Juanda Express Still on Track!
John Juanda, who has had a spectacular two years, continued to roll by winning the Legends of Poker $300 no-limit hold’em event and collecting $43,560. Last year he earned $283,000 by winning the World Poker Open championship and was best all-around at Legends. This year he won another $280,000 by placing second in the Bellagio’s World Poker Tour event. Juanda had about $18,000 left when he made good reads on two of Carlos Mortenson’s all-in bets to first overtake and then bust out the 2001 WSOP champ. With a massive chip lead, he was then able to steam effortlessly to victory.
The final table was set after Men Nguyen suffered a double bad beat. With $200 antes and $600-$1,200 blinds, Mortensen opened for $3,500 with A-6. Sam Sanusi pondered whether to move in with pocket 7s -- which would have forced Mortensen out -- or muck. The engineer/poker player finally folded, and the Master raised all in for $2,200 more with K-K. An ace turned and Men departed, grumbling about Mortensen’s calling him.
On hand three, Michael Chang moved in for $4,100 with A-K. He was about a 3-1 favorite after Juanda called with A-Q, but a flopped queen sent him packing. The same A-K finished Chris Roulier, a food industry controller, 14 hands later. After Mortensen bet $5,000 with pocket 7s, Roulier raised all in another $8,000. A slight underdog, he couldn’t catch up when the board came Q-5-8-4-10. At this point, the man from Madrid, Spain, who had been picking up pots with modest raises, had a big chip lead with more than $70,000.
Soon after blinds went to $1,000-$2,000 with $300 antes, Eddie Yadegarian, a building developer who prefers the shortened version of Yade, said he was steaming, then proved it by calling all in with Q-10 after A.J. Viado moved in with K-K. Mortensen overcalled with A-9. The cowboys prevailed, and six were now left.
Mortensen’s chips dwindled after he lost a couple more pots. Then came his two confrontations with Juanda. On hand 47, he raised to $7,000 with A-2 of hearts. Juanda re-raised all in for $11,000 more with J-J and filled when the board came K-6-5-K-J. Three hands later, Mortensen moved in for $33,700, again with a suited A-2. This time Juanda had a tougher decision, but finally called with 9-9. They held up, Carlos was out and Juanda had $84,600 of the $181,500 in chips on the table.
The five players went on break, returning to $3,000-$6,000 blinds and $500 antes. It now went fast. Hand 54: Binh Ta, a salesman, tried to sell his 8-5 hand by moving in. Juanda wasn’t buying. He called with 10-10 and flopped a set. Hand 55: Sanusi took all of poker player Mark Brining’s $8,000 with 6-6 against A-8. Hand 56: Juanda made a small raise with K-K and Sanusi moved in with K-Q and lost. Eight hands later it ended. Juanda raised blind and a very depleted A.J. Viado put his last chips in with 7-6. Juanda turned up pocket treys. They held up and it was all over.
Meanwhile, the Bicycle Casino’s Super Satellite promotion has had exceptionally strong response. In the past two nights, four seats were awarded for the $5,000 no-limit championship finale, and eight money spots were paid. The prize pool for the finale should easily exceed $500,000. But this year there are more reasons than ever to play those satellites. First, a Super Satellite points championship has been added, with the winner receiving $15,000. And those who make the championship final table will make history by being part of a spectacular filming by the World Poker Tour to be broadcast next year to an unprecedented nationwide audience. –Max Shapiro
BIOGRAPHY
By capturing this event, John Juanda, vaults over five players to become the second-highest top money winner at Legends of Poker. He now has more than $200,000 in total prize money. The Indonesian-born Juanda, who has a master’s degree in business, returned to serious tournament play only last year after taking time off to concentrate on the stock market. Tonight, he said, he sensed that Mortensen, who was starting to run bad, did not have strong hands when he bet his A-2 twice.
Reading hands and good mental attitude are his greatest strengths as a player, he said, noting that he didn’t give up after taking a bad beat at the final table when his A-K lost to Yade’s A-8 offsuit. “It also helps that no-limit is my best game,” he added.
CHIP POSITION FINAL TABLE
A.J. Viado
$14,300
Eddie Yade
$13,900
Mark Brining
$11,600
Carlos Mortensen
$30,200
Chris Roulier
$12,000
Michael Chang
$5,300
John Juanda
$28,100
Binh Ta
$41,200
Sam Sanusi
$25,200
All-Around Pay-Off Points
1. Sam Sanusi 63
2. Ernie Sebastian 61
3. John Juanda 57
4. Kathy Liebert 53
5. A.J. Viado 49
6. Huck Seed 47
7. Florencio Umel 42
8. Andy Simon 38
9. Mark Brining 38
10.Binh Ta 34
Super Satellite Pay-Off Points
1. Howard Walker 55
2. Tom Vo 55
3. Anthony Tran 47
4. Tim Doherty 47
5. Devon Amico 41
6. Hon Le 41
7. Geno Davis 36
8. Can Hua 36
9. Paul Zibits 32
10.Tran Anih Tran 32
|
