WORLD SERIES OF POKER
BINION'S HORSESHOE -- DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS
EVENT #30
$3,000 Buy-in Pot-Limit Hold'em
Numer of Entries: 218
Total Prize Pool: $608,200
Official Results:
1. Keith Lehr, Jr. Bossier City, LA $225,040
2. Chris "Jesus" Ferguson Pacific Palisades, CA 115,560
3. Gary Rabin New York, NY 57,780
4. Mark Freedman Cambridge, UK 36,620
5. Jeff Rothstein New York, NY 27,360
6. Erick "E-Dog" Lindgren Las Vegas, NV 21,280
7. Robert Gerstenzang Jamestown, NY 15,200
8. Davil "Devil Fish" Ulliott Hull, England 12,160
9. Fred Berger Slidell, LA 9,740
10. David Alimi Paris, France 7,300
11. Leandro Alvarez Carson, CA 7,300
12. Tom Ferguson Woodville, TX 7,300
13. Al Krux Fayetteville, NY 6,080
14. Tom Schneider Phoenix, AZ 6,080
15. Andy Gomm England 6,080
16. David "Dragon" Pham Bell Gardens, CA 4,860
17. Neil Channing London, England 4,860
18. Peter Eichhardt Sweden 4,860
19. Johnny Chan Cerritos, CA 3,640
20. Annand Ramdin Bronx, NY 3,640
21. Gilbert Gross Las Vegas, NV 3,640
22. Bruce "Elvis" Atkinson Brighton, England 3,640
23. Jose Rosenkrantz Miami, Florida 3,640
24. Richard Salzman Alpine, CA 3,640
25. Cy Jassinowsky South Africa 3,640
26. James "Stormy" Greer Broomfield, CO 3,640
27. Bruce Yamron Naples, FL 3,640
Keith Lehr Takes Off, Wins $225K and First Gold Bracelet
Keith Lehr plays pot-limit hold'em every Tuesday and Wednesday night back in his hometown of Bossier City, Louisiana. The weekly home poker games proved to be great training ground for Lehr, who came to the World Series of Poker for the first time this year, and promptly came to the final table with the chip lead, ultimately winning it all in a 6-hour massacre. Lehr had the chip lead nearly every step of the way in the finale, and not only overcame nine very talented opponents, he beat 2000 world poker champion Chris "Jesus" Ferguson in heads-up play. For the victory, Lehr collected $225,040 and his first gold bracelet.
The final table included two players from Great Britain, one Frenchman, three New Yorkers, two Louisianans, a Las Vegan, and a Californian -- who just so happened to win poker's world championship in 2000 (Chris "Jesus" Ferguson). The final table also included last year's winner, Fred Berger, and the runner-up in that same event, Ferguson.
The first critical hand at the final table took place between Robert Gerstenzang and the defending champion, Fred Berger. Gerstenzang raised $15K before the flop, and was promptly re-raised $31K more (all-in) by Berger. Gerstenzang called with 10-10 and was up against Berger's A-K. The flop came 2-4-5, then an ace fell on the turn which turned things completely upside down. Just when it looked as though Gerstenzang would face elimination, he spiked a miracle 10 on the river to make trip tens. It was an amazing hand that gave Gerstenzang the co-chip lead with Keith Lehr, and perhaps more importantly eliminated last year's pot-limit hold'em champion -- Fred Berger.
The man called Devil Fish went out a short time later when he was "all-in" with a pair of aces (A-x) when an ace came out on the flop. Keith Lehr called the Devil's bet with a pair of tens, then he spiked two running diamonds on the turn and river to complete a flush. Devil Fish was flushed out of the tournament in 8th place, good for $12,160.
Ninety minutes passed before the next player was eliminated. In that span, the players traded chips back and forth with Erick "E Dog" Lindgren making the greatest headway -- from $50K up to over $100K. Robert Gerstenzang lost what chips he had accumulated early on, and went "all-in" with 5-5 versus Lindgren's A-9. The flop came A-9-x, which all but eliminated Gerstenzang, from Jamestown, NY. 7th place paid $15,200.
Next, the "E Dog" took a horrible beat when he went "all-in" with Q-Q, which was topped by Gary Rabin's K-Q, when a king flopped.
Erik Lindgren, the "E Dog" from Las Vegas, collected 6th-place prize money of $21,280, and must have been howling all night long after what was a very tough beat.
