BINION'S HORSESHOE -- LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
PRESS RELEASE APRIL 17, 2003
Toto Leonidas, Professional Poker Player from Arleta, CA Wins $1,500 Seven-Card Stud Event at 2003 World Series of Poker
"Fame and fortune is not really important to me. Winning a poker tournament, even the World Series of Poker, does not change who I am."
-- Toto Leonidas (after winning the $1,500 buy-in Seven-Card Stud event at Binion's Horseshoe)
The first thing professional poker player Toto Leonidas did on the day of the final was to attend mass at a local church in Las Vegas. He stayed at the church until well past noon. Leonidas was almost late for the start of the final table of the $1,500 buy-in Seven-Card Stud event, where he held an impressive chip advantage against seven very talented opponents.
Leonidas was born 42 years ago in Bacolod City, Philippines. "I wanted to be a basketball player," joked Leonidas -- who stands no more than 5' 7". He started playing poker following his arrival in United States, mostly in the Los Angeles area where he continues to reside. Over the years, Leonidas improved his poker skills and progressively built up a bigger bankroll. Finally, his hard work and dedication to poker paid off when he burst upon the tournament scene a few years ago and quickly became one of game's most respected, yet reserved players.
During the entire final table, which lasted about six hours, Leonidas never once said a word to his opponents, preferring instead to let his cards do all the talking. The final table provided an interesting mix of poker personalities and backgrounds, including players with no final table experience to seasoned poker pros like Jennifer Harman (winner of two World Series of Poker gold bracelets)
After the six players were eliminated, the two finalists traded the chip lead back and forth in a grueling battle for the world title. Leonidas went "all in" on at least two occasions and managed to survive both. It looked as though Peter Rallis, from Monroe, CT might win the tournament that point, but he was never quite able to close the victory. The heads-up match lasted three full hours until Leonidas clobbered Rallis on one key hand:
RALLIS -- (K-J) 10-9-2-2 (9)
LEONIDAS -- (A-4) 3-2-5-Q (10)
Leonidas won with his wheel. By this time, the blinds and antes had escalated so high to $10K-20K that a winning big hand could devastate an opponent and perhaps even alter the winner of the final table. That's precisely what happened when Rallis was forced to go "all in" short stacked . The final hand of the tournament was held 19 hours after the start of the two-day event. Leonidas' two pair -- kings and fives topped Rallis' no pair.
When asked about his thoughts while in the church just before playing at the final table of the World Series of Poker in what was one of the biggest moments of his pro career, Leonidas was quite introspective about the experience. "I only thought a little bit about the final table," Leonidas said. "I was mostly thinking about my family and myself, not the fame and fortune of being here (at the final table)."
Remarkably, Leonidas' first World Series of Poker victory took place nearly a year to the day he finished second in this same event at last year's tournament. But this time there was a different ending. In the end, Leonidas was blessed with his first gold bracelet and $98,760 in prize money.
-- by Nolan Dalla
State of play before final resumed - last 8 players
1. Toto Leonidas Seat 3 70,200 Chips
2. Wing Wong Seat 1 44,000 Chips
3. Jennifer Harman Seat 8 41,500 Chips
4. Rodney Pardy Seat 2 25,400 Chips
5. Peter Rallis Seat 5 25,300 Chips
6. Brian Strahl Seat 6 25,100 Chips
7. Gerald Cheatham Seat 7 23,500 Chips
8. Jan Sorensen Seat 4 11,200 Chips
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