Atlantic City, NJ – If ever there was a poker tournament where two champions deserved to be crowned, it was the $560 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event which recently completed at Caesars Atlantic City. Two players Michael J. Morusty (Ithaca, NY) and Luis Nargentino (Queens, NY) dominated the competition from start to finish. They ultimately ended up together in a showdown in what some observers described as a duel that was as foreseeable as it was inevitable. After 23 hours of combined play over two consecutive days, the two New Yorkers faced off for the WSOP Circuit title.
Coming out on top was the elder amateur player Morusty, who was ecstatic following his first major tournament victory, after several near-misses. He is a 54 year old union plumber who plays poker recreationally.
However, Morusty has done quite well as a part-timer. He was the runner up in a tournament held recently in Las Vegas. Morusty also finished fourth in the 2009 Seniors World Championship which took place at last year’s WSOP. He pocketed over $100,000 for that finish.
But this experience was all the sweeter by virtue of the sweet taste of victory. Morusty officially collected a cash prize totaling $39,731 plus his first gold ring, which is the ultimate token of achievement presented to all tournament champions who win WSOP Circuit events around the country.
This was the second of 12 WSOP Circuit events on this year’s Caesars Atlantic City schedule. The tournament attracted 256 entrants. After most of the field was eliminated on day one, which clocked in at 14 hours, three tables of survivors returned on day two and played another lengthy session, lasting another 11 hours.
The top 27 finishers collected prize money from a $124,160 prize pool. Among those who finished in the money were two former WSOP gold bracelet winners, Chris Reslock (2007 $5,000 buy in Seven Card Stud cahmpion), an Atlantic City local who finished 20th, and Michael “Little Man” Sica (2003 $3,000 buy in No Limit Hold’em), who came in 24th.
Final table play began on a Friday evening inside the Palladium Arena at Caesars. Dapper dressed Micheal J. Morusty, adorned in a blue suit and tie with a black fedora, arrived at the finale with a slight chip lead over rival Luis Nargentino. The remaining seven players were outchipped by more than 2 to 1 by the two big stacks. The nine finalists and their starting chip counts were as follows:
|
Name |
Hometown |
Seat |
Chip Count |
|
Adam Green |
New York, NY |
1 |
238,000 |
|
Richard Cozza |
Hyde Park, NY |
2 |
165,500 |
|
Ryan Osborne |
Seattle, WA |
3 |
49,500 |
|
Gerald Wade |
Woodbridge, NJ |
4 |
158,000 |
|
Lance Carter |
Arlington, VA |
5 |
150,000 |
|
Mike Hodgdon |
Charlottesville, VA |
6 |
72,500 |
|
Luis Nargentino |
Queens, NY |
7 |
600,000 |
|
Ed Perlman |
W. Friendship, MD |
8 |
83,000 |
|
Michael J. Morusty |
Ithaca, NY |
9 |
522,500 |
Players were eliminated in the following order:
Ninth Place: An Empty Oyster for Perlman
Ed Perlman, a sales executive from West Friendship, MD lost a potentially huge commission when his pocket 10’s were steamrolled by the chip leader’s pocket A’s. The underdog hand failed to improve, resulting in the final table’s first elimination only ten minutes into play. Perlman who began playing poker about seven years ago was paid $2,483 for a nice effort.
Eighth Place: Being the Short Stack Sucks
Mike Hodgdon, who is self-employed and lives in Charlottesville, VA came to the finale severely short stacked. He lost his first and only confrontation of the night. Hodgdon was dealt KJ in what turned out to be his final hand, which ended up tanking to A9 after a nine flopped. Hodgdon ran away with $3,725.
Seventh Place: Robber Gets Caught
Gerald Wade, a professional poker player from Woodbridge, NJ who mostly plays in private cash games, got low on chips and made a desperate steal attempt to try and scoop a round of blinds and antes which might have given him longer life in the tournament.
He moved all in holding J8, hoping not to get called. But the chip thief was caught red handed and was called down by pocket J’s which left the bandit drawing slim. Wade got no help from the deck, which put the poker pro out in the rail in seventh place, worth $4,966.
Sixth Place: Adam Green Grabs Some Green
Adam Green, who is semi-retired and lives in New York City, struggled much of the way as one of the lower stacks. Down to his last 100,000 or so with blinds and antes rising, he moved all in with A 4 and was called down by A 7. A flop with a 7 all but ended Green’s shot of moving higher up the money ladder. Instead, the New Yorker had to settle for a nice payout totaling $6,208.
Fifth Place: Aerospace Engineer Blasts Off
Lance Carter, an aerospace engineer from Arlington, VA took a bad beat on his final hand. He was dealt A 8 which dominated his opponent’s A 3. But a 3 on the flop cracked Carter’s hopes for staging a comeback victory. This marked Carter’s second WSOP Circuit final table, after an appearance two years ago here in Atlantic City in a $1,000 buy in event. This time, Carter was paid $7,450.
Fourth Place: Former WSOP Circuit Gold Ring Winner Osborne Takes the Fourth Ryan Osborne, a program manager from Seattle, WA was disconnected from the final table in fourth place. He could take great pride in the finish, given he was by far the lowest stack when play was at nine handed.
Osborne was the most stubborn of the survivors and managed to draw close to even with his rivals at one point. But Osborne went card dead very late. He tried to make a move on a blind steal with Q 4 but was called instantly by pocket Q’s in the blind, which ended up cannibalizing what remained of Osborne’s stack. Osborne, who won this same event here at Caesars Atlantic City two years ago, took home $8,691.
Third Place: Cozza Cracked Richard Cozza, who works in sales and lives in Hyde Park, NY finally ran out of momentum late and ended up busting out in third place. When he went bust, Cozza was down to the two remaining big stacks and raised all in with J 10. He ran into pocket J’s, which all but ended his chances of making a higher finish.
The board was dealt out and although Cozza caught a 10 on the flop, he failed to improve from that point forward. Cozza later explained that he felt he needed to gamble in order to get close to even with his rivals. But the gamble failed to pay off. Still, Cozza collected a payout totaling $11,174.
Second Place: Nargentino Strikes Out with Straight Flush Draw
Luis Nargentino, a 29-year-old professional poker player from Queens, NY was the runner up. He came within a single card of victory on what turned out to be the decisive hand of the tournament.
Nargentino flopped a gutshot straight flush draw on the last hand, which double bricked after Nargentino had moved all in (and was called). Meanwhile, Morusty held two pair in his hand, A’s and 4’s, which ended up scooping the largest and most important pot of the night.
One could argue the tournament could have gone either way, with the names for first and second place reversed. But in the end, it was Nargentino who had to settle for the mixed blessing of a big payout, without a victory. Nevertheless, poker has certainly not seen the last of Nargentino.
In addition to receiving $21,852 for this showing, among his other tournament accomplishments is a 29th place finish in the 2009 WSOP Main Event.