WSOP Event 13 - $2,500 no-limit hold'em

Milan poker pro scores for $382,389 on same day Italy wins World Cup

by Nolan Dalla

Number of Entries: 1,290
Total Prize Money: $2,967,000
Defending Champion (2005): Farzad Bonyadi

Official Results:
1. Max Pescatori, Milan, Italy, $682,389
2. Anthony Reategui, Chandler, AZ, $356,040
3. Justin Pechie, Thompson, CT, $206,207
4. Michael Scott Lesle, Lake Elsinore, CA, $148,350
5. Corey Cheresnick, Coral Springs, FL, $118,680
6. Tri Ma, Houston, TX, $103,845
7. Mike Matusow, Las Vegas, NV, $89,010
8. Terrence Chan, Vancouver, Canada, $74,175
9. Matt Heintschel, Escondido, CA, $66,758
10. William Lin, Denver, CO, $59,340
11. David Derringer, Louisville, KY, $54,890
12. Sarah Bilney, Canberra, Australia, $50,439
13. Larry Weinberg, Aptos, CA, $45,989
14. Melissa Hayen, Las Vegas, NV, $41,538
15. David Chiu, Rowland Hts, CA, $37,088
16. Jay Fung, Boca Raton, FL, $32,637
17. Ylon Schwartz, Brooklyn, NY, $28,187
18. Richard Osborne, Martinez, CA, $23,736
19. Joe McGowan, La Quinta, CA, $19,286
20. Jerry Denicholas, Tampa, FL, $19,286
21. Jose Torres, Hollywood, FL, $19,286
22. Erick Lindgren, Las Vegas, NV, $19,286
23. Chris Chung, Irvine, CA, $19,286
24. Joe Cassidy, Costa Mesa, CA, $19,286
25. Farzad Rouhani, Gaithensburg, MD, $19,286
26. Mark Bonsack, Maple Valley, WA, $19,286
27. Flex Bolotin, Brooklyn, NY, $19,286
28. Sam Grizzle, Las Vegas, NV, $14,835
29. Michael Berra, St. Louis, MO, $14,835
30. Danny Fuhs, Las Vegas, NV, $14,835
31. Jamie Pickering, Surfers Paradise, Australia, $14,835
32. Nathan Meyvis, Bloomfield Hills, MI, $14,835
33. Jenny Kang, Portland, OR, $14,835
34. Elliot Dornbusch, Aventura, FL, $14,835
35. Steve Numoto, Hayward, CA, $14,835
36. Luzhe Zhang, Vienna, Austria, $14,835
37. Timothy Stearns, Burbank, CA, $11,868
38. Steven C. Hoefs, Avalon, CA, $11,868
39. David Plastik, Las Vegas, NV, $11,868
40. Allen Pock, Fullerton, CA, $11,868
41. Adam Harrington, Albuquerque, NM, $11,868
42. Stephen Gin, North York, Canada, $11,868
43. Joanne Liu, Las Vegas, NV, $11,868
44. Steven Cohn, Friendswood, TX, $11,868
45. Russ Salzer, Hollywood, FL, $11,868
46. Scott Fischman, Las Vegas, NV, $8,901
47. Eric Froehlich, Springfield, VA, $8,901
48. Alex Shin, Los Angeles, CA, $8,901
49. Ricky Green, Austin, TX, $8,901
50. Zack Ballenger, Dallas, TX $8,901
51. Kenneth K. Lee, Oakton, VA, $8,901
52. Mark Wilds, Biloxi, MS, $8,901
53. Roy Thung, White Plains, NY, $8,901
54. Seth Berger, Malbern, PA, $8,901
55. Neil Florin, Miami, FL, $7,418
56. Mike Bradshaw, Eagle, ID, $7,418
57. Fred Goldberg, Hollywood, FL, $7,418
58. Daryn Firicano, Woburn, MA, $7,418
59. Quim Do, Los Angeles, CA, $7,418
60. Frank Digiacomo, Palm City, FL, $7,418
61. Richard Sharpe, Henderson, NV, $7,418
62. Kevin Nathan, Roseville, CA, $7,418
63. Men "The Master" Nguyen, Bell Gardens, CA, $7,418
64. Dustin S. Pattonson, Edinburg, TX, $5,934
65. Joel Criste, San rafael, CA, $5,934
66. Kurt Paseka, Bayside, NY, $5,934
67. Tony Cousineau, Daytona Beach, FL, $5,934
68. Kevin Ho, Gainesville, FL, $5,934
69. Jonathan Friedberg, Las Vegas, NV, $5,934
70. Andrew Kurita, Brooklyn, NY, $5,934
71. Derek Dix, Chico, CA, $5,934
72. Eric Hicks, Scottsdale, AZ, $5,934
73. Salvatore Passariello, Las Vegas, NV, $5,934
74. Matthew Ing, Honolulu, HI, $5,934
75. Ariel Schneller, Blacksburg, VA, $5,934
76. Doug Sanders, Calgary, Canada, $5,934
77. Keith Hawkins, Middleton, UK, $5,934
78. Harry D. Scannell, Dearborn Heights, MI, $5,934
79. Garrett Patrick, Aspen, CO, $5,934
80. Mike Brown, Springdale, AZ, $5,934
81. Davie Minto, Alamogordo, NM, $5,934
82. Marcello Cabrera, Visalia, CA, $4,451
83. Joel Nichols, Marion, OH, $4,451
84. Tyler Herdklotz, San Diego, CA, $4,451
85. Jimmie Smith, Norman, OK, $4,451
86. David Raby, Sweetwater, TX, $4,451
87. Greg Violette, Henderson, NV, $4,451
88. Jay Minor, Indianapolis, IN, $4,451
89. Bao Dong, Allen, TX, $4,451
90. Dan Bates, Nacogdoches, TX, $4,451
91. Steve Day, Edmonds, WA, $4,451
92. Scott Bohlman, Homer Glen, IL, $4,451
93. Brian Hub, San Jose, CA, $4,451
94. Aidiliy Elviro, Miramar, FL, $4,451
95. Minh Ly, Las Vegas, NV, $4,451
96. Brian Wideman, St. Louis, MO, $4,451
97. John Hurst, Dallas, TX, $2,671
98. Leonard Demehak, Streetsboro, OH, $2,671
99. Musa Mustafa, Hickory Hills, IL, $2,671
100. Allie Prescott, Memphis, TN, $2,670
101. Dwight Derringer, Louisville, KY, $2,670

