Tunica, MS – It's an old cliché to say "never give up."  The chip and a chair story has been told many, many times in poker over the years.  But the notion that a player can rise from the ashes and stage a dramatic comeback victory is very much alive in tournament poker.  It does happen.  David E. Robbins, a 38-year-old mortgage lender from Fortson, Georgia knows the story well.  He lived it in the $1500 buy-in no-limit hold'em championship at the Tuinica Grand Casino-Resort, in Tunica., Mississippi.

A total of 176 players entered Event #5 at this year's tournament in Tunica, generating a prize pool totaling $261,900.  After 167 players were eliminated during 14 long hours of play on Day One, nine finalists returned to the final table for Day Two.  The early chip leader was Kenneth "KB" Blanton, from the suburbs of Dallas.  David Robbins began second in the chip count.  The seating positions and starting chip counts were as follows:

Seat 1:  Jeff Burns                     84,000
Seat 2:  Paul Nichols                   28,000
Seat 3:  James C. Mankowski    23,500
Seat 4:  Kenneth Blanton          142,000
Seat 5:  David E. Robbins, Jr.  110,000
Seat 6:  Charlie Potter                83,000
Seat 7:  Tony Cason                  54,000
Seat 8:  James English              45,000
Seat 9:  Lance Popp                  26,000

The first player departed quickly.  Just a few hands into play, Lance Popp busted out.  The partner in a mortgage brokerage company collected $5,122 for ninth place.  Mr. Popp has an impressive record in his short but sweet poker tournament career.  So far, he has played in four tournaments.  He has cashed in three.

Next, Tony Cason hit the rail.  The Shreveport, Louisiana telecommunications professional ended up in eighth place.  He received $7,862.

The next player to exit was James English.  The retired real estate broker from Florida has previously cashed for as high as $215,000 (at the Borgata in Atlantic City).  He had to settle for seventh place in this event – good for $10,243.

Paul Nichols arrived as one of the lowest stacks.  But he did manage to survive a few hours before busting out in sixth place.  The 32-year-old senior technology specialist and former USMC staff sergeant from Cleveland, Ohio collected $12,804 in prize money.

Charlie Porter is the owner of a roofing and construction company in Alabama.  He has enjoyed some good fortune in poker tournaments recently, winning over $50,000 in prize money in recent months.  Mr. Porter generously gives half of all his tournament winnings to charity.  He has worked to build churches in Africa and does many noteworthy projects making him a role model for all poker players.  Mr. Potter had a cheering section in this event.  But he could finish no higher than fifth place.  His earnings amounted to $15,365.

Kenneth "KB" Blanton also had a cheering section.  The remaining four players were close to even in the chip count, which might have made for a long night.  They agreed to make a deal.  Terms were not disclosed.  However, the players agreed to play on for rights to the championship title and WSOP Circuit gold ring.  Interestingly enough, although no prize money was at stake after the deal was struck, this prolonged the intensity of the competition.  The final four battled for two hours before the next player was eliminated.

That moment finally came when KB went AWOL.  Mr. Blanton arrived as the chip leader but ran out of momentum later in the tournament.  Mr. Blanton busted out with A-K suited versus James Mankowski's pocket kings.  The excavation specialist from Caddo Mills, Texas – who made a final table at the 2005 WSOP (paying $111,500) – earned $20,486 for fourth place.

One of the key hands of the tournament took place when David Robbins was low on chips and was all-in with pocket eights against James Mankowski's A-J.  An ace or jack from the deck would have busted-out Mr. Robbins and likely made Mr. Mankowski into the tournament favorite.  Instead, no ace or jack fell, and Mr. Robbins was able to double through.  A short time later, Mr. Mankowski took a terrible beat when his A-8 dominated Jeff Burns' 8-7.  However, the deck sprayed a poisonous combination of cards for Mr. Mankowski – J-8-7-8-3 giving his opponent a full house, eights full of sevens.  The Florida-based poker player officially received $25,608 in prize money.

When heads-up play began, Jeff Burns held a 2 to 1 chip lead over David Robbins.  But a late flurry of good cards helped to propel Mr. Robbins to victory.  In his final few hands, Mr. Robbins was dealt pocket aces, pocket jacks, A-2, and pocket tens which blistered Mr. Burns' chances of holding the chip lead.

The final hand of the tournament came when Mr. Burns moved all in with A-Q and was called by Mr. Robbins with 10-10.  The pocket pair held up and Mr. Robbins was awarded the championship ring.

The runner up was Jeff Burns, who has made it to several final tables at tournaments in Tunica in recent years.  The 37-year-old Mt. Juliet, Tennessee man officially collected $43,534.

The winner of the $1500 buy-in hold'em championship was David E. Robbins.  His previous poker tournament success includes cashes in Biloxi, Mississippi and elsewhere.  However, this was his biggest payday ever.
   
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