Athletic Club Owner Jeff Neuman Credits Tutoring for Win in Event 3
Final Table of $500 No-Limit Event Lasts Six Hours, with Many Chip Lead Changes
Atlantic City, NJ — The third event of the WSOP Circuit tour at Harrah’s Atlantic City, $500 no-limit, saw a very tough final table that lasted six hours, with five different players holding the chip lead at one time or another. At the end, Jeffrey Neuman, 47, from Glenela, Maryland and owner of the Frederick Athletic Club, won in a late rush. Victory was worth $58,280 and a gold trophy ring.
Neuman credited his win to personal tutoring by Collin Moshman, author of Sit ‘n Go Strategy. “Before that I struggled with the game,” he said. ”It would have been impossible for me to win without his coaching.” Asked to name the two best lessons he learned, Neuman said it was to play very aggressively in “risk-averse” situations, such as when players were on the bubble and reluctant to call, and to call bets such as a short-stack’s all-in, even with bad hands, if the pot odds justified it.
Neuman is married with three boys and also enters Belgian sheepdogs in shows. He’s been playing for 2-1/2 years, this is his third Circuit, and he also has a win at a daily Borgata tournament to his credit.
This victory, he said, was the thrill of a lifetime, and he praised the tournament staff for being both competent and “player friendly.”
The final nine began play after Konstino Peshos departed. He was all in with Q-J against Jonathan Gosnell’s A-J and couldn’t help. Action started with blinds of 4,000-8,000 and 1,000 antes, 38:25 on the clock. Gosnell was chip leader with 470,000 while. Agustin Mendez had only 18,000 left after losing 125,000 with pocket queens against Peter “Junkyard Pete” Damato’s pocket aces a bit earlier.
Here were the starting chip counts:
Seat 1. Robert Jackowski 254,000
Seat 2. Michael Stovall 176,000
Seat 3. Jeffrey Neuman 176,000
Seat 4. Jonathan Gosnell 470,000
Seat 5. Caywood Vanstratum 80,000
Seat 6. Agustin Mendez 18,000
Seat 7. Jose Borges 137,000
Seat 8. Dimitri Haskaris 287,000
Seat 9. Peter Damato 297,000
On the second deal, Mendez moved his last chips in with Qh-5h. Robert Jackowski called with K-Q, the board came A-A-9-9-2, and Mendez cashed ninth for $3,760. Mendez is from Atlantic City and is unmarried with one child.
Gosnell’s lead didn’t last long. On hand four, he was involved in a 250,000 pot with Jackowski. With a board of 7-6-4-4-A, Jackowski moved in. Gosnell folded and Jackowski was now the chip leader. A few hands later, Gosnell took another big hit. This time he opened for 30,000 with Kc-8c. After a long hesitation for show, Jose “Murilo” Borges moved in for nearly 100,000 more with pocket aces, Gosnell called, lost, and dropped to about 150,000
Blinds moved up to 6,000-12,000 with 2,000 antes. Not long after, Caywood “Woody” Vanstratum went all in for 50,000 with K-10 suited. Dimitri “Jimdawgs” Haskaris had a fairly easy call with pocket jacks, and left Vanstratum in eighth place when junk cards came. Eighth paid $5,640. Vanstratum 38, is from Cookeville, Tennessee and in sales.
Hand 38 produced a monster pot of nearly 500,000. Michael Stovall moved in with A-K and Haskaris called with Q-Q. “Jimdawgs” won the classic match-up when a board of J-J-2-2-2 filled him as he took the chip lead.
Gosnell continue to lose chips when his pocket 8s lost to Michael Stovall’s K-10 after a 10 flopped. On hand 50, he moved in from the small blind for 71,000 with 7h-4h. Borges made a reluctant call from the big blind with As-5c. On fourth street, Gosnell had the lead when the board showed Q-8-4-6. A river 7 gave him two pair, but also gave Borges a straight. Gosnell finished seventh, collecting $7,520.
Gosnell is a real estate agent from East Windsor, New Jersey who’s played only a year. He is unmarried with one child and enjoys ice hockey.
The level ended with Haskaris still in front with 480,000 chips. Everyone survived the next hour round and returned after dinner break, playing with 10,000-20,000 blinds and 3,000 antes. Haskaris still led, now with 670,000.
Hand 96 brought yet another chip-lead change when Jackowski moved in with A-8, made a Broadway straight to beat Haskaris’ pocket 9s and haul in about 500,00 chips. Haskaris lost a lot more chips two hand later when Damato flopped a set of 10s to crush his A-Q.
On hand 102 we finally lost another player. Michael “Bear” Stovall went all in for 120,000 in the small blind with Kc-2c. Neuman called with A-J, flopped a jack and rivered an ace as Stovall left in sixth place, worth $9,400.
Stovall, 50, is a store operator who learned poker 50 years ago watching his father, uncle and TV He’s married with two children and has a second in a Borgata Open event. On his bio sheet, he wrote movingly that “I survived open-heart surgery, kidney cancer and a couple of heart attacks to achieve my poker goal of a final in a WSOP event. All is good!”
Two hands later, Neuman knocked out another player, and now he was the chip leader with about 700,000. On that hand, Neuman opened for 100,000 with pocket 7s and Haskaris re-raised all in with A-4. The board came Q-J-3-10-9 and four were left as Haskaris checked out, richer by $11,280. Haskaris is 29 and lives in Bayside, New York. He has a second at a Showboat tournament two years ago.
The parade of chip-lead changes continued on hand 111. This time Jackowski, holding pocket queens, pushed in for about 325,000. Damato, with pocket aces, had him covered in chips and cards. The board came K-9-8-10-K, and three players were gone in 11 hands as Jackowski cashed out in fourth place for $13,160 and Damato now moved in front.
Jackowski, 50, is a former golf pro from Bellerose, New York who is now a money room manager at NYRA. He began playing in friendly games as a teenager 33 years ago and won his way into this event via satellite. He's had two small tournament wins at Caesars and the Tropicana here.
The three finalists took a break to discuss a deal. At this point Damato had roughly 970,000 chips to 720,000 for Newman and 185,000 for Borges.
Soon after blinds went to 15,000-30,000 with 3,000 antes, Borges left. He raised with his remaining chips from the small blind with 6-5, and Damato, calling with K-3, busted him when the board came K-7-5-10-7. Third was worth $30,080.
Borges, 43, is from Oakhurst, New Jersey and in construction. He’s one of the boys from Brazil on the “Brazilian Poker Team,” a group of about 18 locals who play together in neighborhood games and sometimes travel together to tournaments. Five Brazilians are here, and one of them, Eliano Mesquita, finished fifth in the first event.
Heads-up Neuman began punishing his opponent immedialy, taking most of the pots with uncalled bets and raises, and soon moved into a commanding lead, at one point leaving Damato with only 135,000. But Damato fought back, and the match was to last 26 hands. On the final deal, Damato pushed in with Ah-2s. Neuman called with Ks-10s, and the match ended when the board came Q-10-6-7-K. Second paid $30,080.
Damato, 43, is from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He is married with three children and owns a junkyard. He learned poker 23 years ago in house games. This is his fifth Circuit event, and his poker highlight was finishing 83rd in the 2004 WSOP Championship event. --Max Shapiro