Lake Tahoe circuit report: Event #7, May 4, 2005

John Phan crushes the competition in Lake Tahoe's pot-limit hold'em championship


Event #7: Pot-Limit Texas Hold 'em
Location: Lake Tahoe, Nevada
Buy-in: $500 (+50)
Number of Entries: 97
Total Prize Money: $47,045

Lake Tahoe's pot-limit hold'em event, a $500 buy-in tournament, attracted 97 entries competing for $47,045 in prize money. Day One resulted in the elimination of 88 players. The nine finalists returned on Day Two, with tournament pro J.C. Tran as the chip leader. Players were eliminated as follows:

9th Place: Howard "Tahoe" Andrew, $1,410
Andrew's A-K lost to John Phan's K-J when the final board showed K=J=8=9=4.
8th Place: Eric Ford, $1,880
Ford went out next when his A-J lost to Abraham Gray's A-7. Gray rivered a flush, which put Ford out.
7th Place: J.C. Tran, $2,350
The final table was a nightmare for Tran. The early chip leader lost most of his chips to Phan when his Q-Q was crushed by Phan's A-A. Down to just a few chips, he busted out two hands later.
6th Place: Mike Sica, $2,825
Sica started with the lowest chip count, but did move three spots up the money ladder. His final hand -- 9-5, played out of desperation -- failed to connect while Gray made two pair.
5th Place: "Chico Mike" DuFloth, $3,295
DuFloth went out next when his A-9 was dominated by Phan's A-10. When both players flopped an ace, DuFloth declared all-in. Unfortunately, a nine failed to rescue DuFloth from elimination and he ended up in 5th place.
4th Place: Kevin Hay, $3,765
Hay, a college student from Florida, hit the rail next when his A-Q was cracked by Phan's Q-Q. Hay was all-in pre-flop and watched as the flop came J=9=4, with two clubs. He had the nut flush draw. Unfortunately, a club failed to fall, and Phan added to his chip castle while Hay bailed out in 4th place.
3rd Place: James Lea, $5,175
Lea started his final hand with 6-6 and was nosed out by Phan's 7-7. The final board showed A=5=3=Q=4.
Runner up: Abraham Gray, $9,410
1st Place: John Phan, $16,935
The heads-up duel between Phan and Gray began with Pham holding a 110,000 to 37,000 chip advantage. It took only five minutes for the final wave of cards to crush Gray. On his final hand, Gray moved all-in with 10-9 after the turn showed 8=2=2=9 - good for top pair. However, Phan was slow-playing pocket kings, and was delighted to see Abraham's last chip roll into the pot. A blank fell on the river, and Phan became the latest WSOPC champion.

View final results.