WORLD SERIES OF POKER
BINION'S HORSESHOE -- DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS
EVENT #18
$2,500 Buy-in Omaha High-Low Split
Numer of Entries: 135
Total Prize Pool: $313,875
Official Results:
1. Layne Flack Las Vegas, NV $119,260
2. Men "the Master" Nguyen Bell Gardens, CA 59,660
3. Toto Leonidas Glendale, CA 29,500
4. Michael (Mik22) Abecassis Paris, France 18,860
5. George Marlow Marina Del Rey, CA 12,560
6. Annie Duke Las Vegas, NV 10,960
7. Denis Ethier Durham, NC 9,400
8. Billy McGowan Wasilla, AK 7,860
9. Scott Veitzer Omaha, NE 6,275
10. Brent Carter Oak Park, IL 5,000
11. Howard Lederer Las Vegas, NV 5,000
12. Chris "Jesus" Ferguson Pacific Palisades, CA 5,000
13. Joseph Brodsky Minneapolis, MN 4,420
14. Emmanuel Sebag London, England 4,420
15. Eddie Fishman Staten Island, NY 4,420
16. Greg Mascio Brea, CA 3,760
17. Phil Goatz Las Vegas, NV 3,760
18. Mark Gregorich Las Vegas, NV 3,760
Layne Flack Demolishes Final Table
of Event #18 and Wins Fourth Gold Bracelet
If the $2,500 Buy-in Omaha High-Low event had been a heavyweight prize fight, it would have been stopped by the referee in the middle rounds. The champ's gloves would have been raised high into the air, and there would have been blood splattered all over the canvass. Ka-boom! Layne Flack put on a stunning poker display on Saturday afternoon and wiped out everyone at the final table -- doing so in near-record time at this year's tournament.
It took Flack less than four hours to knock everyone out of the ring, although the decision appeared to have been settled long before then. Once Flack seized the chip lead very early during play at the final table, he was never in serious jeopardy of losing his chip advantage. It was as though no one could lay a glove on the cagey and elusive Flack.
The Montana native, turned-Las Vegas pro came to the final table in second chip position, slightly behind Mike Abecassis (who is known as "Mik22" online, he says). Abecassis is a master bridge player and journalist who has also demonstrated great natural talent for poker. But no amount of skill, talent, or experience would be enough to overcome Flack's dominance on this day.
Chicago-area native Brent Carter was the first player to make an unwanted exit, in 10th place. He was met on the rail a short time later by Scott Vietzer. It might have been poetic justice if Veitzer had won this event, since he's actually from Omaha. But, it wasn't to be. Nebraska's best Omaha player finished in 9th place and took home $9,400. Alaskan Billy McGowan, who was making his first World Series of Poker final table appearance in 19 years finished 8th.
Denis Ethier, originally from Montreal and now living in North Carolina with his wife and two children went out in 7th place. Annie Duke, second on the all-time women's money list went out in 6th place, clearly a disappointing finish for the high-stakes Las Vegas pro and mother of four. Next, it was George Marlowe's turn to take a hike, and he did so -- collecting $12,560 for 5th place.
The chip leader, Mike Abescassis, was never able to generate much in terms of momentum at the final table. He was dealt a long serious of unplayable hands and watched as his tall towers of chips slowly diminished. Virtually all of his chips (and everyone else's, for that matter) ended up in Layne Flack's chip mountain, which completely covered the felt and appeared to pose an insurmountable edge. Abecassis, from France, went out in 4th place, good for $18,860.
Toto Leonidas won the seven-card stud event earlier this year (his first gold bracelet) and has now made it into the money five times in 2003. However, Leonidas could do no better than 3rd place in this event. He received $29,500.
That left Men "the Master" Nguyen heads-up against Flack. Normally, the two combustible personalities would have put on a classic match for the crowd, with a great deal of give and take along with table banter. In fact, the big Saturday afternoon crowd assembled at Binion's Horseshoe right after the Kentucky Derby expected to see a Flack-Nguyen battle of wits. It never materialized. Flack's chip advantage and hyper-aggressive style in this event seemed to even have Nguyen (a fiercely-competitive tournament player) satisfied to take second place. That's total dominance.
It's hard to imagine a more impressive performance from a single player at a final table than we saw on this day. Yes, he did get a rush of cards, but once he had the chips he went for the knockout punch. Layne Flack's victory now gives him four old bracelets -- equal to Men the Master (also with four). The win was also Flack's first in a World Series non-hold'em event.
After the match was over, Flack hardly seemed interested in the historical significance of the moment, nor did he appear to fully understand how commanding his win looked to observers. Indeed, Flack almost made things look too easy. That's that mark of a champion.
