Event #1: No-Limit Texas Hold 'em
Location: Lake Tahoe, Nevada
Buy-in: $200 (+25)
Number of Entries: 542
Total Prize Money: $105,148
A whopping 542 players entered the $225 buy-in no-limit hold'em event. Play on Day One lasted 12 hours. 497 players left the cardroom with a bad beat story, while places 10 through 45 received prize money ranging from $315 up to $1,155. The nine finalists returned for Day Two, with Tony Prestigiacomo from nearby Genoa, NV holding a decisive 2 to 1 chip lead over his closest rival. On Thursday, April 28, the final table was played in front of a packed standing-room only gallery adjacent to the Hard Rock Café on the second floor at Harveys Lake Tahoe. Players were eliminated as follows:
9th Place: Don Mullis, $2,105
Mullis arrived with the second-lowest chip count and his final table stay lasted only a few hands.
8th Place: Hien Le, $3,155
Le made it past 535 players, an impressive feat, but could not crack the final seven.
7th Place: Jeff Bond, $4,205
Bond hoped to double-up and challenge for the chip lead, but he lost a coin-flip hand and was busted. His final hand, 5-5, lost to John Buchanan's A-K when an Ace flopped.
6th Place: Kevin Kanemasu, $5,255
Kanemasu was third in chips at one point, but took a tough beat on his final hand. He started out with Q-Q and it looked like he might win a big pot when Buchanan (with 7-5) flopped a smaller pair. But Buchanan caught a second pair on the turn and made two pair with 7s and 5s, eliminating Kanemasu.
5th Place: John Buchanan, $6,310
After eliminating two players, it was Buchanan's turn to experience the bitter sting of defeat. He tried to make a move at the wrong time and missed making a straight. Ron Collins, with a pair, busted Buchanan.
4th Place: Ron Collins, $7,360
Collins made an impressive leap up in the money standings. Lowest in chips coming into the finale, Collins jumped up five places and finally went out in 4th place. On his final hand, he was dealt A-Q and moved all-in versus Jody Thompson's 10-10. The board failed to connect for Collins, and he was eliminated.
3rd Place: Jody Thompson, $8,410
Despite a nice payday, the final result had to be disappointing for Thompson. He seized the chip lead away from Tony Prestigiacomo about midway through the finale and appeared to be in good position to earn his first major tournament victory. But disaster struck in the final 15 minutes of play, and Thompson's stack was depleted. His final hand of the night was particularly brutal. Thompson (with A-9) called an all-in raise by Prestigiacomo (with Q-J). The flop came 10-9-4. Thompson had flopped a pair, but Prestigiacomo still had plenty of outs with two overcards and a straight draw. Then, an eight fell on the river, completing the dreaded straight and crushing Thompson's hopes of doubling-up into a big chip lead.
Runner up: Steven Lunn, $16,940
1st Place: Tony Prestigiacomo, $31,563
The heads-up duel between Prestigiacomo and Lunn began with the early chip-leader holding a 3 to 1 chip advantage - 404,000 to 139,000 - and lasted for about 20 minutes. With blinds escalating, any pair was strong enough to commit a full stack. Fittingly, on the final hand of the tournament, both players were dealt pocket pairs - Prestigiacomo's 6-6 versus Lunn's 4-4. The flop showed Q-Q-6, giving Prestigiacomo a full house. That blow essentially left Lunn drawing dead and put an exclamation point to an event filled with several exciting moments, at least one inspiring comeback, and a convincing victory for the tournament winner.
View final results.