Jack Binion World Poker Open - Main Event - Final Results
It took awhile for the final tournament report to get here, but here it is ...
John Stolzmann and Chau Giang in heads-up play.
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $10,000
Number of Entries: 512
Prize Money: $4,832,773
Official Results:
1. John Stolzmann, Madison, WI, $1,465,944
2. Chau Giang, Las Vegas, NV, 773,448
3. Daniel Negreanu, Toronto, Canada, 384,322
4. Scotty Nguyen, Henderson, NV, 336,282
5. Michael Mizrachi, Hollywood, FL, 288,241
6. Raja Kattamuri, Dallas, TX, 240,201
7. Tracy Scala, Del Ray Beach, FL, 192,161
8. Jason Tate, Tunica, MS, 144,121
9. Mike Liras, Houston, TX, 96,080
10. Mike Cordell, Little Rock, AR, 52,845
11. Brian McKain, Scottburg, IN, 52,845
12. Stan Goldstein, Los Angeles, CA, 52,845
13. Jim Lester, Cincinnati, OH, 43,236
14. Chris Ball, Mesquite, TX, 43,236
15. Hertzel Zalewski, Houston, TX, 43,236
16. Larry Satterwhite, Houston, TX, 33,628
17. Jeff Shulman, Las Vegas, NV, 33,628
18. Herbie Montalbano, New Orleans, LA, 33,628
19. Mike May, New York, NY, 24,020
20. Dan Heimiller, Las Vegas, NV, 24,020
21. Alex Prendes, Miami, FL, 24,020
22. Theo Jorgensen, Copenhagen, Denmark, 24,020
23. Frankie May, Moss Point, MS, 24,020
24. Mark Napolitano, Marbella, Spain, 24,020
25. Barbara Laux, Clairton, PA, 24,020
26. Art Young, Biloxi, MS, 24,020
27. Padriag Parkinson, Dublin, Ireland, 24,020
‘The Poker Graduate’
University of Wisconsin Student John Stolzmann Pulls Off Stunning Final Table Upset – Youngest-Ever Jack Binion World Poker Open Champion Seizes First Major Tournament Victory and $1,465,944
No one could possibly have predicted the startling conclusion to the sixth annual Jack Binion World Poker Open championship event. The most unlikely of dark horses, John Stolzmann – a 23-year-old college student – stunned a standing-room only audience and the entire poker world by annihilating one of the toughest final tables in World Poker Tour history. Not only was young Stolzmann out-chipped by one of the world’s top poker players by a 3 to 1 margin from the start, two other powerhouse poker superstars held decisive chip advantages, as well. Then, there were two other dangerous foes to contend with, since both had approximately the same number of chips as Stolzmann. On the scale of tournament hills to climb, this was Mount Everest. Of the six finalists coming into Day Four of the main event, John Stolzmann was the youngest and least-experienced player at the table. To suggest that after six hours, he would end up with the coveted gold and diamond bracelet, and be the focus of television cameras and multiple press interviews at the end of a grueling but exhilarating tournament, would have been far-fetched, to say the very least.
This year’s annual poker classic held in Tunica, Mississippi, hosted jointly by the Horseshoe Casino-Hotel and Gold Strike Casino-Resort, was memorable for many reasons. Based on attendance figures and prize money, it was the largest poker tournament ever held outside of Las Vegas. A whopping 8,702 players entered 20 tournaments. The total prize pool was $12,369,522. Only the World Series of Poker has higher numbers. Furthermore, the 1,449 players who entered Event #2 at this year’s tournament constituted the biggest poker tournament ever held, apart from the WSOP. Tunica has clearly become one of poker’s biggest and brightest destinations.
The JBWPO championship event lasted four long days. A record 512 players entered the tournament, which began on January 24th. After Day One, 161 players remained. Among the early bust-outs was last year’s champion, Barry Greenstein. The 2004 winner doubled up at one point, but was eliminated when he moved ‘all in’ with a straight and flush draw, was called by his opponent, and missed making his hand. The tournament continued on Day Two and played down to the final 27 – which was the number of players who received prize money. Finishing just short of a payout was 2003 JBWPO champion, David “Devilfish” Ulliott. Twenty-one players were eliminated on Day Three. The six finalists arrived at the final table for Day Four, with Las Vegas-pro Chau Chiang as the chip leader.
