| Jack Binion World Poker Open
Event #19
($10,000 buy-in) No-Limit Texas Hold&'em
Entries: 140
Total Prize Money: $1,358,000
Viva Costa Rica!
In only the third year since its inception, the World Poker Open has truly become an international sporting spectacle. The 21-day tournament attracts many of the world’s top poker professional players, as well as thousands of aspiring recreational players who dream of winning millions in prize money and a rare chance to shine on national television.
This year, the final event of the 2002 World Poker Open, the $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Texas Hold’em Championship, attracted a national television audience on ESPN (which will be shown later on tape-delay) and live global Internet radio coverage. This year, there was just as much interest in the final event overseas, as in the Unite States. Three of the five players at the final table were born abroad, and two live outside the United States. With Costa Rica, Greece, Great Britain, and the United States all represented – the five finalists took their seats under the bright lights of ESPN television, while a worldwide listening audience tuned-in to a live Internet broadcast on www.PokerPages.Com.
The final table consisted of:
Seat 1: Robert Dreyfuss, age 43, an amateur poker player who was playing in only his fourth poker tournament ever. Dreyfuss, a business owner and recreational poker player from Dallas, TX, has never made it this high into the money in a poker tournament before. What even more fascinating is that Dreyfuss won his way into this year’s $10,000 main event by winning his seat in a $220 super satellite! Dreyfuss started off the day in fifth chip position -- with $108,000.
Seat 2: David “DevilFish” Ulliott, age 47, who has won numerous poker tournaments -- both in the United States and in Europe. His biggest wins were at the World Series of Poker for Pot-Limit Hold’em, the European Seven-Card Stud Championship, and ten other major Pot-Limit Omaha titles – including his latest win at the World Poker Open just a few days before this year’s main event. DevilFish began the day in fourth place -- with $110,000 in chips
Seat 3: Alex Papachatzakis, age 41, originally from Athens, Greece. He now lives in Torrance, CA. Papachatzakis, who once played professional soccer in the European Leagues, has two major poker tournament wins -- at The Orleans Open in 1999, and Legends of Poker in 2000. Papachatzakis started the day in second place -- with $230,000 in chips
Seat 4: Erik Seidel, age 42, from Las Vegas, NV. Seidel has been playing poker professionally for 17 years. He owns five gold bracelets and is currently ranked 5th on the all-time money winner’s list at the World Series of Poker. Seidel is both a successful high-stakes player in Las Vegas and a regular participant in the biggest events in tournament poker. His name immediately comes to the top of any list of most-respect poker players amongst his peers. Seidel started off in third chip position, with $183,000
Seat 5: Humberto Brenes, age 50, from San Jose, Costa Rica. Brenes owns two titles at the World Series of Poker – for Limit Hold’em and Pot-Limit Omaha. He was educated as an Industrial Engineer, but has played poker professionally for over 10 years. Brenes started the day with about a 3 to 1 advantage over his closest threat – with $771,000 in chips.
The five finalists were introduced to a cheering audience packed inside the Gold Stike/Horseshoe second-floor grand ballroom. Rows of bleachers, lights, television cameras, and several reporters made the game seem almost surreal – as though the entire poker world was focusing its attention on five very talented players playing for a world title.
Interestingly, as the players came in and took their seats, the normally somber and reserved Erik Seidel arrived at the final table with a small book in his right palm. He opened up the book and started reading as the cameras rolled. The title of the book was “Practical Mind Reading.” Seidel would need some mind-reading skills on this day to overcome Humberto Brenes’ huge chip advantage. It was a nice touch to seize the moment, on Seidel’s part that served to break the tension everyone was feeling.
With the blinds at $5K-10K, Brenes immediately shifted into overdrive. The tournament-savvy Brenes, who had played somewhat passively with his large stack during the later stages of the previous day, raised before the flop on eight of the first 15 hands (his raises ranged in size from $30K to $800K). He won each pot without a single call by his opponents. That put the table on alert. Brenes was going to play “Costa Rican” poker (as he calls it) on this day. Sensing something had to be done quickly to stop Brenes from repeatedly picking up all the antes and blinds, David “DevilFish” Ulliott made a countermove, one that he would quickly regret.
The first major confrontation of the day occurred 15 minutes into play when DevilFish bet his last $90K in chips all-in before the flop. DevilFish – holding onto the 10-8 of spades -- was making his first attempt to pick up a round of blinds. He was distressed to see Erik Seidel call the sizable bet with A-J offsuit. Clearly, DevilFish did not want Seidel to call. But by then, it was too late. The damage had been done. The flop came 7-7-2, no help to either player. Seidel now enjoyed an even bigger advantage – since DevilFish was now down to just two chances to hit either an 8 or 10 to stay seated at the final table. Two harmless blanks fell on the turn and river, which meant the former jeweler from Hull, England was out in 5th place and collected $61,110. DevilFish commented afterward, “I looked down the first twenty hands, and all I saw was 9-3, 5-2, 9-4. I was going to get short fast, so I decided to make a move at the pot. I just did it at a bad time.” DevilFish played a superb tournament and says he intends to come back every year Jack Binion hosts this poker tournament.
