The TV table is set

We're down to the TV table at the JBWPO, and this looks like a strong one. It could also be a loud one, with the mouths of Daniel Negreanu and Scotty Nguyen sure to be flapping. Daniel continues to defy all my expectations that he would come into this event without the necessary fire in his belly to win it. Instead, he is showing that all the accolades of the past year haven't gone to his head. Indeed, we could be watching history in the making. At this pace, he could be putting together one of the greatest runs in the history of the game.

Jack Binion World Poker Open - Main Event - Day 3

No-Limit Texas Hold’em
Buy-In: $10,000
Number of Entries: 512
Prize Money: $4,832,773

1st place - $1,465,944
2nd place - 773,448
3rd place – 384,322
4th place - 336,282
5th place – 288,241
6th place – 240,201

SEAT 1: Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi, Hollywood, FL
Chip Count – 515,000
Mizrachi is a 24-year-old professional poker player born in Miami, Florida. He grew up wanting to become a medical doctor, started playing poker at the age of 15, and eventually dropped out of college to play full time. Mizrachi’s biggest win to date was first place in the Five-Diamond World Poker Classic II at the Bellagio held in Las Vegas (Dec. 2004), where he was victorious in the $2,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em event – worth $274,000 in prize money. Poker seems to run in the Mizrachi family; His brother, Robert, is also quite successful and has several in-the-money tournament finishes. Mizrachi is known as “The Grinder” for his solid consistent playing style, which isn’t flashy, but which seems to win the money more often than not. This strategy and persona is in stark contrast to his rivals at this table, particularly the more flamboyant Nguyen and Negreanu. It will be interesting to see how much he mixes it up with the bigger stacks – particularly chip-leader Chiang, sitting two seats to his left. To his credit, “The Grinder” was dead last in the chip count coming into Day Three, ranked 27th of 27 players (starting with just 37,000 in chips with blinds starting at 3,000-6,000). But he somehow managed to survive and rocketed up to a chip count of over half-a-million coming into today’s finale. Mizrachi is married to wife Aidilay, and has one son, Paul William.

SEAT 2: John Stolzman, Madison, WI
Chip Count – 517,000
Stolzman is currently a 23-year-old student at the University of Wisconsin, in Madison. He was born in Sheboygan, WI and started playing poker about four years ago. He now plays semi-professionally – both online and in occasional visits to major poker tournaments. His biggest win to date was 4th place in the Costa Rican Classic (2004), where he collected $15,000. Stolzman’s biggest influences have been his father and girlfriend – both of whom are at this tournament. He won his entry fee into the main event by finishing among the top spots in a super satellite. He has been able to survive the first three days of the main event – ranking 48th out of 161 players after Day One, and 20th of 27 players after Day Two. He comes into Day Four -- 4th in the chip count. Stolzman is the youngest player at the final table – with the least amount of experience at this level. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to the pressures of playing in front of WPT television cameras, against some of the top players in the game.

SEAT 3: Chau Giang, Las Vegas, NV
Chip Count – 1,406,000
Despite his innumerable poker accomplishments, today’s chip leader, Chau Giang, shuffles around casinos and cardrooms in relative anonymity. Although Giang routinely plays in the highest limit games in the world -– try playing $2,000-4,000 limit as your ‘regular’ game –- he rarely gets recognized publicly. He sits down among, plays with, and often defeats the living legends every poker player will recognize –- be it Brunson, Berman, Baldwin, or Reese. Peers universally agree that Giang possesses a brilliant poker mind and is one of the toughest players in the world to beat –- whatever the game, whatever the limit, and whatever the challenge. But poker is just a small part of Giang’s incredible story. He is of Chinese decent, and fled Vietnam in a small boat in 1979 -- risking everything he owned to taste freedom in America. In a sense, it was an ‘all in’ bet Giang was willing to make. When his ultimate gamble paid off with his arrival in the United States in 1978, Giang began working laborious, minimum wage jobs to support himself and build a better life. He later moved to Colorado and took a job as a cook in a Chinese restaurant. Barely making ends meet, Giang started playing in a low-limit poker game and eventually discovered he could make a better living at the green felt table rather than frying rice. Convinced he could succeed, Giang took another gamble when he came to Las Vegas. He started in low limit games, then moved up to higher levels as his bankroll and confidence increased. Within his first year as a pro, Giang made $100,000 at the poker tables in Las Vegas. When the Mirage opened a few years later, Giang was regularly seen in the biggest game in the room –- often playing $500-1,000 limit and higher. GIANG began playing tournaments in the early 1990s and won two gold bracelets at the World Series of Poker –- for Ace-to-Five Lowball in 1993 and Omaha High-Low Split in 1998. Despite his success, Giang withdrew from the tournament circuit for many years –- instead focusing on high-limit cash games. But he was drawn back to tournaments last year for the strangest of reasons: His children boldly asked why they never see their poker-playing father on television. Giang answered the challenge by winning his third WSOP gold bracelet last year. Giang is now 49-years-old and is married with three children. In a sense, poker has been emblematic of a life that began with serious disadvantages, yet which ultimately yielded immense personal and financial awards and achievement. His prospects? His five opponents all know – Chau Giang will be a formidable force with the chip lead coming into today’s final table.