A full house of spectators crowded into the second floor ballroom of the Gold Strike. An additional 1,500 or so poker fans packed into the nearby Millennium Theatre to watch the final table on close-circuit television. Tournament Director David Eglseder opened the proceedings and was joined by WPT announcer, Linda Johnson. Linda Machi, a gospel singer from Gulfport, Mississippi sang the National Anthem.
SEAT 1: Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi, Hollywood, FL Chip Count - 515,000 SEAT 2: John Stolzman, Madison, WI Chip Count - 517,000 SEAT 3: Chau Giang, Las Vegas, NV Chip Count - 1,406,000 SEAT 4: Raja Kattamuri, Dallas, TX Chip Count - 330,000
SEAT 5: Scotty Nguyen, Henderson, NV Chip Count - 1,210,000 SEAT 6: Daniel Negreanu, Toronto, Ontario (Canada) Chip Count - 1,173,000
At approximately 4:15 pm CST play began. Players were eliminated as follows:
6th Place – Raja Kattamuri came in short-stacked. He managed to survive during the first hour, but ultimately went out when he moved ‘all in’ with A-K which was steamrolled by Chau Giang’s K-K. An lifesaving Ace failed to come for Kattamuri, which meant a 6th place finish for the electrical engineer from Dallas. Kattamuri, the winner of a tournament here last week, had been the chip leader after Day Two. But he suffered a rough Day Three. Kattamuri played exceptionally well in this tournament and earned $240,201 in prize money.
5th Place – On the very first hand of the final table, Michael Mizrachi doubled up against Daniel Negreanu with K-K against 10-10. It looked like this might be ‘The Grinder’s’ big day. But Mizrachi was grinded down a bit and Negreanu ultimately extracted his revenge in a brutal way. On his final hand, Mizrachi had 8-8 against Negreanu’s 7-7 and it seemed Mizrachi would be the one to challenge Giang for the chip lead. Then, he took a horrible beat on a two-outer. The board came 9-6-5-2-8. The cretin of all cards – an Eight – made Mizrachi a set. But Negreanu’s Seven played for the Nine-high straight, and in a stunning reversal of fortune, it was Mizrachi who was forced to walk the plank of elimination. He was the 5th-place finisher and received $288,241.
4th Place – When play became four-handed, Giang was up over $2 million. Negreanu had about $1.7 million. Stolzmann and Nguyen each had about $600,000. Entering the third hour of play, Nguyen lost a big pot when Stolzmann made an amazing call of Nguyen’s large bet, with just a pair. Nguyen was short-stacked by this point and played A-5 on his final hand, paired the five, but ended up losing to Stolzmann’s two pair. Nguyen, the 1998 world poker champion, earned $336,282 for 4th place.
3rd Place – Daniel Negreanu has certainly been one of poker’s hottest players. The 2004 ‘Player of the Year’ (CardPlayer) took a beat early and lost half of his stack, but got most of those chips back an hour later against Scotty Nguyen when he flopped a set of Fives, and Nguyen missed his nut flush draw. For a while, it looked like the WPT would get a much-anticipated Negreanu-Giang showdown. But John Stolzmann had other plans. He ripped into Negreanu’s stack when he moved ‘all in’ on an outside straight draw, holding 10-7 after the flop came down 9-8-x. Negreanu, with an overpair (pocket Queens) was going nowhere, except to his stack to call. He was horrified to see a Six come for Stolzmann, completing the straight. This time, it was Stolzmann who caught a big miraculous card. Negreanu was eliminated a few hands later and received $384,322 for 3rd place.
The heads-up finale was a matchup of opposites. It featured the final table’s most experienced and highest-limit player against the least-experienced. It was clearly a showdown of David versus Goliath. Not only was Giang twice Stolzmann’s age, the three-time WSOP gold bracelet winner had been in this spot many times before. One could even argue that the $1.5 million dollar prize money for first place was not such a big deal for Giang, who has won and lost such sums in a single night of big-bet poker. No one knew what to expect or how long it would take for the end to come – but Giang was clearly an overwhelming favorite to win.
But John Stolzmann had two intangibles on his side. First, he was the chip leader – with about $2.6 million to Giang’s 2.3 million. Second, and perhaps more important – he was the great ‘unknown.’ No one had ever seen or played with Stolzmann before at this level. In a sense, it was Stolzmann’s stealth image and carefree attitude going up against a veteran player who could be counted on to make aggressive, mathematically-sound decisions. Hence, all the pressure was on Chau Giang.
