failed to materialize. Eskew, an Atlanta real estate broker, received $32,390.

7th Place – Mark Rose was the next player to get trimmed. He was short-stacked and was dealt 6-6. But Rose was cut down by John Phan’s A-A. Rose, the owner of a property management company in Edna, TX, took $43,186 for 7th place.

6th Place – This was longtime poker pro Billy Duarte’s second trip to a final table this year. Duarte wasn’t able to take advantage of the depths of his experience, being low on chips most of the day. Duarte was forced to make his final stand with Q-10, which got run over by Eddy Scharf’s A-Q. Duarte, from Colorado, earned $53,983 in prize money.

5th Place – Nicky Frangos was another exceptionally-talented pro at this table, who struggled late. Frangos seized the chip lead at one point, but lost a few key pots, and was low on chips. On his final hand, Frangos made two pair but lost. Frangos, with three final tables on the 2005 World Series of Poker Circuit (Atlantic City), added a 5th place finish here to his resume, and $64,780 to his poker bankroll.

4th Place – Former Lufthansa airline pilot Eddy Scharf had the chip lead also, then lost it. Scharf, the winner of a gold bracelet at the 2003 World Series of Poker, had A-10 on his last hand, made a pair of Tens, but lost to Dr. Andy Philachack’s set of Sevens. Scharf collected $75,577 and fortified his position as Germany’s top poker player.

3rd Place – The three finalists feasted on Eddy Scharf’s chips like a pack of wild wolves over a fallen carcass. Next, they would turn on each other. John “the Razor” Phan had been the most aggressive player and enjoyed a chip lead much of the previous day. But his momentum finally ran out. The Razor got cut when his pocket Queens were sliced and diced by Jess Yawitz’s A-K. In one of the tournament’s most decisive hands, Razor Phan’s Queens looked to be in good shape. But Yawitz held A-K of hearts and flopped a heart draw. The turn was no help to either player. Then, an Ace fell on the river, gutting Phan. The Long Beach, CA poker pro – winner of two events here in 2004 – earned $86,374 for 3rd place.

The heads-up match between Dr. Andy Philachack, a chiropractor from Dallas, and former teacher Jess Yawitz featured the most unlikely of finalists. To their credit, both had played marvelously up to that point. When the duel began, Yawitz enjoyed a 2 to 1 chip lead. Unfortunately, Dr. Philachack got a sickening run of cards late in the tournament and watched as his stack slowly dwindled.

With blinds high and racing around the table, Dr. Philachack had to make a stand somewhere. He made that stand with 8-3 after catching an Eight on the flop. But Yawitz had K-4 and managed to flop a King. That was enough to commit both players to the pot, as two blanks fell on the turn and river. Yawitz’s Kings held up and he was the winner.

Runner up Dr. Andy Philachack officially collected $172,747 in prize money – quite a performance for his first major final table.

Meanwhile, new champion Jess Yawitz was ecstatic. Although he learned to play poker as a child, he has only played hold’em for about eight months. Poker on television influenced him to come and play in events like the JBWPO.

“I have never played hold’em in cash games or home games before,” Yawitz said afterward. “But I decided I wanted to give poker a shot. At 58-years-old, I don’t have the luxury of starting slow. When I play, I put the pedal to the metal.”

Perhaps next time the likes of Hellmuth, Juanda and Devilfish sit down at a table – it’s Jess Yawitz they should fear.

Final Table Started at: 4:00 pm CST
Final Table Ended at: 7:15 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