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – When Italian soccer star Fabio Grosso smashed the winning kick past French goalkeeper Fabien Barthez in Berlin’s Olympiastadion to win the 2006 World Cup for Italy, Max Pescatori was half a world away madly celebrating. The Milan-born Pescatori was posted in front of a big-screen television along with dozens of his fellow countrymen in a Las Vegas bar, cheering the Italian national soccer team to victory. Pescatori was so euphoric that he was late for another appointment later that day.

The appointment just so happened to be a seat at the final table in the $2,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em championship at the Rio. Never mind that a whopping $689,382 in cash and a gold bracelet was at stake for first place. The World Series of Poker gives away millions of dollars in prize money every single day. But Italy wins the World Cup only once in a generation.
Does karma exist? Some players will swear to it. Max Pescatori certainly believes it – especially now. After seeing his beloved Italy win international sport’s most coveted trophy, Pescatori knew that this was going to be his big day. Nicknamed “The Italian Pirate” for his scruffy bandanna-capped buccaneer-look, Pescatori swash buckled through 1,290 entrants in three days and ended up winning his first-ever WSOP title. For Pescatori, the win was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.
“I have been playing poker for a very long time,” Pescatori said afterward. “I have won other big tournaments including a few on the WSOP Circuit -- but never at the World Series of Poker. To win this bracelet for me is very special, especially on the same day that my Italy won.”

After 1,281 players were eliminated during the first two days of tournament play, Pescatori arrived at the final table ranked third in the chip count. The early chip leader was Anthony Reategui, fittingly one of two former WSOP gold bracelet winners of the final nine. Superstar Internet pro Terrence Chan arrived second. Colorful poker personality Mike “the Mouth” Matusow (with two gold bracelets) started Day Three in the middle of the pack.

Max Pescatori, $464,000, 1
Justin Pechie, $357,000, 2
Tri Ma, $117,000, 3
Mike Matusow, $335,000, 4
Anthony Reategui, $959,000, 5
Matt Heintschel, $116,000, 6
Corey Cheresnick, $249,000, 7
Terrence Chan, $494,000, 8
Michael Lesle, $146,000, 9

Matt Heintschel must not have been Italian. The private contractor from Escondido, California arrived as the lowest stack and went out on a peculiar hand when his ace-eight was topped by his opponent’s identical hand. Four diamonds came on board and Heintschel held two clubs. His opponent had a diamond, which completed the flush. Heintschel’s fate was sealed. Ninth place paid $66,758.