Early on in the duel, Giang demonstrated his poker greatness by calling down Stolzmann’s bluff with just a pair of Deuces. If there was any question defeating Giang would be easy, that hand settled the issue. All of the sudden Gaing had the chip lead again. An hour later, Giang was up in the chip count about 5 to 2.
Twenty minutes later, it would all be over. Stolzmann won a few key pots by aggressively moving ‘all in’ and forcing Giang to make some tough decisions. Each time he came over the top of Gaing’s initial bet, the Las Vegas pro reluctantly plaid down his hand. Whether Stolzmann really had big hands or not, the strategy worked. Incredibly, Stolzmann seized control of the duel and nearly closed his stunning upset on the second-to-last hand of the night:
STOLZMANN: K-10
GIANG: A-J
Both players watched as the flop gave Stolzmann a straight draw. Giang had top pair and tried to trap his opponent. But an Ace fell on the river, giving Giang two pair -- Aces and Jacks. Although he didn’t know it at the time, that Ace was a bad card for Giang. Stolzmann had completed the nut straight. Giang called the ‘all in’ raise by Stolzmann and lost most of his chips on the killer hand.
The final hand was dealt just moments later when Stolzmann’s A-10 held up and an Ace-high dragged the final pot of the night.
In a post-tournament press conference, the 2005 JBWPO reflected upon his staggering win. “When we got to heads up, I actually changed my strategy, Stolzmann said. “I’ve played online a lot, but never played heads-up no-limit before. I thought I could get into some big pots with Chau, but he was running over me. So, I decided to get more involved in the small pots. I got lucky on a few hands and caught some cards, then I trapped him (on the straight), so it worked out.”
Prior to this tournament, Stolzmann’s biggest win had been $15,000 at a poker event in Costa Rica last year. But in Tunica, he won 100 times that amount -- $1,465,944 plus a $25,000 seat in the Bellagio tournament last this year to be held in Las Vegas.
Stolzmann currently attends the University of Wisconsin where he is majoring in philosophy. He intends to earn his undergraduate degree and then apply to law school.
“Before this tournament started, I was planning to come here and just play the cash games. I wasn’t planning to play in the tournaments,” Stolzmann said. “But at the last minute, I decided to play a super satellite. I won a seat and got in. Now, here I am.”
When it comes to poker, college student John Stolzmann has graduated – with full honors.
Final Table Started at: 4:15 pm CST
Final Table Ended at: 9:55 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
John Stolzmann and Chau Giang in heads-up play.
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $10,000
Number of Entries: 512
Prize Money: $4,832,773
Official Results:
1. John Stolzmann, Madison, WI, $1,465,944
2. Chau Giang, Las Vegas, NV, 773,448
3. Daniel Negreanu, Toronto, Canada, 384,322
4. Scotty Nguyen, Henderson, NV, 336,282
5. Michael Mizrachi, Hollywood, FL, 288,241
6. Raja Kattamuri, Dallas, TX, 240,201
7. Tracy Scala, Del Ray Beach, FL, 192,161
8. Jason Tate, Tunica, MS, 144,121
9. Mike Liras, Houston, TX, 96,080
10. Mike Cordell, Little Rock, AR, 52,845
11. Brian McKain, Scottburg, IN, 52,845
12. Stan Goldstein, Los Angeles, CA, 52,845
13. Jim Lester, Cincinnati, OH, 43,236
14. Chris Ball, Mesquite, TX, 43,236
15. Hertzel Zalewski, Houston, TX, 43,236
16. Larry Satterwhite, Houston, TX, 33,628
17. Jeff Shulman, Las Vegas, NV, 33,628
18. Herbie Montalbano, New Orleans, LA, 33,628
19. Mike May, New York, NY, 24,020
20. Dan Heimiller, Las Vegas, NV, 24,020
21. Alex Prendes, Miami, FL, 24,020
22. Theo Jorgensen, Copenhagen, Denmark, 24,020
23. Frankie May, Moss Point, MS, 24,020
24. Mark Napolitano, Marbella, Spain, 24,020
25. Barbara Laux, Clairton, PA, 24,020
26. Art Young, Biloxi, MS, 24,020
27. Padriag Parkinson, Dublin, Ireland, 24,020
‘The Poker Graduate’
University of Wisconsin Student John Stolzmann Pulls Off Stunning Final Table Upset – Youngest-Ever Jack Binion World Poker Open Champion Seizes First Major Tournament Victory and $1,465,944
No one could possibly have predicted the startling conclusion to the sixth annual Jack Binion World Poker Open championship event. The most unlikely of dark horses, John Stolzmann – a 23-year-old college student – stunned a standing-room only audience and the entire poker world by annihilating one of the toughest final tables in World Poker Tour history. Not only was young Stolzmann out-chipped by one of the world’s top poker players by a 3 to 1 margin from the start, two other powerhouse poker superstars held decisive chip advantages, as well. Then, there were two other dangerous foes to contend with, since both had approximately the same number of chips as Stolzmann. On the scale of tournament hills to climb, this was Mount Everest. Of the six finalists coming into Day Four of the main event, John Stolzmann was the youngest and least-experienced player at the table. To suggest that after six hours, he would end up with the coveted gold and diamond bracelet, and be the focus of television cameras and multiple press interviews at the end of a grueling but exhilarating tournament, would have been far-fetched, to say the very least.
