On Sunday, June 4, a field of 349 poker players made history - Mandalay Bay history, to be exact. The group participated in the inaugural Mandalay Bay Poker Championship - the first-ever high-stakes no-limit hold'em tournament held at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
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The $10,000 buy-in event marked the second stop of season five of the World Poker Tour and, despite being a new venue, featured all the trappings associated with the show's major tournaments. The televised final table, complete with live audience, ceremonial money presentation, and new host Sabina Gadecki, awaited the six players who possessed the skill, and luck, to survive the opening four days of intense poker action.
Along with a first-place prize that included $1,033,440 and a $25,000 entry into the WPT Championship at Bellagio, the MBPC offered players something not found at most other tournaments - the opportunity to be a part of poker history.
Day One - Breaking the Bottle
As time has proven, maiden voyages can be huge successes (The Spirit of St. Louis) or monumental disasters (the RMS Titanic). Wanting to ensure a smooth launch for its inaugural WPT event, Mandalay Bay employed the Bellagio's veteran team of dealers and floor managers, headed by renowned Tournament Director Jack McClelland.
McClelland, a legend in the game, was not the only recognizable face at the MBPC. The tournament featured a starting field packed with some of the biggest names in the game, and in the spirit of high-profile premieres, some familiar faces from the world of Hollywood joined the cast of poker pros. Actresses Shannon Elizabeth (American Pie) and Jennifer Tilly (Liar Liar), and film director Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook) all played, and were eliminated on the first day of the tournament.
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With $50-$100 starting blinds and $20,000 chip stacks, conservative play ruled the early action, and unlike the recent Mirage Poker Showdown, all of the top pros survived the first level. But with such a dangerous field, the favorable blinds structure provided only temporary safe passage, and a wave of eliminations soon hit. In levels two and three, John Phan, John D'Agostino, Phil Laak, Joe Bartholdi, Jennifer Harman, and Barry Greenstein all bowed out of tournament play.
Other notable day-one exits included David Singer, Allen Cunningham, Doyle Brunson, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi, Ted Forrest, Dan Harrington, Toto Leonidas, Liz Lieu, Scott Fischman, and Chip Reese.
At 8:23 p.m., McClelland turned the clock off on level five and announced that action would conclude after the remaining tables played eight more hands. The tactic, used to speed up play by dissuading short stacks from stalling, instigated a number of knockouts, none more surprising than Phil Ivey, the day's final elimination.
Day Two - Dangerous Waters
The buzz coming into day two centered on the staggering number of big-name pros wielding big-time chip stacks. Amnon Filippi, Josh Arieh, Amir Vahedi, Carlos Mortensen, Tim Phan, Hasan Habib, Mike Gracz, Gavin Smith, and Patrik Antonius all entered the day near the top of the leader board.
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From the start, the chip bosses applied pressure on the remaining field of 154, and, as expected, players on short stacks were the first to be tossed from the tournament waters. The list of hour-one casualties included Isabelle Mercier, Kenna James, Paul Darden, Shane "Shaniac" Schleger, and Evelyn Ng.
With one level in the books and another four to go, the big and medium stacks soon turned on each other. Brad "Yukon" Booth knocked out David Williams on one of the more memorable hands of the day. Booth caught a runner-runner full house to crack Williams' pocket kings. Considered by many pros as "the best unknown player in the world," a phrase coined by Phil Hellmuth on CardPlayer.com's hit radio show The Circuit, Booth stacked off a number of opponents en route to claiming the title of day-two chip boss.
Williams, at one point in possession of more than $100,000 in chips, was not the only big-name pro to plummet down the board. Five of the top 15 day-one chip leaders (Smith, Arieh, Filippi, Gracz, and Vahedi) failed to survive levels six through 10.
For the second day in a row, tournament officials instituted a hand cap on the action. With the last cards mucked, only 56 players emerged from the rough waters. Of the 107 casualties, some of the more noteworthy included David Sklansky, Cyndy Violette, Farzad Bonyadi, J.C. Tran, Erick Lindgren, T.J. Cloutier, Mike "The Mouth" Matusow, Nam Le, Joe Sebok, Martin de Knijff, and Robert Mizrachi.
Two full days of poker separated the remaining players from the WPT final table, and if day two was any indication, the rest of the tournament would be anything but smooth sailing.
