WSOP Circuit Lake Tahoe - Event 7
Pot-Limit Hold’em
Buy-in: $500 (+50)
Number of Entries: 97
Total Prize Money: $47,045
Official Results:
1. John Phan, Long Beach, CA, $16,935
2. Abraham Gray, Lawrenceville, GA, 9,410
3. James Lea, Kent, WA, 5,175
4. Kevin Hay, Tallahassee, FL, 3,765
5. ‘Chico Mike’ DuFloth, Chico, CA, 3,295
6. Mike Sica, N. Brunswick, NJ, 2,825
7. J.C. Tran, Sacramento, CA, 2,350
8. Eric Ford, Lawrenceville, GA, 1,880
9. Howard ‘Tahoe’ Andrew, Walnut Creek, CA, 1,410
Bad poker players need good cards to win. Good poker players can win, even when they are dealt bad cards. But give a good poker player a great run of cards, and the end result is a massacre. It took tournament pro John Phan just over three hours to destroy a strong final table, winning his first-ever World Series of Poker tournament. Phan had previously won two events at the 2004 Jack Binion World Poker Open, but the top prize at the World Series had, at least until now, eluded the colorful Long Beach poker pro. It was, quite simply, one of the most effortless displays of poker ever witnessed.
The final table was the least suspenseful of any WSOPC-Lake Tahoe event thus far – not because there weren’t plenty of interesting personalities and big hands – but because from the point Phan seized the chip lead midway through the finale, his victory seemed to be a foregone conclusion. In every confrontation where cards were shown, Phan held the advantage. And, on every single occasion -- his hand held up to win the pot. This was a far cry from the previous day, when Phan was fortunate to make the final table, at all. He drew out on Vince Burgio (who finished on the bubble in 10th place) and then on Day Two absolutely destroyed everyone in his path. For Phan’s eight opponents, it was like trying to stop a tidal wave.
Lake Tahoe’s pot-limit hold’em event, a $500 buy-in tournament, attracted 97 entries competing for $47,045 in prize money. Day One resulted in the elimination of 88 players. The nine finalists returned on Day Two, with tournament pro J.C. Tran as the chip leader. Finalists arrived with the following seat positions and chip counts:
SEAT 1, James Lea, Kent, WA, 12,900
SEAT 2, Kevin Hay, Tallahassee, FL, 21,900
SEAT 3, Howard ‘Tahoe’ Andrew, Walnut Creek, CA, 17,100
SEAT 4, Eric Ford, Tigard, OR, 13,100
SEAT 5, Mike Sich, N. Brunswick, NJ, 7,900
SEAT 6, Abraham Gray, Lawrenceville, GA, 12,800
SEAT 7, J.C. Tran, Sacramento, CA, 28,800
SEAT 8, ‘Chico Mike’ DuFloth, Chico, CA, 18,500
SEAT 9, John Phan, Long Beach, CA, 13,100
Players were eliminated as follows:
9th Place – 70-year-old Howard ‘Tahoe’ Andrew was way overdue to make it to a final table. The Tahoe-area native has won two WSOP gold bracelets (both in 1976) and hoped to add a gold ring to his jewelry collection. But this wasn’t Tahoe’s day as his A-K lost to John Phan’s K-J when the final board showed K-J-8-9-4. Tahoe, which means ‘deep water’ in the native Washau Indian language, sank in 9th place good for $1,410.
8th Place – Eric Ford went out next when his A-J lost to Abraham Gray’s A-7. Gray rivered a flush, which put Ford in the junkyard. Eighth placed paid $1,880.
7h Place – The final table was a nightmare for J.C. Tran. The early chip leader lost most of his chips to John Phan when his Q-Q was crushed by Phan’s A-A. Down to just a few chips, he busted out two hands later. Tran, who won the WSOPC (Rio Las Vegas) $1,500 buy-in no-limit hold’em event, received $2,350 for 8th place.
6th Place – Mike Sica started with the lowest chip count, but did move three spots up the money ladder. His final hand, 9-5 played out of desperation, failed to connect while Abraham Gray made two pair. Sica was one of two former gold bracelet winners at the final table (he won the $3,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em event in 2004). Sixth place paid $2,825.
5th Place – ‘Chico Mike’ DuFloth went out next when his A-9 was dominated by John Phan’s A-10. When both players flopped an ace, DuFloth declared ‘all in.’ Unfortunately, a nine failed to rescue DuFloth from elimination and he ended up in 5th place – good for $3,295. DuFloth has several final table appearances to his credit, mostly at big tournaments in California.
