The Once and Future King

In a year that saw World Series of Poker records shattered, and Internet poker branded with the label "unlawful gaming," 2006 came to a close with a tournament that honored one of poker's few consistent forces - Doyle Brunson. The Doyle Brunson North American Poker Classic (DBNAPC) at Bellagio Hotel and Casino, a World Poker Tour event, was the last major tournament of the calendar year.

Like any good finale, it served as both a conclusion and a culmination of everything prior. The $15,000 buy-in event generated a record-breaking field and first-place cash prize; was the final tournament of the Card Player 2006 Player of the Year (POY) race; crowned a new WPT leading all-time money winner; and brought a former world champion back from a self-imposed boycott, and saw that same champion become one of only four players to win a World Series main event and a World Poker Tour title.

Day One (A&B)
The Really, Really Big Game
Imagine the pickup games that Michael Jordan used to host in Chicago during the offseason; on any given day, a fan could see "His Airness," along with a smattering of NBA pals, playing hoops on the hardwood. In poker terms, that's Bellagio's poker room, where on any given day a fan can see Doyle Brunson and his pals playing high-stakes poker on the felt.

In mid-December, however, Bellagio's poker room and Fontana Bar looked more like the NBA's All-Star Weekend than one of Jordan's pickup games. The Doyle Brunson North American Poker Classic attracted a star-studded 583-player starting field that saw 253 participants on day one (A) and 330 on day one (B).

Each day began with $50-$100 blinds and $30,000 starting stacks.

Among the high-profile names, two players in particular drew extra fan and media attention: tournament namesake Doyle Brunson, and perhaps the only player capable of stealing some of "Texas Dolly's" spotlight, Joe Hachem.

A member of a group of professional players who filed an antitrust lawsuit against the World Poker Tour, Hachem ended his WPT boycott by participating in this event. Other than acknowledging that he signed the show's requisite release form - the centerpiece of the lawsuit - Hachem declined to comment on his return.

"I don't really want to talk about it," the 2005 WSOP champ said on day one (A). "I'm just excited to be playing."

Despite the high-profile competition of the tournament's first flight, both Hachem and Brunson advanced to day two.

The Card Player 2006 Player of the Year race also attracted interest as points leader Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi outlasted Nam Le, Shannon Shorr, and Jeff Madsen - second, fourth, and fifth in points, respectively - en route to finishing day one in the top 10 in chip count.

Day Two
The Fontana Bar, the Poker Room, and $2.1 Million
At the midway point of day one (B), officials announced an $8,482,650 total prize pool. On day two, 344 players returned to the Fontana Bar and the poker room, each hoping to move closer to the tournament's $2,182,075 first-place cash prize.

Early play featured a number of high-profile eliminations, including Allen Cunningham, Gavin Smith, Kathy Liebert, "Miami" John Cernuto, and Doyle Brunson.

While Brunson's departure held symbolic value, few bust-outs matched the significance of J.C. Tran's elimination on the final hand of level six. In third place on the Card Player 2006 POY leader board, Tran exited after his pocket kings fell to John Phan's flopped set of eights. The elimination left John Hoang, albeit in need of a first-place finish, as the last player in the tournament with the ability to surpass Mizrachi in the POY standings.

As his competition dropped, Mizrachi climbed the DBNAPC's leader board. He eliminated Carl Olson with pocket kings against pocket queens, then flopped a higher diamond flush to bust another opponent. The wins netted Mizrachi more than $400,000, and for the second consecutive day, "The Grinder" finished action among the chip-count leaders.

For all of the attention Mizrachi received, Dutch Boyd garnered almost as much scrutiny, but not for his play. The WSOP bracelet winner served two 20-minute penalties for repeatedly acting out of turn, and played an entire hand blind, including folding, before being eliminated.
The remaining field produced a number of big-name matchups, including Kevin O'Donnell and Daniel Negreanu. Eight hours of staying out of each other's way ended when Negreanu, holding pocket aces, doubled through O'Donnell and his A-Q. The win put "Kid Poker" over the $230,000 mark, and dropped K.O. to $10,000 in chips.

Half an hour later, day two concluded.

Day Three
The Bubble Pops
For the first time in the tournament the entire remaining field started the day in the same room, and the high number of pros still in contention led to a congested rail as fans gathered to see who would make the money and who would walk away with nothing.

While railbirds counted down each pre-bubble elimination, Joe Hachem positioned himself not only to cash, but to advance deep into the tournament. In a threehanded pot, the 2005 WSOP champ eliminated Dewey Tomko and crippled Ben Lamb courtesy of turned trip eights that held up against Tomko's pocket sevens and Lamb's ace-high flush draw.

