Legends of Poker

I just returned from The Bicycle Casino's Legends of Poker tournament. This event is special to me because it was the first big tournament that I ever played in two years ago, and I have done quite well there in the past. This year, the best overall player, as determined by points, was awarded a Mercedes M-Class in which to drive off. It was quite amazing watching some of the players battle it out for the car. Stan Goldstein won three events in the tournament, two in seven-card stud eight-or-better and one in Omaha eight-or-better. As amazing as that was, John Juanda seemed to make the final table every night, which enabled him to capture the best overall player award and the new Benz. As a result of John's great success at the Legends of Poker, he is now the points leader in Card Player's Player of the Year race, having overtaken Men "The Master" Nguyen, who had been in first place since the World Series of Poker in May.

The $5,000 no-limit hold'em championship once again featured a very tough field, and any player had a good chance of winning. Each player who entered this event received a good-looking leather jacket and plenty of chips with which to maneuver. The final table was a very competitive one, as usual, with the following nine players: Toto Leonidas, "Syracuse" Chris Tsiprailidis, Paul Ladanyi, Men "The Master" Nguyen, Jimmy Tran, Paul Rowe, Tony Ma, Luis Santoni, and James Hoeppner. Hoeppner, an accountant from Las Vegas, beat the a field comprised mostly of professional players, and finally won after getting heads up with another businessman, Luis Santoni. Congratulations, James.

Also taking place in Los Angeles in August was the Hustler Casino's freeroll tournament in which the winner was given the opportunity to play a heads-up seven-card stud match against Larry Flynt for $50,000. Bill Flynn, a local policeman, won that opportunity and defeated Flynt to capture the $50,000. Good job, Bill.

Card Player extends its condolences to the family and friends of Pam Vatrano, who passed away on Aug. 27, 2001. Pam was a very popular dealer at Bellagio and the Mirage, and was loved by everyone.