4th Place – Kevin Hay, a college student from Florida, hit the rail next when his A-Q was cracked by John Phan’s Q-Q. Hay was ‘all in’ pre-flop and watched as the flop came J-9-4, with two clubs. He had the nut flush draw. Unfortunately, a club failed to fall, and Phan added to his chip castle while Hay bailed out in 4th place with $3,765.
3rd Place – James Le started his final hand with 6-6 and was nosed out by Phan’s 7-7. The final board showed A-5-3-Q-4. Le, a contractor from Washington State with many final tables and tournament wins in the Pacific Northwest, was out 3rd.
The heads-up duel between John Phan and Abraham Gray began with Phan holding a 110,000 to 37,000 chip advantage. It took only five minutes for the final wave of cards to crush Gray. On his final hand, Gray moved ‘all in’ with 10-9 after the turn showed 8-2-2-9 – good for top pair. However, Phan was slowplaying pocket kings, and was delighted to see Abraham’s last chip roll into the pot. A blank fell on the river, and Phan was the latest WSOPC champion.
The runner up, Abraham Gray has numerous final table appearances to his credit. He also finished in the money in the WSOP main event last year. Gray can certainly be proud of his accomplishment, particularly in light of the fact that Phan was not going to be stopped on this night. Second place paid $9,410.
Phan eliminated six of his eight opponents – and 7 of the last 9 including Burgio yesterday. Second-place finisher Gray knocked out the other two. In every confrontation, when the money went ‘all in,’ Phan had the best hand. Not once did Phan take a beat. After his win, Phan pointed out that he bluffed many times, as well, which kept his opponents guessing at all times.
“I was playing my A-game tonight and the cards really hit me,” Phan said afterward. “My game is very strange. I have a game that no one can figure out. Even myself – I don’t know what I’m going to do sometimes.”
“I think the key to winning is to play every player different. That way, they have no way to know your style or to predict you.”
Report by Nolan Dalla – World Series of Poker Media Director
World Series of Poker Circuit Director – Ken Lambert
World Series of Poker Tournament Director – John Grooms
Harveys Poker Room Manager – Vince Contaxis
Harrah’s Full Service Games Manager -- Steve Schorr
Buy-in: $500 (+50)
Number of Entries: 97
Total Prize Money: $47,045
Official Results:
1. John Phan, Long Beach, CA, $16,935
2. Abraham Gray, Lawrenceville, GA, 9,410
3. James Lea, Kent, WA, 5,175
4. Kevin Hay, Tallahassee, FL, 3,765
5. ‘Chico Mike’ DuFloth, Chico, CA, 3,295
6. Mike Sica, N. Brunswick, NJ, 2,825
7. J.C. Tran, Sacramento, CA, 2,350
8. Eric Ford, Lawrenceville, GA, 1,880
9. Howard ‘Tahoe’ Andrew, Walnut Creek, CA, 1,410
John Phan Puts on a Show: 30-year-old Southern California poker crushes the competition in Lake Tahoe’s pot-limit hold’em championship
Bad poker players need good cards to win. Good poker players can win, even when they are dealt bad cards. But give a good poker player a great run of cards, and the end result is a massacre. It took tournament pro John Phan just over three hours to destroy a strong final table, winning his first-ever World Series of Poker tournament. Phan had previously won two events at the 2004 Jack Binion World Poker Open, but the top prize at the World Series had, at least until now, eluded the colorful Long Beach poker pro. It was, quite simply, one of the most effortless displays of poker ever witnessed.
The final table was the least suspenseful of any WSOPC-Lake Tahoe event thus far – not because there weren’t plenty of interesting personalities and big hands – but because from the point Phan seized the chip lead midway through the finale, his victory seemed to be a foregone conclusion. In every confrontation where cards were shown, Phan held the advantage. And, on every single occasion -- his hand held up to win the pot. This was a far cry from the previous day, when Phan was fortunate to make the final table, at all. He drew out on Vince Burgio (who finished on the bubble in 10th place) and then on Day Two absolutely destroyed everyone in his path. For Phan’s eight opponents, it was like trying to stop a tidal wave.