This year’s annual poker classic held in Tunica, Mississippi, hosted jointly by the Horseshoe Casino-Hotel and Gold Strike Casino-Resort, was memorable for many reasons. Based on attendance figures and prize money, it was the largest poker tournament ever held outside of Las Vegas. A whopping 8,702 players entered 20 tournaments. The total prize pool was $12,369,522. Only the World Series of Poker has higher numbers. Furthermore, the 1,449 players who entered Event #2 at this year’s tournament constituted the biggest poker tournament ever held, apart from the WSOP. Tunica has clearly become one of poker’s biggest and brightest destinations.
The JBWPO championship event lasted four long days. A record 512 players entered the tournament, which began on January 24th. After Day One, 161 players remained. Among the early bust-outs was last year’s champion, Barry Greenstein. The 2004 winner doubled up at one point, but was eliminated when he moved ‘all in’ with a straight and flush draw, was called by his opponent, and missed making his hand. The tournament continued on Day Two and played down to the final 27 – which was the number of players who received prize money. Finishing just short of a payout was 2003 JBWPO champion, David “Devilfish” Ulliott. Twenty-one players were eliminated on Day Three. The six finalists arrived at the final table for Day Four, with Las Vegas-pro Chau Chiang as the chip leader.
A full house of spectators crowded into the second floor ballroom of the Gold Strike. An additional 1,500 or so poker fans packed into the nearby Millennium Theatre to watch the final table on close-circuit television. Tournament Director David Eglseder opened the proceedings and was joined by WPT announcer, Linda Johnson. Linda Machi, a gospel singer from Gulfport, Mississippi sang the National Anthem.
SEAT 1: Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi, Hollywood, FL Chip Count - 515,000 SEAT 2: John Stolzman, Madison, WI Chip Count - 517,000 SEAT 3: Chau Giang, Las Vegas, NV Chip Count - 1,406,000 SEAT 4: Raja Kattamuri, Dallas, TX Chip Count - 330,000
SEAT 5: Scotty Nguyen, Henderson, NV Chip Count - 1,210,000 SEAT 6: Daniel Negreanu, Toronto, Ontario (Canada) Chip Count - 1,173,000
At approximately 4:15 pm CST play began. Players were eliminated as follows:
6th Place – Raja Kattamuri came in short-stacked. He managed to survive during the first hour, but ultimately went out when he moved ‘all in’ with A-K which was steamrolled by Chau Giang’s K-K. An lifesaving Ace failed to come for Kattamuri, which meant a 6th place finish for the electrical engineer from Dallas. Kattamuri, the winner of a tournament here last week, had been the chip leader after Day Two. But he suffered a rough Day Three. Kattamuri played exceptionally well in this tournament and earned $240,201 in prize money.
5th Place – On the very first hand of the final table, Michael Mizrachi doubled up against Daniel Negreanu with K-K against 10-10. It looked like this might be ‘The Grinder’s’ big day. But Mizrachi was grinded down a bit and Negreanu ultimately extracted his revenge in a brutal way. On his final hand, Mizrachi had 8-8 against Negreanu’s 7-7 and it seemed Mizrachi would be the one to challenge Giang for the chip lead. Then, he took a horrible beat on a two-outer. The board came 9-6-5-2-8. The cretin of all cards – an Eight – made Mizrachi a set. But Negreanu’s Seven played for the Nine-high straight, and in a stunning reversal of fortune, it was Mizrachi who was forced to walk the plank of elimination. He was the 5th-place finisher and received $288,241.
