Tunica, MS – H.O.R.S.E. is an acronym for the five most popular poker games played inside American cardrooms today. H.O.R.S.E. tournaments include a rotation of these games -- including Hold'em, Omaha High-Low, Razz, Seven-Card Stud, and Stud High-Low (also called Eight-or-Better). Many purists consider H.O.R.S.E. to be the ultimate test of poker skill, since it requires that a player play all games well in order to win. This was proven at the 206 World Series of Poker, where H.O.R.S.E. returned to the tournament schedule after a long hiatus. For more than two decades, Chip Reese, the winner of the $1.7 million top prize in that event, has been widely regarded as the best all-around player in the world. Appropriately, he won the largest buy-in poker tournament in history (it cost $50,000 to enter) and became the world "H.O.R.S.E." champion.
For the first time, H.O.R.S.E was included on this year's schedule in Tunica, held at the Grand Tunica Casino-Resort. Event #7 attracted 112 entries, generating a prize pool totaling $108,640. After 104 players were eliminated during play on Day One, eight finalists returned for Day Two. Bobby Moon, from Elberton, Georgia arrived as the cheap leader – with 153,000 to Yuebin Guo's 142,500, who stood in second place. The seating positions and starting chip counts began as follows:
Seat 1: David Bach 99,500
Seat 2: Andy Alina 53,500
Seat 3: Brian McKain 25,500
Seat 4: Bobby Moon 153,000
Seat 5: Yuebin Guo 142,500
Seat 6: Mike Conti 36,000
Seat 7: Damon Ramirez 15,000
Seat 8: J.J. Joseph 36,000
The first player eliminated was the shortest stack, Damon Ramirez. The pro poker player from Athens, Georgia has previously made it to final tables at the World Series of Poker, L.A. Poker Classic, World Poker Open, and elsewhere. However, he could do no better than eighth place in this event. Mr. Ramirez collected $3,259.
On the Razz round, Brian McKain went out next. The property manager from Scottsburg, Indiana lost to a better low and had to settle for seventh place. Mr. McKain has made 12 final tables at various WSOP-related tournaments in his lifetime and he picked up a very respectable $4,346 in prize money.
Sixth place went to J.J. Joseph who went out on the seven-card stud round. Mr. Joseph started off with a pair of threes, but failed to improve. This was Mr. Joseph's second time to cash at this tournament series. He was 12th in the Omaha High-Low championship held a few days ago. The Gulfport, Florida poker player who has been around the poker scene for more than 25 years, picked up $5,432.
The early chip leader endured a tough final hour. He ran card dead at the worst possible moment, finally going out when he missed a straight and low-draw on the stud eight-or-better leg. Bobby Moon, who works as a granite countertop contractor, nailed down $7,062 in prize money for fifth place.
Down to four-handed, the new chip leader was Andy Alina. One of the tournament's most exciting hands unfolded when a three-way pot developed, with two players all-in. Playing limit hold'em, David Bach was down to his last chip with 2-2. Yuebin Guo was also all-in, holding Q-Q. Chip leader Andy Alina had them both covered with 9-9. The flop came J-10-9 giving Mr. Alina a set of nines. However, Mr. Guo had a straight draw. A king on the river gave him the bog pot, while David Bach was forced to hit the rail. Mr. Bach, a former professional bowler turned poker player, rolled a gutter ball on his final hand but accepted fourth place prize money -- $8,691.
Yuebin Guo's glory was short-lived. He was dealt pocket deuces and tried to steal the blinds, but ended up busting out instead. Mr. Guo, a computer consultant from Brooklyn, NY was the third-place finisher, good for $11,950.
Andy Alina started heads-up play with a 4 to 1 chip lead over his final adversary, Mike Conti. A few hands into the Omaha High-Low round, Mr. Alina got into a raising war with Mr. Conti. Mr. Alina showed kings-full and it appeared he might win the tournament on that big hand. But Mr. Conti revealed four 9s, which scooped the monster pot. Mr. Conti suddenly had the chip lead.
At that point, play shifted to no-limit hold'em by mutual agreement of the two finalists and tournament officials. Mr. Conti proceeded to win every key hand that mattered in the final 15 minutes. First, Mr. Conti won a big pot with 8-8 versus 7-7. Then, he won another big pot with A-K versus A-6. That left Mr. Alina down to just 6,000 in chips. He moved in blind and lost the final hand of the tournament. Mr. Conti won with a queen-high.
The runner up was Andy Alina, who has previously won poker tournaments in Mississippi. He won an event at last year's WSOP Circuit in Tunica. He is also a former poker dealer who worked in the Gulport-Biloxi region prior to Hurricane Katrina. Mr. Alina's payout amounted to $19,555 for second place.
Tunica's 2007 WSOP Circuit H.O.R.S.E. champion is Mike Conti, from Chicago, Illinois. The 73-year-old former baker (now retired) collected $35,307 and a gold ring for first place. Proving that poker is not just a young man's game, Mr. Conti is one of the oldest winners in WSOP Circuit history. He has certainly paid his dues in poker. Mr. Conti has played with (and defeated) many of the top names in the game, dating back to the 1980s when he played regularly in Las Vegas. He has won five-card draw, and triple-draw events in the past. He adds a H.O.R.S.E. victory to his impressive stable of tournament achievements.
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