SEAT 4: Raja Kattamuri, Dallas, TX
Chip Count – 330,000
‘Raj’ was born in India. He is a 28-year-old electronics engineer who now lives in the Dallas suburb of Irving, TX. He is the best-educated of today’s finalists, with a Masters Degree in electrical engineering from UC-Santa Barbara. Kattamuri is also the most recent tournament winner sitting at the final table, fresh off his first-place finish in the $2,000 buy-in Limit Hold’em event here at the JBWPO less than a week ago, good for a $127,000 win – plus a seat in this event. Kattamuri’s road to Day Four has been rocky. He finished Day One ranked 6th out of 161 players in the chip count. Kattamuri had a fabulous Day Two, as he blasted into the chip lead going into the third day of play. In fact, Kattamuri had over a million in chips and was 100,000 ahead of the second-ranked player. Day Three brought mixed results. Good news was that he made it to the final table. The bad news was that Kattamuri took some beats and actually backtracked in the chip count. He comes in with 330,000, which is a mixed blessing. Kattamuri is certainly able to maneuver chips and make things interesting, as evidence by what happened in this tournament two days ago. But the high blinds will necessitate that Kattamuri find a hand quickly and double up with it early. If he does this, watch out – it could be a very exciting final table.

SEAT 5: Scotty Nguyen, Henderson, NV
Chip Count – 1,210,000
The 1998 world poker champion needs no introduction to serious poker fans. “The Prince” of poker has long been one of the game’s most colorful characters – both at and away from the table. Scotty Nguyen has a unmatched style all his own, whether it’s his white leather boots, blue-tinted shades, gold necklaces and pendants, incessant chatter, Michelob-guzzling toasts, or relentless aggression when he senses opponents’ weakness. He’s won four WSOP gold bracelets. He’s appeared on late night talk shows. He’s been in a movie. In short, he’s done it all. Nguyen is one of four foreign-born players at the final table. Like rival Giang, Nguyen fled his native Vietnam in 1978. After winning the world championship in 1998, his life became an open book. It seemed, everyone wanted to be seen with, talk to, and party with ‘The Prince.” Nguyen has encountered the usual ups and downs of the business and has weathered the storm well. The husband and father of five children now lives in Henderson, NV. He comes into the final table as one of the game’s most feared players and is clearly one of the favorites to win. Interestingly, Nguyen was not in good chip position until the end of Day Three. He had an average stack after Day One. He was ranked 23rd of 27 remaining players after Day Two. Now, he’s jumped up into second in the chip count. Side Note: Even if Nguyen loses chips, he remains one of poker’s best ‘short stack’ players. He is never out of a poker tournament until his last chip is gone.

SEAT 6: Daniel Negreanu, Toronto, Ontario (Canada)
Chip Count – 1,173,000
The hottest player in poker right now is unquestionably -- Daniel Negreanu. “KidPoker” has been ‘the force’ over the past year – which includes both live action and tournaments. He was Card Player magazine’s “Player of the Year” in 2004. Among other titles, he won the Bellagio’s Five Diamond World Poker Classic on the World Poker Tour last month – good for $1,770,000 in prize money. He also won his third gold bracelet at the 2004 World Series of Poker (Limit Hold’em). Negreanu was born in 1974 to Romanian parents in Toronto, Canada. He quit high school to play poker full time and beat most of the home games. Confident he could make a good living, Negreanu came to Las Vegas but failed the first time he tried to beat the middle-limit games on The Strip. Negreanu returned home to Canada and was determined more than ever to succeed as a poker player. He took the game even more seriously and began studying. He could be seen at many tournaments watching final tables intensely, learning how to play in short-handed situations. He also learned more about his opponents, including many top pros he would eventually face in tournaments. Negreanu’s breakthrough came at the 1999 World Poker Finals at Foxwoods, and his first WSOP came later that year. Negreanu went through a tough transition when he moved from Canada to play in Las Vegas full time. However, he stuck with the game and soon began writing about his experiences. His column in Card Player became a reader favorite, along with countless Internet reports and articles -- many posted at HYPERLINK "http://www.pokerpages.com" www.pokerpages.com. Negreanu, now aged 30, has evolved into one of poker’s brightest stars, and most respected players. He routinely plays in the biggest cash games and wins the most prestigious poker tournaments. He comes to this final table ranked 3rd in the chip count. It will be interesting to see how the top three players, both in terms of experience and the chip count, adjust their play to each other. All eyes will be on “KidPoker” to see if he can win the $1,465,944 first prize.

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