Robert Dreyfuss also showed no fear of jamming chips into the pot. Despite not playing at this level in a tournament before, Dreyfuss fearlessly shoved his entire stack into the center of the table a couple of times – each time picking up a round of blinds and antes in order to buy some extra time. Alex Papachatzakis, who was cheered on by a large Greek-American group of supporters in the crowd, also started to play more aggressively. He moved all-in before the flop four times within ten minutes and won each pot. Papachatzakis continued to hang tough with about $300K in chips.
Robert Dreyfuss's four day tournament dream ended with a nightmare on the 43rd hand of the final table. Dreyfuss was dealt K-K before the flop and moved all-in with a hefty $150K raise. Erik Seidel was dealt A-K and called immediately. Dreyfuss was a huge favorite before the flop. But, in the short run, the cards do not always fall according to expectation. Seidel spiked his miracle ace on an A-10-2 flop -- a mind-boggling turnaround that now gave the Las Vegas pro the advantage. But on second glance, the flop was not as devastating as it might have seemed. There were three diamonds on board, giving Dreyfuss extra outs with a flush draw -- since he held the king of diamonds. The turn, a black jack, made things even more interesting – since Dreyfuss also had a possible straight draw. Dreyfuss needed a king, a queen, or a diamond to stay alive in the tournament. As the last card was turned up, the audience gasped as all eyes focused on a picture card. Alas, it was another jack – not the card need by Dreyfuss. He stood up to a loud round of applause by the audience. If ever there was a great success story, it’s Robert Dreyfuss, who initially had no intention of playing in the biggest tournament of his life. “I had other plans this weekend,” Dreyfuss said later. “I played because I won the satellite and was committed to enter. I never dreamed that would turn into $81,480.”
Down to three players, the chip counts stood at about $900K for Brenes, $320K for Seidel, and $150K for Papachatzakis. That’s when things really started to get interesting for the audience. The next 45 minutes of play included a gradual deteriorization of Brenes once-humongous stack, from a high of $900K (hand number 45) down to $575K at one point (hand number 61). The slide began with Brenes calling an all-in raise by Papachatzakis after both players checked a flop of Q-8-7. Brenes opened with a $40K bet when a 2 fell on the turn -- and Papachatzakis, a former European soccer superstar, took a shot at goal for $98K more. Brenes didn’t have to think very long with his two pair – Q-2 to make queens and deuces. Unfortunately for the conniving Costa Rican, Papachatzakis had an even bigger two pair – Q-8 for top two. That meant Brenes was down to a two outs (two remaining deuces) which mercifully stayed in the deck as the $270K pot was shoved to the Athens native.
Next, it was Erik Seidel's turn to hack into the Brenes chip castle with a hammer. Seidel made a move by coming over the top of Brenes, when the board showed 6-4-2, causing Brenes to finally lay down his hand after what seemed like several minutes of careful deliberation. With Seidel up to nearly $450 in chips, Papachatzaiks at $270K, and Brenes at $650 – the poker tournament was now anyone’s to win.
And that's when Humberto Brenes started to take control. Brenes had been annoyed that the other two players were slowly but surely cutting into his chip lead. The body gyrations and head moves put to Latino salsa music (Brenes wore headphones most of the day) slowly became a somber look of seriousness. One or two more hands and Brenes could suddenly be the underdog. Fed up with both Seidel and Papachatzakis chipping away with small raises and presumed blind steals, Brenes moved a $150K raise into a $90K three-way pot – and raked in the chips. Then, Brenes won $100K more when Papachatzakis bet $100K into a board of 10-8-4-8 on the turn, and Brenes moved all-in with a massive raise. Papachatzaikis folded, which seemed to foreshadow his looming demise on the horizon.
Papachatzaikis had played magnificently in the tournament up to that point. Down to 16 players in the middle of Day Three, Papachatzakis thought he had been knocked out when Tony Popejoy beat him out of a fateful hand. As Tournament Coordinator Jack McClelland announced Papachatzakis as the “16th place finisher,” it was discovered to everyone's surprise that the cordial restaurant owner and part-time poker player still had a measly $2K in chips remaining. Then, it happened. Papachatzakis was then literally struck by lightening by the deck when he doubled up in the big blind and the proceeded to take his stack up to $250K in the last five hours on the previous day. It was a stupendous comeback from near elimination to a staggering amount of chips for someone that seemed hopeless at one time – with a difference in prize money of about $117,000.
