Runner-Runner Wheel is Key Hand as Michael Morgovsky Wins Circuit Event 3

This was Brooklyn night at Harrah's Resort Atlantic City as four residents of that celebrated borough made the final table of the WSOP Circuit tour's third event here, $500 no-limit hold'em. And one of them, Michael Morgovsky, won it, taking home $47,895 and a handsome diamond-and-gold trophy ring. The key pot for him came with three players left when he moved in with A-9, was called by a player with pocket 10s, and took down a million-plus pot when a board of 5-3-J-2-4 gave him a runner-runner straight.

   Morgovsky, 29, came to this country from Belarus, Russia 20 years ago and is now an advertising agency account executive. He's been playing about five years, learning at clubs, and now splits his poker time 50-50 between tournaments and $20-$40 limit cash games. This is his third Circuit. He's had some prior tournament cashes, this being his largest.

   Earlier in this tournament, when blinds were 4,000-8,000, he took a bad beat and got low-chipped when his pocket10s were beaten by pocket 9s. But he was able to climb back, he said mainly by being patient and by mixing his game up from tight to loose. He also said he is good at reading players and credited a good run of cards for aiding his victory.

   This event attracted 309 players, and the prize pool was $154,500. Day one found 23 players left at the closing bell. We got down to the final nine the next day after a spectacular hand. On the first deal 10-handed, three players were in the pot: Jonathan Hoke and Glenn Davis with A-K and Huong Nguyen with pocket kings. Nguyen and Hoke were all in. The board came 6-10-10-A-J. and Nguyen, the shorter all-in, had her cowboys cracked. Hoke and Davis divvied up her chips as she just missed being the first lady to reach the final table thus far.

   Action now began with blinds of 6,000-12,000, 2,000 antes and 10:36 on the clock. William Lau had the most chips, 530,000.  

Here were the starting chip counts:

Everyone was left when the next level kicked in with blinds of 8,000-16,000 and 2,000 antes, but then the first player quickly departed. Richard "Mongo" Hall moved in for 60,000 with Ad-6d, and Michael Stucchio. making an easy call with A-K, busted him when the board missed both players. Ninth paid $3,090.  Hall, 32, is from Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania where he is a businessman and football coach (defensive coordinator for the Wilkes Barre Sharks). He's married with six kids and has played poker 15 years. He has a number of cashes including a win in a $300 Harrah's Summer Heat event. His biggest payout was $44,550 for finishing fifth in the Borgata Summer Open $5,000 championship event this year.

Forty minutes into the new level, the flop showed 4-Q-4. Holding K-Q, Glenn Davis moved in for 415,000, and was in for a surprise when Stucchio called and turned up 6h-4h. The trips held up, Stucchio had Davis covered and now took an enormous lead as Davis exited in eight place, worth $4,635. Davis, 65, is a retired forestry and agriculture pilot from Creedmoor, North Carolina. He's been playing poker five years, hold'em four. He is married with two children and his other hobby is fishing.

Soon after, Joseph "J.J." Cervera pushed in his last 50,000 with A-4. Hoke called with Q-10, winning with a paired queen when the board came 6-10-5-Q-3. Cervera, collecting $6,180 for seventh, is 33 and a government worker, another of the four Brooklynites. He is married with one child.

Blinds were now10,000-20,000 with 3,000 antes, and next out was Hoke. Holding 9-8, he flopped two pair when the board came 9-8-K. Then a 7c turned. This gave Morgovsky, holding Qc-10c, draws to an open-end straight and a flush. He pushed in, caught a river club, and Hoke, finishing sixth, took out $7,725. Hoke, 25, is a bartender from Purcell, Virginia.

Morgovsky now had a slight lead. He increased it when Gary Reben bet 160,000 into a flop of K-6-2, then folded when Morgovsky moved in. As action speeded up, he then passed the 800,000 mark by knocking out another player. On a flop of 2-9-10, Reben moved in holding Q-9. Morgovsky was way ahead with K-10, and spiked a king on the river for good measure. For fifth, Reben was paid $9,270. Reben, 31, is from New Rochelle, New York where he is an emergency medical technician. He taught himself to play three years ago, and this is his first Circuit.

Moving steadily up, Morgovsky passed the million mark when he turned up A-4 after the board came 2-A-J-K-Q and Stucchio mucked. Stucchio now moved into aggressive high gear befitting his nickname: "Mikey All In." First he took down blinds and antes by moving in and showing 7-4 when everyone folded. Next, he pushed in with As-5s and was called by Alan "The Deck" Goodman with Ks-10s. The board came J-9-6-A-8, leaving Goodman in fourth place, worth $10,815.  

Goodman, is a 44-year-old businessman from Brooklyn. who learned poker two years ago from Ari "Chiphawk" Friedman. His best achievement was winning $67,246 for first place in a $300 no-limit WPT Borgata Winter Open event in 2006

Picking up yet more pots, Stucchio took over the lead. But his rampage came to a sudden  halt with the big pot of the night. Holding Ac-9s, Morgovsky moved in and Stucchio called with pocket 10s. The flop was 5-3-J, and then a deuce and a 4 gave Morgovsky his runner-runner straight, giving him more than 2 million of the 2.5 million in play and leaving Stucchio with just a bit over 140,000.

Stucchio doubled through once, and then called all in again with K-4 after William Lau tried an all-in pre-flop move with 5-2. Stucchio was unlucky enough to see a 5 come on the river, and bowed out in third place, worth $12,360. Stucchio, 36, is from Brooklyn and works for Verizon. He's married (to a "wonderful wife, Mary") with one child, learned poker seven years ago by trial and error, and has one prior local tournament win.

Heads-up, Morgovsky had roughly 2 million to 500,000 for Lau. The match lasted eight hands. On the final deal the flop came 2-6-9, giving top two to Morgovsky's 9-6. He made a relatively small trap bet of 130,000 and Lau, holding 6-4, bit and moved in. An 8 and king didn't matter as Morgovsky took down event #3..

Lau, 38, is a pharmacist from Sewell, New Jersey, who's learned to play four years ago. He's married with one child, this is his first Circuit, and his best prior achievement was a 23rd finish in a WPT Borgata tournament.