Thomas "Eddy" Pullens Wins Omaha Stud High-Low Championship at Beau Rivage
Part-Time Mississippi Poker Dealer Scoops $33,608 in His First Major
Tournament Victory
*Biloxi, MS (January 9, 2009) – *The eighth event of the Southern Poker
Championship concluded today as Thomas "Eddy" Pullens became the latest
poker champion of the new year. He overcame a highly-competitive field of
210 entries and collected $33,608 for first place. Following his first
career major tournament victory, Pullens was presented with the
custom-designed white gold and diamond bracelet, which is the coveted top
prize for all SPC events.
Pullens is a 36-year-old part-time poker dealer and regular player
from Picayune, MS. He has numerous cashes in tournaments throughout the
country, including the Gulf Coast Poker Championship, World Poker Challenge,
World Series of Poker, and World Poker Tour. His highest previous finish up
to this time had been third place a few months ago in an event at the
Mid-American Classic.
This was the only Omaha High-Low Split tournament on this year's
schedule. The competition was played over two consecutive days. Only the
top 18 finishers collected prize money – with $101,850 up for grabs. Amongst
them, finishing in 15th place was well-known poker pro Brent Carter. All
the action took place in the tournament ballroom inside Beau Rivage Resort &
Casino.
Omaha High-Low Split usually attracts a more experienced poker crowd than
other events. In fact, all of the ten finalists were aged 36 and higher
(unusual on today's poker scene). Players who play the game regularly
justify their enthusiasm for Omaha by saying they seem to have more control
over the luck factor, as opposed to games like No-Limit Hold'em were bad
beats seem to be commonplace. That being said, it was no surprise that this
event turned into one of the longer tournaments on the schedule. It took 14
hours on day one to play down to 16 players. Another three hours passed
before the final table of ten players was set. Then, the final table
clocked in at another four hours – making the total duration 21 hours.
The final table started off with Tom Spigel (with 270K) holding a slight
chip lead over Richard Pilchman (with 234K). The rest of the table each had
190K or less each in chips. Players were eliminated in the following order:
* *
*10th Place – *Danny Hofer, a retired police officer from the Bronx, NY, was
the first player to bust out. He had been low on chips during most of day
two and settled for a respectable payout totaling $1,426 for tenth
place. Hofer
has previously made a number of final tables, most notably in Atlantic City
and Foxwoods.
*9th Place –* Michael Steckler was the shortest stack at the table. Left
with barely enough chips to post a blind, he went out in a multi-way pot and
ended up finishing ninth. Steckler, who is retired and lives in Florida,
collected $2,037 in prize money.
*8th Place –* Annie Lu was the fourth female player to make it to a final
table at this year's SPC series. However, she ran into a bit of bad luck
late as she lost two big pots and ended up finishing in eighth place. The
Las Vegas lady picked up $3,056 in cash.
*7th Place –* Bobby "the Bus" Ferdinand got run over late in the tournament
when he moved his last chips into the pot with A-3-x-x- and missed each of
his draws. The low draw missed and the flush draw missed. Bob Selman's
A-A-x-x dragged the sizable pot and put "the Bus" into a ditch. Ferdinand,
who lives in Massachusetts and got his nickname as a former bus driver,
received $4,074 for seventh place. Ferdinand now has 17 cashes at World
Poker Tour-related events.
*6th Place –* Randy Holland was making his second final table appearance at
this year's SPC series. The poker pro went out in sixth place when he
flopped a pair along with a low draw and then watched as opponent Roger T.
Smith turned a set of jacks and completed a full house on the river. Holland,
the owner of two WSOP victories, added $5,093 to his career winnings, which
now exceed $2.5 million.
*5th Place –* Tom Spigel won his way into this event by investing just $65
in a single-table satellite. He made it all the way to fifth place but
ultimately busted out when his flopped two pair lost to a flush. Spigel had
the best hand when his last chips went in after the flop, with his pairs and
a low draw. But the low was counterfeited and a flush took the high
end. Spigel,
the owner of several ladies retail stores, was paid $6,111.
*4th Place –* Bob Selman was another single-table satellite winner who
bought in with just $65 and parlayed his modest investment into something
bigger. He went out in fourth place after getting low on chips and making a
pair of kings along with a weak eight-low. He lost to a pair of aces and a
seven-low, which scooped the pot. Selman, who is 74-years-old and lives in
Florida, picked up $8,148 for his impressive finish.
*3rd Place – *Richard J. Pilchman had been one of the bigger stacks most of
the day, but he ultimately ran out of ammunition and busted out in third
place. Pilchman flopped a set on his final hand. But he lost to Roger T.
Smith's ace-high straight (along with a low). Pilchman, the former winner
of a WSOP Circuit event in Tunica along with several other in-the-money
finishes, collected $10,185 for third place.
*2nd Place –* When heads-up play began, Thomas "Eddy" Pullens enjoyed a 2 to
1 chip lead over Roger T. Smith. On the final hand of the tournament, Smith
flopped a jack-high spade flush. He had no low. Pullens didn't make a low
hand either. But he had flopped a king-high flush, which left Smith drawing
dead. The tournament was over, with Pullens as its victor. Roger T. Smith
could not be too disappointed, however. He started off as the shortest
stack at the final table and made it all the way to second place, which paid
$18,537.
*1st Place –* Thomas "Eddy" Pullens has numerous cashes on his poker
tournament resume. But this was his first time to make it to an Omaha
High-Low Split final table. He now has more than $100,000 in tournament
winnings, all since 2005. Pullens deals poker a few days a week at a nearby
casino in Biloxi.
Through the end of the Omaha High-Low tournament, a combined 2,783 players
have now entered the seven events played at this year's SPC. With this
event, the total payout has been $1,217,060 in prize money paid out to
winners.
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