Thursday, August 24, 2006

EVENT #22 RESULTS

MARIANI/BUSS NO LIMIT HOLD’EM
$1,500 + $80
$249,000 PRIZE POOL
166 ENTRIES

Jon Peck Wins Mariani/Buss No Limit Hold’em

Event #22, the Mariani/Buss No Limit Hold’em, attracted 166 players who paid $1,500
into the prize pool of which $150 went to the Laker Youth Foundation. The total prize
pool was $249,000 and $24,900 was designated for the foundation. A top-shelf cocktail
party preceded the tournament. Fresh sushi, crab legs, shrimp, and tables full of assorted
food was served. The dessert table had a vast assortment of bite size treats, so one could
indulge in several goodies to top off the meal. Enough of food and drink, let’s get down
to poker.
“The structure on this event is great!” said one player who had amassed the chip lead
with four tables to go. Unfortunately, I didn’t get his name, thinking he would be a shoe
in for the final table. He tried to extend his lead, several times actually, and in No Limit
Hold’em, that can have disastrous consequences if all does not go right. The event’s
biggest fan busted out with three tables to go. I didn’t approach him this time for two
reasons: 1) I don’t want to hear another bad beat story that typically isn’t a bad beat and
2) If I got another quote from him, the language would probably not be suited for print.
The 10-handed final table got underway at 2am. The players were in the middle of Level
9, with an ante of $200 and blinds of $600/$1,200. It took exactly four hands before our
first player of the final table was eliminated.
On hand #4, John Hearn, Jr. raised $8,000 preflop and got re-raised $20,000 more from
Gioi Luong. John went all-in and Gioi, having John covered called. John showed an A-
Q and Gioi had John dominated with A-K. The flop was 3-10-K and Gioi increased his
lead. The turn 6 and river 10 did not complete John’s straight and Gioi took the pot.
John Hearn, Jr. finished in 10th place and earned $3,365.
On the very next hand, hand #5, Jon Peck raised preflop and Alan Daniels, frequent cash
game player and regular on “Live at the Bike”, re-raised all-in for his last $12,700. John
called and showed Ks-Q. Alan, who picked his spot with two black 5s, was the slight
favorite going into the flop. The flop was 2s-9s-Qs, Alan lost the lead and needed to hit
his two-outer to win. The turn was the Ace of spades and Alan was drawing dead. The
river was an inconsequential offsuit 3. Alan Daniels finished in 9th place and earned
$3,920.
 The last hand of the match was hand #14, when Jon Peck raised preflop and Candice
Vaughn called from the button. The flop was 6-7-Q and Jon fired out $5,500, Candice
minimum re-raised to $11,000, Jon called. The turn was a 6 and the action went check-
check. The river King got all the money in, and Candice showed her A-K for top pair-top
kicker but Jon flipped his pocket 6s. Jon turned QUAD Sixes and takes down the pot.
Candice Vaughn finished in 8th place and earned $4,480.
That was the last hand at that level as the blinds and antes increase, the remaining 7
players discuss a chip count deal. The chip count calculation came back and the
negotiations were in full gear. Jon Peck, an internet business owner, took control of the
negotiations and Spiderman, identifying the opportunity, squeezed the table for additional
cash. After about 20 minutes without consensus, Jon tried again to find terms that
everyone could agree on. When it looked futile, he somehow got everyone to agree and
the event ended. Jon Peck was declared the winner. To Jon’s credit, it was obvious that
Jon was more interested in getting cash equity for the 7 remaining players (including
himself), and was not concerned about locking up the win. Each player was eventually
satisfied with the payout in the end. If I ever need a contract negotiator in the future, I’m
getting Jon on my team. Good work Jon and congrats to all 7 of the final table players
for making a very profitable deal.
-Jay “Bugsy” Siegel

BIOGRRAPHY
Jon Peck has been playing poker for 15 years but has played serious poker for the last 3
years. John owns an internet-based business and uses his business skills at the poker
table and his poker skills in the boardroom. Jon is originally from South Africa but grew
up in Southern California. Jon’s most recent win, prior to the Legends, was at Bellagio in
Las Vegas where 1st place paid $21,535. Jon also placed 4th in the Mini Series here at
The Bicycle Casino, in 7-Card Stud. Jon wants to personally thank Frank Mariani and
Jerry Buss for making this a charity event and Jon has played in this event for 2 years
now and plans on playing it as long as it continues. He is proud to support the Lakers
Youth Foundation and encourages other organization to combine poker with charity.

CHIP COUNTS ENTERING FINAL TABLE

Seat 1. Gioi Luong $ 54,600
Seat 2. Jon Peck $ 62,500
Seat 3 Roland Weedon $ 34,800
Seat 4. Albert Farajian $ 48,300
Seat 5. Spiderman $ 90,300
Seat 6. Alan Daniels $ 17,900
Seat 7. Candice Vaughn $ 29,000
Seat 8. Rocky Enciso $ 43,800
Seat 9. Thung Huynh $ 78,800
Seat 10.John Hearn, Jr. $ 38,000

FINAL TABLE RESULTS

1st John Peck Sherman Oaks, CA $ 89,640
2nd Gioi Luong Westminster, CA $ 42,580
3rd Thung Huynk Los Angeles, CA $ 21,290
4th Spiderman Downey, CA $ 13,445
5th Albert Farjian Miami, FL $ 10,085
6th Rocky Enciso Glendale, CA $ 7,845
7th Roland Weedon Los Angeles, CA $ 5,600
8th Candice Vaughn Calabasas, CA $ 4,480
9th Alan Daniels Glendale, CA $ 3,920
10th John Hearns, Jr. Downey, CA $ 3,365

ALL AROUND
PLAY-OFF POINTS
Name Total
Freddy Legaspi 156
Al Barbieri 144
John Kimmons 130
Geoffrey Wright 117
Gebrehiwet Goitom 87
Hoan Ly 79
Phillip Penn Sr. 75
Matthew Mortensen 72
Eddie Ngo 71
Michael Krescanko 70

NEXT
LOP/WPT Championship Event
$9,700 + $300, 4-day event
Day 1A: Saturday, August 26, 2006 2:00pm
Day 1B: Sunday, August 27, 2006 2:00pm
Day 4: Final Table WPT Filming Wednesday, August 30, 2006 5:15pm
Tournament Results: www.thebike.com