Stateline, NV—Anthony Dye is a 22-year-old from Anchorage, Alaska who owns a snowplow and landscaping company.
Since poker is illegal in his state, all he had ever played was some small $20 buy-in home game tournaments.
Anxious to get a taste of WSOP action, he made the 5,000-mile flight with three home-game buddies to the current Circuit stop, Harveys Lake Tahoe.
It was his first major tournament, his first time in any casino, and even his first time on a plane. He was just hoping to make the final table, and to his utter astonishment and delight, ended up winning event #2, $300 no-limit hold’em.
First place officially paid $26,373. Dye came to the final table with a big chip lead, lost it to Alan Rosenson, who dominated the table in the later stages, then got it back in a dramatic turnaround just before this event ended.
This tourney attracted 348 players vying for a $101,268 prize pool. The second-day final table started with blinds of 4,000-8,000 and 1,000 antes, 9 minutes left on the clock. With 646,000 in chips, nearly three times average, Dye was well in front.
9th place: With blinds at 5,000-10,000, Jason “Taco” Ortiz went all in with A-5 against Dye’s K-Q. The flop came 10-10-8. but then Dye rang Taco’s bell when a king turned, leaving him in 9th place, paying $1,722. Ortiz is 27, from Austin, Texas and has been playing five years.
8th place: After a break, action resumed with blinds of 8,000-16,000 and 2,000 antes. On a flop of Ah-4h-2d, Brian Graham,, holding 10h-9h for a flush draw, moved in and was called by Rosenson. The turn brought the 2h, giving Graham his flush. Unfortunately for him, Rosenson held Qh-Jh, giving him a bigger flush, and Graham was drawing dead. Eighth paid him $2,380.
Graham, 30, is in construction sales in Sacramento, California. He’s played 18 years, learning from Mike”The Master” Martinez. He has a couple of wins at the Pot of Gold tournaments at the Peppermill in Reno.
7th place: Rosenson now had the chip lead. Next out, on a dramatic hand, was John Rogers. Down to 25,000, he moved in with two red 9s. Rosenson, with Ah-Ks, raised and got heads-up. The flop brought As-3s-9s, giving Rogers a set and Rosenson a flush draw. The turn card was a 6s, giving Rosenson his second flush in a row, and when a river 5h failed to fill Rogers, he went out in seventh place, paying $3,190. Rosenson, meanwhile, increased his lead to 678,000 chips. Rogers, 48, is from Atwater, California and owns a car wash. He started playing in cardrooms three years ago.
6th place: We were playing now with 10,000-20,000 blinds and 2,000 antes. In this round, Ryan “Gusty” Gustineau moved in for 118,000 with Ac-10c. Todd Wilson called with his remaining chips holding Qs-Kh. When the board came A-J-8-5-8, Wilson cashed sixth for $4,253. Wilson, 42, is a mortgage Broker from Granite Bay, California who has been playing four years
5th place: Not long after, Damon Witt, down to 63,000, went all in with pocket deuces. Rosenson saw him with Js-8d. Rosenson flushed when four diamonds hit the board and Witt hit the road, cashing fifth for $5,367. Witt, 40, is a product development manager from Roseville, California who started playing in home games five years ago. His prior poker highlight was winning the Sacramento City Classic. He is also a professional bass fisherman.
After more action, Rosenson had 898,000 chips, followed by Dye, 656,000: Gustineau, 308,000; and Ed Yang, 240,000.
That was all about to change dramatically.
4th place: A couple of hands later, Dye doubled through Rosenson with pocket queens against jacks. He now had the lead while Rosenson suddenly was very short-chipped. Right after that, Rosenson was in the big blind and went all in for 31,000. Gustineau and Yang called. When the flop came Q-K-2, Yang moved in holding K-2 for two pair. Rosenson had 7-4 and the best he could do was pair his four as he finished a disappointing fourth, paying $7,190.
Rosenson is a 45-year-old investor from Chicago who’s been playing 20 years, learning “by losing often.” He also enjoys tennis.and reading.
3rd place: Yang took third in the deal, which officially paid $10,684. Yang, 65, comes from Shanghai, China and now lives in Livermore, California.
A man of many accomplishments, he is a retired school teacher, currently a part-time poker room tournament director, a chess tournament director and a large animal (elephant) intern trainer at the Oakland Zoo. He also finds time for poker, which he learned from his dad at age 6, playing seriously for seven years.
Among Yang’s many cashes are a 77th out of 2,707 entrants at this year’s WSOP Seniors event and a $500 Circuit win here last year.
2nd place: Gustineau took second, which had a posted payout of $15,950. Gustineau, 25, works for his family business in Woodland, California. He’s played four years, learning from TV and playing in a local casino. He also likes baseball and music
1st place: So how did Dye like his WSOP Circuit experience? “It was more than I ever dreamed of,” he said excitedly. “This was the best week of my life.”
He plans to play as many more Harveys events here as he can, and would love to play tournaments full time, but his business obligations prevent that. Dye, who’s only been playing three years, credited his win tonight to self-discipline that kept him playing only good hands.
–Max Shapiro