Day 3 - Bubble Bay
The Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino loves the word "the"; The Hotel at Mandalay Bay, The Chapel at Mandalay Bay, and now - The Bubble at Mandalay Bay.
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On day three, 56 players returned to tournament action knowing that six of them would finish outside the money. Within the first half-hour, five players dropped from contention and the action switched to hand-for-hand. At 12:50 p.m., Danny Smith became the casualty and the money bubble officially burst.
Smith's elimination meant a second consecutive WPT money finish for John Juanda, Kristy Gazes, and Harry Demetriou. All three players entered the day near the bottom of the leader board, but each battled long enough to cash in the event. Gazes, one of the two remaining female players, appeared poised to improve on her $16,647 Mirage Poker Showdown finish, but had to settle for 49th place ($13,440) after Patrik Antonius' pocket jacks cracked her pocket aces.
Esther Rossi, the final female player, soon followed Gazes. She finished in 44th place and also took home $13,440 in prize money.
Making the money brought a big smile to Alex Outhred's face. The WPT Boot Camp instructor won his seat in the event through a $1,000 satellite. Backed by a cheering section that included co-workers, family members, and former students, Outhred continued to build his stack and ascend the leader board.
With a goal of trimming the field down to 18 players, the eight hours of high-stakes poker action ended on a hand between Thomas Koral and Ron Faltinsky. Faltinsky moved all in preflop with the A
Q
and Koral made the call with the A
K. The Q
J 8 flop gave Faltinsky top pair, but Koral made his straight when the 10 came on the turn. Faltinsky's bust out marked the 19th, and final, elimination of the day.
Other notable day-three exits included Erik Seidel, day-one chip boss Nenad Medic, David Oppenheim, Max Pescatori, Demetriou, and Juanda.
Day Four - The End of the Line
Day four proved to be the last leg of the MBPC's maiden voyage for all but six players. Yet, in spite of the looming eliminations, the remaining field of 18 entered the day joking and laughing with one another.
The two-table, ninehanded action kicked off at noon PDT with $5,000-$10,000 blinds and $1,000 antes. Within 20 minutes, Shunjiro Uchida became the day's first casualty, and the mood on the tournament floor sobered - somewhat.
Brad "Yukon" Booth and Tony Ma shared a heated debate on poker etiquette, much to the delight of the fans gathered along the rails. Although not in the hand, Ma took exception to Booth's verbal attempts at inducing action from Keith Tilston. Ma, speaking in a raised voice, continued the argument even after Tilston made the call and was eliminated. In the end, Tournament Director Jack McClelland, brought over to settle the dispute, ruled in Ma's favor and Booth apologized.
Carlos Mortensen, Alex Outhred, Tim Phan, and Michael Woo sat in adjacent seats for most of the day. The four players created a laid-back table atmosphere through good-natured ribbing, chip tricks, and friendly chatter, which prompted Outhred to dub them "the happy table." Woo and Phan, the 14th- and 13th-place eliminations, respectively, even found humor in the fact that they could walk off the tournament floor together.
Mortensen (12th place) and Ma (11th place) were the next to hit the rails. At 4:55 p.m., with the final 10 players set, the action moved to one table.
Eddie Soto (10th - $40,320) and "Miami" John Cernuto (ninth - $47,035) became the first two casualties of the final table. Burt Boutin's A Q cracked Mike Landers' A K. Landers, the eighth-place finisher, took home $53,755.
The bubble for the final table burst half an hour later. Boutin, after limping in from the small blind, immediately called Thomas Koral's big-blind all-in raise. Koral frowned as he flipped over the J 5, and Boutin, one of the more animated players in the tournament, leaped out of his seat and dropped the 10 10 onto the felt. The 8 8 4 3 2 board failed to improve Koral's hand, and fans cheered as McClelland and the rest of the tournament staff congratulated the remaining players.
Day Five - The Final Table
After four days of no-limit hold'em action, six players gathered at the televised final table set for a shot at history and the $1,033,440 first-place prize money.
The chip counts coming to the final table were as follows:
1. Alex Outhred - $1,743,000 (seat No. 2)
2. Burt Boutin - $1,729,000 (seat No. 1)
3. Brad "Yukon" Booth - $1,659,000 (seat No. 4)
4. Joe Tehan - $1,371,000 (seat No. 6)
5. Al Stonum - $263,000 (seat No. 3)
6. Steve Vincent - $219,000 (seat No. 5)
Play began at 4 p.m. PDT with $12,000-$24,000 blinds and $3,000 antes. While none of the remaining six players had graced the covers of any video games or poker books, fans in attendance were treated to a final table that featured aggressive play and colorful personalities.