In control of $350,000, Hachem occupied a top spot on the leader board when Anthony Newman exited the Fontana Bar as the tournament's 101st-place finisher.

As a result of Newman's elimination coming only seconds after Mike Matusow's bust-out of Bobby Hoff, the 2006 DBNAPC earned the distinction of being one of the few recent WPT events to have the money bubble burst without the need for hand-for-hand play.

Minutes later, Thomas Walhroos, falling in 100th place, took home the first paycheck ($25,370) of the tournament.

The post-bubble elimination boom soon followed, with pros David Benyamine, Dan Harrington, James "KrazyKanuck" Worth, Evelyn Ng, and Chau Giang all busting out between 99th and 51st place ($25,370).

Additional high-profile eliminations failed to deplete the star power, and when play concluded for the day, the leader board featured five professional players in the top spots: Lee Markholt, Mads Andersen, Justin "Zee Justin" Bonomo, Joe Hachem, and Haralabos Voulgaris.

Day Four
A Banner Day for Poker in '06
The fourth day of action represented an ending point of sorts for poker in 2006. Along with the crowning of the Card Player 2006 Player of the Year winner, day four also included the year's last WPT final-table push.

Daniel Negreanu (pocket kings) started his final-table march by knocking out David Oppenheim (pocket deuces) in 33rd place ($42,850), but 25 minutes later, all talk of the $2.1 million first-place prize stopped - at least for a moment.

All in on an 8 4 2 flop, John Hoang became the tournament's 32nd-place finisher ($42,850) after he missed his flush draw against Jesse Jones' pocket aces. The elimination, which followed word of Nam Le's bust-out from the WSOP Tournament Circuit event at Harrah's Atlantic City, prompted Tournament Director Jack McClelland to halt play and publicly announce that Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi had won the Card Player 2006 Player of the Year award.

"It feels real good [to win], but there's twenty-nine players still in this tournament," Mizrachi stated during a break in play.

The short stack among the remaining players, Mizrachi exited in 29th place ($50,745) after his A-Q collided with Jim Hanna's A-K.

Play slowed until Mads Andersen flopped a set of tens to crack Mats Rahmn's pocket aces (19th place - $67,655), and the DBNAPC consolidated to two tables. Day-three chip boss Lee Markholt dropped out on the following hand (18th place - $67,655), and four eliminations later, Cyndy Violette became the last female player to be knocked out with her 14th-place finish ($84,570).

After a one-hour dinner break, Scott Fischman bested his highest previous WPT cash (62nd place at the 2006 Festa al Lago) by earning a 12th-place finish ($84,570). The near simultaneous elimination of Fred Goldberg (11th place - $84,570), a victim of a Joe Hachem flush, brought the DBNAPC down to the final 10 players.

The table's first elimination came when Daniel Negreanu (pocket fours) called an all-in reraise by Mack Lee (pocket queens) and rivered a wheel to send Lee home as the 10th-place finisher ($101,485). Kicker problems resulted in Steve Sung's ninth-place finish ($118,400), as his trip queens with a jack kicker (Q J) ran into Jim Hanna's trip queens with an ace kicker (A Q).

Mads Andersen, the table's one-time short stack, ended the 15-plus hours of play by providing the day's final two eliminations. First, his pocket tens held up against the Q 4 of Haralabos Voulgaris (eighth place - $135,315), and on the very next hand his pocket sevens topped Justin Bonomo's A Q (seventh place - $152,230).

Final Table
The opportunity to achieve poker milestones awaited two of the players who took their seats at the last World Poker Tour final table of the year. For Daniel Negreanu, a fifth-place finish or better would put him at the top of the WPT all-time money list, while Joe Hachem entered action with the chance to be one of only four players in the game's history to win a WSOP main-event championship and a WPT title.

The chip counts and seating for the final table were as follows:
1. Daniel Negreanu - $4,670,000 - (seat No. 1)
2. Mads Andersen - $4,310,000 - (seat No. 6)
3. Joe Hachem - $2,345,000 - (seat No. 3)
4. Edward Jordan - $2,320,000 - (seat No. 5)
5. David Redlin - $2,040,000 - (seat No. 4)
6. Jim Hanna - $1,820,000 - (seat No. 2)

In a filled-to-capacity Bellagio Tower Ballroom, and with lines of fans still waiting to get in the door, the 2006 DBNAPC final table began with $30,000-$60,000 blinds and $10,000 antes.