The next hour might as well have been called the Chris "Jesus" Ferguson Show, as the 2000 World Champion rolled over the final table and took his meager $20K chip count up to well over $200K. After he eliminated Jeff Rothstein in 5th place, Ferguson doubled up to over $200K with A-K against Gary Rabin. Then, Rabin got involved in another disadvantageous situation when he got heads-up in a $300K pot with Keith Lehr. Rabin was hoping his K-Q would catch some old magic (recall the bad beat against Lindgren), but was distressed to see Lehr holding A-K. A queen failed to come and save Rabin, meaning he was down to just $30K in chips. Meanwhile, Lehr had jetted up to over $400K in chips with the big pot.
Rabin staged a brief rally and recovered to the point where he was up to $50K at one point, but then lost his final hand of the night with A-K. Chris Ferguson faded Rabin's "all-in" bet pre-flop with 10-10 and the pocket pair of tens held up, knocking Rabin out in third place. Rabin took $57,780 back to his home, New York City.
Down to the final two players, the chip counts stood as follows:
Lehr -- $414K vs. Ferguson -- $240K.
The two finalists traded chips back and forth for 30 minutes before the first significant confrontation developed when Ferguson lost a $100K pot when he was barely out-kicked. Ferguson was in the hand with J-8 versus Lehr's Q-8, and when the flop came 8-x-x (little cards), the pot grew to over $100K. Both players slowed down the betting as the board showed a flush, but it was Lehr who won the pot with a pair of eights plus the better kicker. That loss left Ferguson down to $100K in chips, versus Lehr's $500K.
Then, Lehr really applied the pressure, raising and re-raising with great frequency, which left Ferguson low on chips. Down to only $25K, Ferguson doubled-up with pocket aces, then couldn't sustain the momentum and was back down to $20K on the final hand of the night. Ferguson's K-6 lost to Lehr's A-6 (no pair), which meant a second-consecutive runner-up finish in this event for Chris Ferguson. He collected $115,560.
Keith Lehr is married and has three children. His family was back home in Louisiana watching the final table over the Internet (www.binions.com), and surely inspired him to play his best poker, as Lehr kept a picture of his family next to his chips throughout play at the final table. It's not often that a "hometown hero" comes from out of nowhere to capture a gold bracelet, but as Keith Lehr showed, years of experience playing in home games can sometimes pay big dividends.
-- by Nolan Dalla
BINION'S HORSESHOE -- DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS
EVENT #30
$3,000 Buy-in Pot-Limit Hold'em
Numer of Entries: 218
Total Prize Pool: $608,200
Official Results:
1. Keith Lehr, Jr. Bossier City, LA $225,040
2. Chris "Jesus" Ferguson Pacific Palisades, CA 115,560
3. Gary Rabin New York, NY 57,780
4. Mark Freedman Cambridge, UK 36,620
5. Jeff Rothstein New York, NY 27,360
6. Erick "E-Dog" Lindgren Las Vegas, NV 21,280
7. Robert Gerstenzang Jamestown, NY 15,200
8. Davil "Devil Fish" Ulliott Hull, England 12,160
9. Fred Berger Slidell, LA 9,740
10. David Alimi Paris, France 7,300
11. Leandro Alvarez Carson, CA 7,300
12. Tom Ferguson Woodville, TX 7,300
13. Al Krux Fayetteville, NY 6,080
14. Tom Schneider Phoenix, AZ 6,080
15. Andy Gomm England 6,080
16. David "Dragon" Pham Bell Gardens, CA 4,860
17. Neil Channing London, England 4,860
18. Peter Eichhardt Sweden 4,860
19. Johnny Chan Cerritos, CA 3,640
20. Annand Ramdin Bronx, NY 3,640
21. Gilbert Gross Las Vegas, NV 3,640
22. Bruce "Elvis" Atkinson Brighton, England 3,640
23. Jose Rosenkrantz Miami, Florida 3,640
24. Richard Salzman Alpine, CA 3,640
25. Cy Jassinowsky South Africa 3,640
26. James "Stormy" Greer Broomfield, CO 3,640
27. Bruce Yamron Naples, FL 3,640
Keith Lehr Takes Off, Wins $225K and First Gold Bracelet
Keith Lehr plays pot-limit hold'em every Tuesday and Wednesday night back in his hometown of Bossier City, Louisiana. The weekly home poker games proved to be great training ground for Lehr, who came to the World Series of Poker for the first time this year, and promptly came to the final table with the chip lead, ultimately winning it all in a 6-hour massacre. Lehr had the chip lead nearly every step of the way in the finale, and not only overcame nine very talented opponents, he beat 2000 world poker champion Chris "Jesus" Ferguson in heads-up play. For the victory, Lehr collected $225,040 and his first gold bracelet.