Papachatzakis had been blinded and anteed down to his last $100K. It was time to find a hand to double-up with. He decided to make his final stand with 6-6. Talk about bad timing. Brenes nearly beat him into the pot with all his chips as he turned up an absolute powerhouse – pocket kings. With the Costa Rican cheering section holding it’s breath, the board was dealt – J-J-10-7-2. The kings held up. Brenes went back to $900K in chips and Papachatzakis was out in third place with $129,010.
The final table was not without its share of funny moments. After "DvilFish" lliott busted out, he walked over to the television broadcast preparing to be interviewed by ESPN. The interview took place near a large table, where $1 million in prize money was sitting in $100 bills. DevilFish grinned and made a grab for the money, sticking stack after stack of tightly bound $10,000 wads into his jacket. The crowd roared in laughter as the players at the final table looked over their shoulders watching their prize money disappear into DevilFish’s pockets.
Another funny moment came after the first break when the action was down to three players. Tournament pro Mike Laing, a.k.a. “the Clown Prince of Poker,” walked up to the final table – in front of a packed house and a national television audience – and proudly slammed $10,000 in cash onto the felt announcing he wanted to “re-buy” to get back into the tournament. Laing, who had been eliminated on the previous day in 9th place and was still stewing over several beats, was disappointed he couldn’t take a seat in the limelight. The crowd applauded Laing for always bringing a bit of color and humor to any situation – even a poker event with $1.3 million in prize money on the line.
As the two finalists approached the table ready to play head up no-limit Texas hold’em, it was obvious that these two great poker competitors have an enormous amount of respect for each other. They shook hands and wished each other well, as the 89th hand of the final table was dealt. The two-player duel for the gold and diamond bracelet had begun.
Within ten minutes, Seidel had made a small run at Brenes’ stack. With Brenes enjoying a slight 4 to 3 chip lead, the final hand of the day seemed to come out of nowhere. Seidel and Brenes both saw the flop of K-Q-8 – with two spades. Brenes (with K-10) announced he was “all-in,” and moved his entire stack into the pot. Seidel (with A-Q of clubs) was facing one of the toughest poker decisions of his life – and he’s had many in his 17 years as a professional. Should he call with his second pair, and an overcard (the ace)? Or fold? Seidel also had both runner-runner straight and flush possibilities – since he held two clubs in his hand and there was one club already on board. Seidel certainly had a few outs, and there was also a distinct possibility in Seidel’s mind that Brenes was making a major move at the pot and didn’t really have the king fro top pair.
The five minutes that Seidel took to carefully think and contemplate his quart of a million dollar decision had everyone in the room on their feet, speculating what Seidel might do. Would he call? Would he fold? What if he folded and the pair of queens was the best hand? Might Brenes then show a bluff? It was a grueling decision – even for Seidel, one of the most experienced and respected of tournament players.
With his book “Practical Mind Reading” nowhere in sight, Seidel finally reached his decision. “Call,” he said as the audience gasped and cameras focused in on the final dramatic moments of the 2002 World Poker Open. When both player’s cards were turned face up, Seidel was distraught to see his worst fear. Indeed, Brenes had a king. With $990K in the pot – and the championship to be determined – the turn was dealt. A jack of hearts came, which did nothing to improve Seidel’s chances. Now, an ace was no good to Seidel, since that would give Brenes a straight. Seidel desperately needed a ten or a queen to stay alive in the tournament. The final card fell silently. A harmless eight was placed softly upon the felt, as if the last leaf of autumn had finally fallen from the last tree in the forest. Seidel had another second-place finish to his expansive tournament career of wins and final table finishes, while Humberto Brenes, the cool Costa Rican, was the winner of $502,460 in first-place prize money.
Later, when asked about the option to call Brenes’s raise on the final hand of the day, Seidel admitted that having A-Q (second pair) when the board showed K-Q-8 was a very tough decision to make. Seidel, who has made many brilliant calls that successfully snapped-off opponents’ bluffs in his storied poker career, said afterward, “You never like to call in that situation – you usually want to be the one doing the raising. But I thought the queen might have been the best hand there, and I’m sorry I was wrong. That’s how poker goes sometimes. You can’t always be right.”
Meanwhile, Humberto Brenes was ecstatic with his third world title – one at the World Poker Open to go along with two at the World Series of Poker. This historic victory now means that the two of the world’s most prestigious poker titles – the World Poker Open and the World Series of Poker – are now in the hands of Spanish speakers. Carlos Mortenson, from Spain, won at last year’s World Series in Las Vegas and Brenes has now won in Tunica. When asked by the large gathering of reporters and a television crew what he intends to do next, he made things very clear. Brenes announced he intends to give the grand prize – the famed a gold and diamond bracelet specially designed for the event -- to his youngest of three daughters. It was truly a special moment for Brenes, who said, “The money comes and goes, but this gold bracelet and this memory will last forever.”
Costa Rica has never had a more deserving poker champion.
-- by Nolan Dalla
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