-- by Nolan Dalla
BINION'S HORSESHOE -- DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS
EVENT #18
$2,500 Buy-in Omaha High-Low Split
Numer of Entries: 135
Total Prize Pool: $313,875
Official Results:
1. Layne Flack Las Vegas, NV $119,260
2. Men "the Master" Nguyen Bell Gardens, CA 59,660
3. Toto Leonidas Glendale, CA 29,500
4. Michael (Mik22) Abecassis Paris, France 18,860
5. George Marlow Marina Del Rey, CA 12,560
6. Annie Duke Las Vegas, NV 10,960
7. Denis Ethier Durham, NC 9,400
8. Billy McGowan Wasilla, AK 7,860
9. Scott Veitzer Omaha, NE 6,275
10. Brent Carter Oak Park, IL 5,000
11. Howard Lederer Las Vegas, NV 5,000
12. Chris "Jesus" Ferguson Pacific Palisades, CA 5,000
13. Joseph Brodsky Minneapolis, MN 4,420
14. Emmanuel Sebag London, England 4,420
15. Eddie Fishman Staten Island, NY 4,420
16. Greg Mascio Brea, CA 3,760
17. Phil Goatz Las Vegas, NV 3,760
18. Mark Gregorich Las Vegas, NV 3,760
Layne Flack Demolishes Final Table
of Event #18 and Wins Fourth Gold Bracelet
If the $2,500 Buy-in Omaha High-Low event had been a heavyweight prize fight, it would have been stopped by the referee in the middle rounds. The champ's gloves would have been raised high into the air, and there would have been blood splattered all over the canvass. Ka-boom! Layne Flack put on a stunning poker display on Saturday afternoon and wiped out everyone at the final table -- doing so in near-record time at this year's tournament.
It took Flack less than four hours to knock everyone out of the ring, although the decision appeared to have been settled long before then. Once Flack seized the chip lead very early during play at the final table, he was never in serious jeopardy of losing his chip advantage. It was as though no one could lay a glove on the cagey and elusive Flack.
The Montana native, turned-Las Vegas pro came to the final table in second chip position, slightly behind Mike Abecassis (who is known as "Mik22" online, he says). Abecassis is a master bridge player and journalist who has also demonstrated great natural talent for poker. But no amount of skill, talent, or experience would be enough to overcome Flack's dominance on this day.
Chicago-area native Brent Carter was the first player to make an unwanted exit, in 10th place. He was met on the rail a short time later by Scott Vietzer. It might have been poetic justice if Veitzer had won this event, since he's actually from Omaha. But, it wasn't to be. Nebraska's best Omaha player finished in 9th place and took home $9,400. Alaskan Billy McGowan, who was making his first World Series of Poker final table appearance in 19 years finished 8th.
Denis Ethier, originally from Montreal and now living in North Carolina with his wife and two children went out in 7th place. Annie Duke, second on the all-time women's money list went out in 6th place, clearly a disappointing finish for the high-stakes Las Vegas pro and mother of four. Next, it was George Marlowe's turn to take a hike, and he did so -- collecting $12,560 for 5th place.
The chip leader, Mike Abescassis, was never able to generate much in terms of momentum at the final table. He was dealt a long serious of unplayable hands and watched as his tall towers of chips slowly diminished. Virtually all of his chips (and everyone else's, for that matter) ended up in Layne Flack's chip mountain, which completely covered the felt and appeared to pose an insurmountable edge. Abecassis, from France, went out in 4th place, good for $18,860.
Toto Leonidas won the seven-card stud event earlier this year (his first gold bracelet) and has now made it into the money five times in 2003. However, Leonidas could do no better than 3rd place in this event. He received $29,500.
That left Men "the Master" Nguyen heads-up against Flack. Normally, the two combustible personalities would have put on a classic match for the crowd, with a great deal of give and take along with table banter. In fact, the big Saturday afternoon crowd assembled at Binion's Horseshoe right after the Kentucky Derby expected to see a Flack-Nguyen battle of wits. It never materialized. Flack's chip advantage and hyper-aggressive style in this event seemed to even have Nguyen (a fiercely-competitive tournament player) satisfied to take second place. That's total dominance.
It's hard to imagine a more impressive performance from a single player at a final table than we saw on this day. Yes, he did get a rush of cards, but once he had the chips he went for the knockout punch. Layne Flack's victory now gives him four old bracelets -- equal to Men the Master (also with four). The win was also Flack's first in a World Series non-hold'em event.
After the match was over, Flack hardly seemed interested in the historical significance of the moment, nor did he appear to fully understand how commanding his win looked to observers. Indeed, Flack almost made things look too easy. That's that mark of a champion.
-- by Nolan Dalla