Lake Tahoe’s pot-limit hold’em event, a $500 buy-in tournament, attracted 97 entries competing for $47,045 in prize money. Day One resulted in the elimination of 88 players. The nine finalists returned on Day Two, with tournament pro J.C. Tran as the chip leader. Finalists arrived with the following seat positions and chip counts:
SEAT 1, James Lea, Kent, WA, 12,900
SEAT 2, Kevin Hay, Tallahassee, FL, 21,900
SEAT 3, Howard ‘Tahoe’ Andrew, Walnut Creek, CA, 17,100
SEAT 4, Eric Ford, Tigard, OR, 13,100
SEAT 5, Mike Sich, N. Brunswick, NJ, 7,900
SEAT 6, Abraham Gray, Lawrenceville, GA, 12,800
SEAT 7, J.C. Tran, Sacramento, CA, 28,800
SEAT 8, ‘Chico Mike’ DuFloth, Chico, CA, 18,500
SEAT 9, John Phan, Long Beach, CA, 13,100
Players were eliminated as follows:
9th Place – 70-year-old Howard ‘Tahoe’ Andrew was way overdue to make it to a final table. The Tahoe-area native has won two WSOP gold bracelets (both in 1976) and hoped to add a gold ring to his jewelry collection. But this wasn’t Tahoe’s day as his A-K lost to John Phan’s K-J when the final board showed K-J-8-9-4. Tahoe, which means ‘deep water’ in the native Washau Indian language, sank in 9th place good for $1,410.
8th Place – Eric Ford went out next when his A-J lost to Abraham Gray’s A-7. Gray rivered a flush, which put Ford in the junkyard. Eighth placed paid $1,880.
7h Place – The final table was a nightmare for J.C. Tran. The early chip leader lost most of his chips to John Phan when his Q-Q was crushed by Phan’s A-A. Down to just a few chips, he busted out two hands later. Tran, who won the WSOPC (Rio Las Vegas) $1,500 buy-in no-limit hold’em event, received $2,350 for 8th place.
6th Place – Mike Sica started with the lowest chip count, but did move three spots up the money ladder. His final hand, 9-5 played out of desperation, failed to connect while Abraham Gray made two pair. Sica was one of two former gold bracelet winners at the final table (he won the $3,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em event in 2004). Sixth place paid $2,825.
5th Place – ‘Chico Mike’ DuFloth went out next when his A-9 was dominated by John Phan’s A-10. When both players flopped an ace, DuFloth declared ‘all in.’ Unfortunately, a nine failed to rescue DuFloth from elimination and he ended up in 5th place – good for $3,295. DuFloth has several final table appearances to his credit, mostly at big tournaments in California.
4th Place – Kevin Hay, a college student from Florida, hit the rail next when his A-Q was cracked by John Phan’s Q-Q. Hay was ‘all in’ pre-flop and watched as the flop came J-9-4, with two clubs. He had the nut flush draw. Unfortunately, a club failed to fall, and Phan added to his chip castle while Hay bailed out in 4th place with $3,765.
3rd Place – James Le started his final hand with 6-6 and was nosed out by Phan’s 7-7. The final board showed A-5-3-Q-4. Le, a contractor from Washington State with many final tables and tournament wins in the Pacific Northwest, was out 3rd.
The heads-up duel between John Phan and Abraham Gray began with Phan holding a 110,000 to 37,000 chip advantage. It took only five minutes for the final wave of cards to crush Gray. On his final hand, Gray moved ‘all in’ with 10-9 after the turn showed 8-2-2-9 – good for top pair. However, Phan was slowplaying pocket kings, and was delighted to see Abraham’s last chip roll into the pot. A blank fell on the river, and Phan was the latest WSOPC champion.
The runner up, Abraham Gray has numerous final table appearances to his credit. He also finished in the money in the WSOP main event last year. Gray can certainly be proud of his accomplishment, particularly in light of the fact that Phan was not going to be stopped on this night. Second place paid $9,410.
Phan eliminated six of his eight opponents – and 7 of the last 9 including Burgio yesterday. Second-place finisher Gray knocked out the other two. In every confrontation, when the money went ‘all in,’ Phan had the best hand. Not once did Phan take a beat. After his win, Phan pointed out that he bluffed many times, as well, which kept his opponents guessing at all times.
“I was playing my A-game tonight and the cards really hit me,” Phan said afterward. “My game is very strange. I have a game that no one can figure out. Even myself – I don’t know what I’m going to do sometimes.”
“I think the key to winning is to play every player different. That way, they have no way to know your style or to predict you.”
Report by Nolan Dalla – World Series of Poker Media Director
World Series of Poker Circuit Director – Ken Lambert
World Series of Poker Tournament Director – John Grooms
Harveys Poker Room Manager – Vince Contaxis
Harrah’s Full Service Games Manager -- Steve Schorr
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