Tunica, MS - Terry E. Hill might be considered just an average, everyday poker player.  He enjoys playing in his weekly home game in Jackson, Missouri along with several friends.  Despite his love for the game, Mr. Hill has never appeared on television nor has he won a major tournament of any kind.  He is content to spend most of his free time with his family and friends.  He has three children and also enjoys hunting and fishing.

A few days ago, a friend suggested making a trip to Tunica, Mississippi - the site of this month's World Series of Poker Circuit.  Initially, Mr. Hill was a reluctant tournament entrant.  The 49-year-old business owner who supplies truck parts didn't think he had much of a chance playing against so many good players, from all over the country.  But Mr. Hill proved once and for all that all it takes is a buy-in, some talent, iron willpower, and a little luck to rise to the highest plateau in tournament poker.  He demolished a fiercely-competitive final table that lasted four hours and won his first-ever poker tournament.

The $1000 buy-in event at Tunica's WSOP Circuit attracted a tough field of 181 players generating a total prize pool of $175,570. After 171 players were eliminated on Day One, ten finalists returned to the final table for Day Two. The seating positions and chip counts were as follows:

Seat 1:    Mike Sica          31,000
Seat 2:    Blake Hall          59,500
Seat 3:    Jimmie Smith    70,000
Seat 4:    Ty Rundquist      55,500
Seat 5:    Terry Hill           126,500
Seat 6:    George Austin   41,000
Seat 7:    Robert Meyer    49,000
Seat 8:     John Martin       35,500
Seat 9:    James Lindsay  49,500
Seat 10:  Charles Pate     27,000

Mr. Hill started out as the chip leader, a well-deserved advantage earned from several aggressive moves and pots won on the previous day.  After Mike "Little Man" Sica - a former WSOP gold bracelet winner -- busted out in tenth place, Chuck Pate was forced to play a hand as the shortest stack.  He was dealt pocket eights, normally a solid hand mandating an all-in push.  Sadly, Mr. Pate's timing could not have been worse as super-stacked Terry Hill woke up with pocket queens, called the raise, and crushed Mr. Pate's hopes for a come from behind victory.  Chuck Pate, who has enjoyed tournament success previously, mostly notably at the Rio in Las Vegas, earned $3,511 for ninth place.

John Martin had a tough time during his short stay at the final table.  He lost a critical hand early when he missed on a semi-bluff all-in move with an outside straight draw.  The straight failed to materialize and his opponent ended up making a flush.  That left Mr. Martin with just a single chip, prolonging the inevitable for one more hand.  He went out as the eighth-place finisher.  Mr. Martin, a restaurant owner from Kansas, was served $5,267.

Ty Rundquist took a tough beat when his pocket kings were ripped up by Jimmie Smith's A-Q.  Mr. Smith moved all-in and was instantly called by Mr. Rundquist.  It looked as though Mr. Rundquist would knock-out a player and catapult up into second place.  But an ace on the flop gave Mr. Smith a bigger pair, and Mr. Rundquist was left to imagine what might have been had he won the hand. Ty Rundquist, a 24-year-old landscape company owner from Washington State who has played in several major poker tournaments, added $7,023 to his lifetime poker winnings.

Two hours into play, Terry Hill remained as the chip leader. Jimmie Smith would not be so fortunate.  He went out shortly thereafter when his A-7 was topped by Robert Meier's K-J, and lost his remaining chips a few hands later.  Mr. Smith, who cashed in last year's WSOP $2500 buy-in event, could be proud of his sixth-place finish this time, netting $8,779. 

Another hour passed before the next elimination.  That turned out to be George Austin - who was playing in his first-ever WSOP-related event.  Mr. Austin lost a 50,000 pot when his K-Q was hammered by Terry Hill's pocket aces.

That put Mr. Austin out in fifth place, which paid a very respectable $10,534.

Blake Hall was the youngest player in the finale.  The 23-year-old student outlasted all but the last three players en route to a $14,046 payoff.  Mr. Hall was dealt A-8 on his final hand of the tournament and made a pair of aces.  But Robert Meier's Q-J made a straight to the board's K-10-4-A-2 resulting in Mr. Hall's elimination.  That big pot shifted the momentum of the final table in Meier's favor, at least temporarily. 

At three-handed, Robert Meier enjoyed the chip lead for the first time - with 280,000 in chips to Terry Hill's 170,000. Jim Lindsay had 99,000.  Mr. Lindsay's chips were scooped when he ran into a chainsaw, with Terry Hill slinging the massacre.  On his final hand of the night, Mr. Lindsay was dealt J-10. The flop came Q-8-6 with three diamonds. Mr. Lindsay held the jack of diamonds and moved all-in on a flush and straight draw. The bold move might have worked, except that Mr. Hill was holding the stone cold nuts - A-2 of diamonds. Mr. Lindsay was drawing completely dead. The calm and cool man from North Carolina walked away quietly and collected $17,557 for third place.

For the many spectators gathered on the second floor of the Grand Tunica Casino, the last two hands of the tournament were well worth the wait. Robert Meier made a great play when he bluffed Mr. Hill out of a big pot with an all-in move on the river. The board showed three spades and Mr. Hill paused for three full minutes, wondering what to do with his middle pair (he had two sevens, but faced two overcards in addition to the threat of a flush).  "This will either be the bravest call or the dumbest fold I've ever made," Mr. Hill said as he contemplated what amounted to a $27,000 decision.  Mr. Meier had played super aggressive during most of the final table and Mr. Hill made the correct read on his opponent.  But he folded the winning hand instead.  Mr. Hill later explained that if he was wrong in his assessment, that would have been the end of the tournament.  But by folding, he expected he could trap his opponent later.

That is precisely what happened. On the very next hand, Terry Hill made a pre-flop raise and Robert Meier moved all-in.  Mr. Hill called instantly. The cards were tabled and Mr. Hill showed A-Q offsuit to Mr. Meier's A-6 of hearts.  The final board showed 7-5-2-Q-2 giving Mr. Hill a pair of queens and his first major tournament victory.

The runner up was Robert Meier, an electrical contractor from Orlando, FL. He received $29,847 for his excellent play over two days.

In a post-tournament interview, Terry Hill was visibly moved by the experience of winning a WSOP Circuit event.  Not only did he collect $56,884 for first place, he was also awarded a custom-designed gold ring which is presented to all the winners in Tunica.  When asked about returning back to his home game and playing poker again with his friends, Mr. Hill stated that he has plans for the gold ring.

"I'm going to use this ring as my card protector," he said.  "That way now when I play those guys back home, maybe they'll show me a little respect."

by Nolan Dalla

Note: All content in this report may be re-printed by media.

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Tournament Director – Janis Sexton

Grand Tunica Poker Room Manager – Karen Kaegin