Steve Vincent and Al Stonum Make Early Exits
The first elimination of the day came a mere 14 minutes into the action. Steve Vincent, a local part-time player, and the final-table short stack, pushed all in for his remaining $213,000 from middle position. Joe Tehan, the day-three chip leader, called. His A K held up against Vincent's A Q, and Vincent hit the rails as the sixth-place finisher ($94,075).
Four hands later, California businessman Al Stonum became the final table's second casualty. A serious short stack like Vincent, Stonum pushed all in preflop for just under $200,000. Tehan, on the button, reraised to $400,000 and the rest of the table folded. For the second time, Tehan held A-K against his out-chipped opponent's A-Q. Stonum, however, made top pair after the Q J J flop, but runner-runner kings gave Tehan a full house and he eliminated Stonum in fifth place ($134,390).
Alex Outhred's Fall From First
Alex Outhred entered the day with the chip lead, but soon trailed the rest of the players after losing a number of big hands. An hour into play, with only $580,000 remaining, Outhred made an all-in reraise from the big blind. After a Burt Boutin call, Outhred flipped up the A Q and Boutin showed the J J. The J 7 3 flop gave Boutin a set, and Outhred became the tournament's fourth-place finisher ($184,745).
With three players left, the chip counts were as follows:
1. Joe Tehan - $2,670,000
2. Burt Boutin - $2,600,000
3. Brad "Yukon" Booth - $1,715,000
Brad "Yukon" Booth Takes Third
Over the course of the MBPC, Booth steadily made the transition from "unknown pro" to "crowd favorite," and his fan base continued to grow at the final table. Throughout the day, Booth seemed unable to drag many substantial pots, but he did keep the packed Mandalay Bay events center laughing with his jokes and lively table banter. He swapped one-liners with Tournament Director McClelland, and even took the opportunity to "borrow" a WPT mike in order to conduct an impromptu interview with Boutin.
On the 94th hand of play, Booth's run of bad cards caught up with him for good. After a Boutin reraise, Booth threw his final $10,000 chip into the pot. His K 5 failed to improve against Boutin's 3 3, and Booth finished the tournament in third place ($319,180).
Heads Up - Tehan vs. Boutin
The chip counts going into heads-up action were as follows:
1. Joe Tehan - $4,395,000
2. Burt Boutin - $2,685,000
With Booth eliminated, two players, complete opposites in both style and table persona, squared off for a shot at $1,033,440 and the distinguished honor of being the first-ever MBPC titleholder.
Tehan, a high-limit mixed-game player, hovered near the top of the leader board for the better part of the final two days. While his chip stack may not have been hard to miss, his subtle playing style left many fans, except those wearing official "Joe Tehan Fan Club" T-shirts, wondering, "Who is this guy?"
Boutin found a different route to the final table: He clawed back from a severe short stack. Described by many players as a "wild card," Boutin drew attention with his demonstrative chip raises and leisurely strolls to the rail.
After more than two hours of back-and-forth play, the inaugural Mandalay Bay Poker Championship ended on, of all things, a complete gamble.
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The final hand started when Tehan, on the button, raised $240,000 on top of Boutin's $160,000 big blind. Boutin, continuing his aggressive play, quickly moved all in for his remaining $1,490,000. Tehan, in his usual calculated style, took several moments before calling Boutin's raise. A gasp came from the Joe Tehan Fan Club when Boutin flipped over the A 10 and Tehan showed the 9 8. The 10 9 9 flop, however, all but wrapped up the MBPC title for Tehan. Boutin's outs increased with the A turn, but the 8 river gave Tehan the winning full house. Upon seeing the final card, Boutin took his final stroll to the rail. His runner-up finish was worth $604,765 in prize money.
When asked about making a perceived risky call on the final hand, the Mandalay Bay Poker Championships' first-ever winner grinned, and responded, "You just have to gamble sometimes." With his check for $1,033,440, and the Joe Tehan Fan Club surrounding him, nobody in the events center could argue with that strategy.