4th Place – When play became four-handed, Giang was up over $2 million. Negreanu had about $1.7 million. Stolzmann and Nguyen each had about $600,000. Entering the third hour of play, Nguyen lost a big pot when Stolzmann made an amazing call of Nguyen’s large bet, with just a pair. Nguyen was short-stacked by this point and played A-5 on his final hand, paired the five, but ended up losing to Stolzmann’s two pair. Nguyen, the 1998 world poker champion, earned $336,282 for 4th place.
3rd Place – Daniel Negreanu has certainly been one of poker’s hottest players. The 2004 ‘Player of the Year’ (CardPlayer) took a beat early and lost half of his stack, but got most of those chips back an hour later against Scotty Nguyen when he flopped a set of Fives, and Nguyen missed his nut flush draw. For a while, it looked like the WPT would get a much-anticipated Negreanu-Giang showdown. But John Stolzmann had other plans. He ripped into Negreanu’s stack when he moved ‘all in’ on an outside straight draw, holding 10-7 after the flop came down 9-8-x. Negreanu, with an overpair (pocket Queens) was going nowhere, except to his stack to call. He was horrified to see a Six come for Stolzmann, completing the straight. This time, it was Stolzmann who caught a big miraculous card. Negreanu was eliminated a few hands later and received $384,322 for 3rd place.
The heads-up finale was a matchup of opposites. It featured the final table’s most experienced and highest-limit player against the least-experienced. It was clearly a showdown of David versus Goliath. Not only was Giang twice Stolzmann’s age, the three-time WSOP gold bracelet winner had been in this spot many times before. One could even argue that the $1.5 million dollar prize money for first place was not such a big deal for Giang, who has won and lost such sums in a single night of big-bet poker. No one knew what to expect or how long it would take for the end to come – but Giang was clearly an overwhelming favorite to win.
But John Stolzmann had two intangibles on his side. First, he was the chip leader – with about $2.6 million to Giang’s 2.3 million. Second, and perhaps more important – he was the great ‘unknown.’ No one had ever seen or played with Stolzmann before at this level. In a sense, it was Stolzmann’s stealth image and carefree attitude going up against a veteran player who could be counted on to make aggressive, mathematically-sound decisions. Hence, all the pressure was on Chau Giang.
Early on in the duel, Giang demonstrated his poker greatness by calling down Stolzmann’s bluff with just a pair of Deuces. If there was any question defeating Giang would be easy, that hand settled the issue. All of the sudden Gaing had the chip lead again. An hour later, Giang was up in the chip count about 5 to 2.
Twenty minutes later, it would all be over. Stolzmann won a few key pots by aggressively moving ‘all in’ and forcing Giang to make some tough decisions. Each time he came over the top of Gaing’s initial bet, the Las Vegas pro reluctantly plaid down his hand. Whether Stolzmann really had big hands or not, the strategy worked. Incredibly, Stolzmann seized control of the duel and nearly closed his stunning upset on the second-to-last hand of the night:
STOLZMANN: K-10
GIANG: A-J
Both players watched as the flop gave Stolzmann a straight draw. Giang had top pair and tried to trap his opponent. But an Ace fell on the river, giving Giang two pair -- Aces and Jacks. Although he didn’t know it at the time, that Ace was a bad card for Giang. Stolzmann had completed the nut straight. Giang called the ‘all in’ raise by Stolzmann and lost most of his chips on the killer hand.
The final hand was dealt just moments later when Stolzmann’s A-10 held up and an Ace-high dragged the final pot of the night.
In a post-tournament press conference, the 2005 JBWPO reflected upon his staggering win. “When we got to heads up, I actually changed my strategy, Stolzmann said. “I’ve played online a lot, but never played heads-up no-limit before. I thought I could get into some big pots with Chau, but he was running over me. So, I decided to get more involved in the small pots. I got lucky on a few hands and caught some cards, then I trapped him (on the straight), so it worked out.”
Prior to this tournament, Stolzmann’s biggest win had been $15,000 at a poker event in Costa Rica last year. But in Tunica, he won 100 times that amount -- $1,465,944 plus a $25,000 seat in the Bellagio tournament last this year to be held in Las Vegas.
Stolzmann currently attends the University of Wisconsin where he is majoring in philosophy. He intends to earn his undergraduate degree and then apply to law school.
“Before this tournament started, I was planning to come here and just play the cash games. I wasn’t planning to play in the tournaments,” Stolzmann said. “But at the last minute, I decided to play a super satellite. I won a seat and got in. Now, here I am.”
When it comes to poker, college student John Stolzmann has graduated – with full honors.
Final Table Started at: 4:15 pm CST
Final Table Ended at: 9:55 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
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