Terrence Chan’s 55-minutes at the final table were a complete nightmare. Competing at his first WSOP final table, Chan barely dragged a chip and went out with ace-king against pocket fours. Chan failed to make a pair and was eliminated. Chan, who regularly plays in the biggest online cash games in the world (and is quite successful at it), received $74,175 for eighth place.

One of poker’s most animated characters went out next. Unusually subdued for a final table, Mike ‘the Mouth” Matusow was silent much of the time and went broke holding top pair (tens) when his opponent flopped two pair (tens and nines). Matusow later complained that he was not feeling well, which perhaps explained the restrained behavior and sub-par finish. Matusow’s prize money amounted to $89,010.

About two hours into play, Anthony Reategui went on a tear. He busted the next three players. Tri “Chico” Ma was eliminated in sixth place when his ace-queen suited was busted by Reategui’s pocket aces. Ma was drawing slim from the start, and drawing dead by the turn. Vietnamese-born Ma, now living in Houston, earned $103,845.
Reategui’s next victim was Corey Cheresnick. The Florida-based poker pro who also holds a Masters in accounting, went out with ace-eight, which lost to a Reategui’s straight. Cheresnick added $118,680 to his poker bankroll.

Michael Scott Lesle was the next player to enter Reategui’s meat grinder. Lesle moved all-in with king-queen suited, and was called down by Reategui holding ace-five. The chip leader flopped a five and Lesle failed to catch a pair. Michael Scott Lesle, who finished fourth at a WSOP final table back in 2003, took fourth place again this time, earning $148,350 in prize money.

Just when it looked like Reategui might end things quick -- the wind blew, the skies opened, and the storms came. Reategui started off three-way play with a 4 to 1 chip lead over Justin Pechie. Max Pescatori’s situation looked even worse. Pescatori was out-chipped by a 7 to 1 margin.

Big comebacks usually start with seemingly benign beginnings. Max Pescatori’s self-confidence was boosted when he made an extraordinary call against Pechie. On a board showing 10-7-2-Q-10, Pechie made a large river bet and Pescatori thought for several minutes before calling with king-nine – no pair (just king high). Pechie mucked his hand, Pescatori raked in the chips, the crowd started cheering, and the tournament ground rumbled, foreshadowing the earthquake that was later to come.

Justin Pechie went all-in about a half hour later holding pocket sixes. Pescatori called with pocket eights. The ground shook when both players flopped a set. But Pechie’s cheering section went silent when it was realized that the flopped six was no good, since the Italian had also hit his pair. When Pescatori spiked a fourth eight on the river – good for quads – the final nail in Pechie’s tournament coffin was pounded. Justin Pechie, a poker pro from Connecticut, received $206,207 for third place.

The final hour of play was a stunning reversal of fortune. Anthony Reategui, just one lone opponent away from winning his second gold bracelet, watched in hopeless frustration as every major pot of the last 30 or so hands went in Pescatori’s favor. Reategui, the champion of last year’s $1000 buy-in No-Limit Shootout, must have felt like the poor French goalkeeper earlier in the day, desperately trying to fend off Pescatori perfectly-placed shots.

The game winner came when Pescatori was dealt jack-eight suited against Reategui’s queen-ten off-suit. The flop came 10-7-6. Reategui moved all-in with the top pair (tens) and Pescatori called with an inside-straight draw. A blank on the turn helped neither player.

Then, the inevitable Italian thing happened. Before the final chapter in Pescatori’s dream day is revealed, it must be divulges that in the Italian language, “PESCATOR” means fisherman. Max Pescatori was certainly fishing for his tournament life, a nine on the river -- which is exactly what he caught, thus making the straight and ending the tournament. Pescatori reeled in a nine on the river, and the blue-shirted gallery rooting on their fellow countryman broke out in wild celebration for the second time in a day. Runner up Anthony Reategui collected $346,040. Max Pescatori won $682,389.

“Nothing can beat this. For me, this is incredible,” Pescatori said. “I told all my friends that they have to watch for Italy to win (the World Cup) and then afterward to cheer for me on the Internet to win here at the World Series. This is the greatest day of my life.”

Overall Tournament Statistics (through end of Event #13):
Total Entries to Date: 14,596
Total Prize Money Distributed: $23,366,125