The Wildhorse Fall 2004 Poker Roundup

The Wildhorse Resort and Casino, owned and operated by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, near Pendleton, Oregon, recently held its most successful tournament to date. It set a record that should be broken during their 2005 Spring Poker Roundup, which has been extended to 10 days of tournaments and will include a free poker seminar for all the players.

The opening event drew a whopping 632 players and had $100,000 in prize money. The buy-in was $160, and only $10 of that was the entry fee. The entry fee was $10 for all events, including the $500 buy-in championship. The winner of this event and just over $25,000 in prize money was Paul Fischman. This was Paul's first tournament win ever. I felt like a proud papa, because Paul, now retired and living in Sarasota, Florida, has been taking poker lessons from me for several years. He was at the Wildhorse because I invited him to come and told him how well everyone is treated there and how good the tournaments are. Paul is also a golfer, and since they had a golf tournament on the scheduled day off for a poker seminar, he skipped my seminar and played in the golf tournament. Naturally, he and his partner won the tournament, so I forgave him for skipping my words of wisdom.

I was invited to be a host at this event along with Vince Burgio, Clonie Gowan, and Bonnie Damiano. Bonnie donated a prize for the best all-around player award – an all-expense-paid trip, including a $5,000 tournament buy-in, to the Caribbean Poker Classic on the island of St. Maarten last month. The irony is that the player with the most points was ineligible to win the best all-around player award. The rule was that you had to play all eight events to qualify for the award. Aaron Jensen of Riverside, California, made three final tables – all in no-limit hold'em events – and captured one win, but he chose to skip the seven-card stud event and therefore was ineligible to win the trip. The player who finished second in points, Craig DiSalvo, was then awarded the trip because he played all of the events.

I am happy to announce that three of the hosts had high finishes in at least one event. Vince Burgio came in second in the seven-card stud event; I finished third in the Omaha eight-or-better event, the same as I did in this event last March at the Wildhorse; and Bonnie Damiano took sixth in the $500 no-limit hold'em championship event.

Bonnie took one of the worst beats at the final table that I have ever witnessed when they were down to six players. She was in the big blind with pocket jacks and got raised by the player on the button, Ryan Larson of Spokane, Washington, who held A-J. Bonnie immediately moved all in. Ryan studied for a minute, but felt pot-committed and called. There was approximately $300,000 of the almost $1 million in chips in play in this pot. Bonnie had Ryan covered, barely. The flop came A-Q-J. This gave Bonnie a set and Ryan two pair. The turn card was an ace, and the river card was the last ace; four aces for Ryan, aces full of jacks for Bonnie. Ryan had only a two-outer, and hit both of his outs, although he needed to hit only one. Bonnie soon exited in sixth place and Ryan went on to capture first place and the $66,000 first prize. A record 429 players participated in the $500 championship event, and with the money added by the Wildhorse, the prize pool was around $230,000. All of these attendance and prize money records will, in my humble opinion, be broken at the Spring Poker Roundup.

I can't end this column without commenting on several outstanding individuals who made it possible. Roland Waters, the tournament director, ran a smooth ship and his able assistants did a great job. Billie Robbins was also instrumental in making everyone feel welcome and did a great deal of behind-the-scenes work.

A final tip of the Stetson goes to Howard "Tahoe" Andrew. Howard is one of a select few who have won back-to-back World Series of Poker bracelets on consecutive days. He accomplished this feat in the early days of the World Series. It is a record that probably will never be broken, because almost all World Series of Poker events are now two days in length. Howard served as a "Suzie" player, meaning he, the other hosts, and assorted World Series of Poker bracelet winners had bounties on their heads. Howard also did something almost unheard of since I have known him. He invited me, Chuck Thompson of Bay 101, Chuck's wife, Vince Burgio, and Vince's friend John out to dinner at a fine restaurant in downtown Pendleton – and picked up the entire check, tip included. (Gasp!) He must be getting mellow in his old age – he is now 70. He told me that he recently told his daughter that he intends to spend her inheritance. Well, maybe he is not so mellow after all. If you don't have any travel plans yet for the last part of March and the first few days of April, make reservations now at the Wildhorse, as rooms are limited and it should be the best tournament there yet.

Tom McEvoy is the co-author with T.J. Cloutier of Championship Hold'em Tournament Hands, which is available through Card Player. McEvoy also is affiliated with PokerStars.com.