Daniel Negreanu's Call Dooms Ed Jordan
Despite coming into the action in fourth chip position, Ed Jordan lost a number of medium-sized pots and his stack dwindled. At the 45-minute mark, Jordan entered into a hand with Negreanu and Andersen. A $1,045,000 all-in move by Jordan on a Q Q 10 4 board prompted Andersen to fold, but Negreanu, after taking several minutes, made the call.

Fans from every cheering section reacted as Jordan turned over the 8 7 and Negreanu showed the A K. Negreanu made a flush with the 6 river, and Jordan, the third-place finisher at the 2006 Foxwoods Poker Classic, walked off the final-table set in sixth place ($169,145).

With the Tower Ballroom still buzzing, Hachem, after holding a vote to ensure that his final-table cohorts agreed with him, took the microphone and announced, "Daniel Negreanu is the sickest poker player on the planet."

David Redlin Out … On One Out
Ten minutes later, David Redlin became the table's next elimination, on yet another dramatic hand. After winning a $70 satellite to get into the event, Redlin found his tournament in jeopardy after he moved all in preflop with the A Q, and Hachem, holding the Q Q, called. While no help came on the 7 4 4 flop, Redlin paired his ace with the A turn. A shocked Hachem prepared to muck his hand before the Q, Hachem's last remaining out, hit on the river.For the second elimination in a row, the Tower Ballroom erupted, and Redlin became the fifth-place finisher ($253,715).

Mads Andersen Takes Fourth
2006 EPT Copenhagen Champion Mads Andersen had no intentions of participating in the DBNAPC, and entered the event only after the encouragement, and financial backing, of fellow countryman Gus Hansen. With Hansen in attendance, the Danish pro battled for more than two hours at the final table before three consecutive hands against Negreanu ended in his fourth-place finish ($380,630). Negreanu delivered the kill shot when his A 4 made the nut flush on the Q J 6 8 9 board to top Andersen's 7 6.

Negreanu Finishes Third - Sets WPT Record
The success that Negreanu experienced against Andersen disappeared as Kid Poker lost two pots, amounting to more than $5 million, to tournament amateur Jim Hanna. Down to the $2 million mark, and with Hachem and Hanna both above $7 million, Negreanu's 2006 DBNAPC ended on the final table's 71st hand. After moving all in for $1,125,000 over the top of a $450,000 Hachem raise, Negreanu found himself behind when he flipped over the K 10 and Hachem showed the 4 4. With Hanna admitting that he folded pocket tens, the A Q 2 Q 2 board offered Kid Poker no help. While falling short of his third title, the third-place finish($592,000) netted Negreanu enough cash to pass Tuan Le as the WPT's all-time leading money winner.

Joe Hachem vs. Jim Hanna
Negreanu's elimination left the $2.1 million first-place cash prize, and DBNAPC bracelet, to be decided between two polar opposites in the poker world: Joe Hachem, the 2005 WSOP champion, and Jim Hanna, a part-time poker amateur.

The chip counts were as follows:
1. Jim Hanna - $9,520,000
2. Joe Hachem - $7,985,000

Whether experience played a role or not, Hachem needed only two key reraises to take the chip lead from Hanna.

The man famous for "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie" first took more than $1 million in chips from Hanna, courtesy of a $1.5 million post-flop reraise. Hachem built a near $10 million chip lead when he called a $1.3 million preflop reraise by Hanna, then moved all in over the top of a $3 million bet on the 9 6 5 board.

Hanna mucked, and the tournament ended three hands later.

On the 80th hand of play, Hachem again came over the top of a Hanna raise, but this time the former NFL defensive lineman called. Hachem jumped out of his seat and pumped his fist as he flipped up the A 6 and Hanna turned over the Q J. While the A Q 3 8 board gave his opponent outs, Hachem celebrated his first WPT victory when the 2♦ landed on the river.

Hachem hugged his wife and friends, and then shook hands with Hanna, who earned $1,099,430 for his second-place finish.

"I'm floating, I can't even feel the ground," Hachem said, smiling, in a post-victory interview. "When I won the World Series, I wasn't this excited. And a lot of it has to do with validation."

Along with the $2,182,075 first-place cash prize, the gold bracelet, and the $25,000 entry into the WPT Championship, Hachem joined Juan Carlos Mortensen, Scotty Nguyen, and Doyle Brunson as the only players in history to win both a World Poker Tour title and a World Series of Poker main event.

When asked about his feelings on reaching a poker milestone, Hachem beamed, "How cool do you reckon it is to belong to a club that has only four members?"