The final table included two players from Great Britain, one Frenchman, three New Yorkers, two Louisianans, a Las Vegan, and a Californian -- who just so happened to win poker's world championship in 2000 (Chris "Jesus" Ferguson). The final table also included last year's winner, Fred Berger, and the runner-up in that same event, Ferguson.
The first critical hand at the final table took place between Robert Gerstenzang and the defending champion, Fred Berger. Gerstenzang raised $15K before the flop, and was promptly re-raised $31K more (all-in) by Berger. Gerstenzang called with 10-10 and was up against Berger's A-K. The flop came 2-4-5, then an ace fell on the turn which turned things completely upside down. Just when it looked as though Gerstenzang would face elimination, he spiked a miracle 10 on the river to make trip tens. It was an amazing hand that gave Gerstenzang the co-chip lead with Keith Lehr, and perhaps more importantly eliminated last year's pot-limit hold'em champion -- Fred Berger.
The man called Devil Fish went out a short time later when he was "all-in" with a pair of aces (A-x) when an ace came out on the flop. Keith Lehr called the Devil's bet with a pair of tens, then he spiked two running diamonds on the turn and river to complete a flush. Devil Fish was flushed out of the tournament in 8th place, good for $12,160.
Ninety minutes passed before the next player was eliminated. In that span, the players traded chips back and forth with Erick "E Dog" Lindgren making the greatest headway -- from $50K up to over $100K. Robert Gerstenzang lost what chips he had accumulated early on, and went "all-in" with 5-5 versus Lindgren's A-9. The flop came A-9-x, which all but eliminated Gerstenzang, from Jamestown, NY. 7th place paid $15,200.
Next, the "E Dog" took a horrible beat when he went "all-in" with Q-Q, which was topped by Gary Rabin's K-Q, when a king flopped.
Erik Lindgren, the "E Dog" from Las Vegas, collected 6th-place prize money of $21,280, and must have been howling all night long after what was a very tough beat.
The next hour might as well have been called the Chris "Jesus" Ferguson Show, as the 2000 World Champion rolled over the final table and took his meager $20K chip count up to well over $200K. After he eliminated Jeff Rothstein in 5th place, Ferguson doubled up to over $200K with A-K against Gary Rabin. Then, Rabin got involved in another disadvantageous situation when he got heads-up in a $300K pot with Keith Lehr. Rabin was hoping his K-Q would catch some old magic (recall the bad beat against Lindgren), but was distressed to see Lehr holding A-K. A queen failed to come and save Rabin, meaning he was down to just $30K in chips. Meanwhile, Lehr had jetted up to over $400K in chips with the big pot.
Rabin staged a brief rally and recovered to the point where he was up to $50K at one point, but then lost his final hand of the night with A-K. Chris Ferguson faded Rabin's "all-in" bet pre-flop with 10-10 and the pocket pair of tens held up, knocking Rabin out in third place. Rabin took $57,780 back to his home, New York City.
Down to the final two players, the chip counts stood as follows:
Lehr -- $414K vs. Ferguson -- $240K.
The two finalists traded chips back and forth for 30 minutes before the first significant confrontation developed when Ferguson lost a $100K pot when he was barely out-kicked. Ferguson was in the hand with J-8 versus Lehr's Q-8, and when the flop came 8-x-x (little cards), the pot grew to over $100K. Both players slowed down the betting as the board showed a flush, but it was Lehr who won the pot with a pair of eights plus the better kicker. That loss left Ferguson down to $100K in chips, versus Lehr's $500K.
Then, Lehr really applied the pressure, raising and re-raising with great frequency, which left Ferguson low on chips. Down to only $25K, Ferguson doubled-up with pocket aces, then couldn't sustain the momentum and was back down to $20K on the final hand of the night. Ferguson's K-6 lost to Lehr's A-6 (no pair), which meant a second-consecutive runner-up finish in this event for Chris Ferguson. He collected $115,560.
Keith Lehr is married and has three children. His family was back home in Louisiana watching the final table over the Internet (www.binions.com), and surely inspired him to play his best poker, as Lehr kept a picture of his family next to his chips throughout play at the final table. It's not often that a "hometown hero" comes from out of nowhere to capture a gold bracelet, but as Keith Lehr showed, years of experience playing in home games can sometimes pay big dividends.
-- by Nolan Dalla
