In the world of poker, Doyle Brunson delivers, and in the world of poker tournaments, the 2006 Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship lived up to its namesake. Along with serving as the catalyst for Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi's Card Player Player of the Year win, and offering a first-place prize in excess of $2.1 million, the DBNAPC featured a final table that included two of poker's most famous players, each chasing a milestone in the sport.
Daniel Negreanu entered the final table needing only a fifth-place finish to pass Tuan Le as the all-time WPT money winner, while Joe Hachem brought with him the opportunity to become only one of four poker players to ever win a World Poker Tour and World Series of Poker main event title.
In a filled-to-capacity Bellagio Tower Ballroom, and with lines of fans still waiting to get in the doors, the 2006 Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship final table kicked off at 5 p.m. PST with $30,000-$60,000 blinds and $10,000 antes.
The chip counts and seating for the final table were as follows:
1. Daniel Negreanu - $4,670,000 (seat 1)
2. Mads Andersen - $4,310,000 (seat 6)
3. Joe Hachem - $2,345,000 (seat 3)
4. Edward Jordan - $2,320,000 (seat 5)
5. David Redlin - $2,040,000 (seat 4)
6. Jim Hanna - $1,820,000 (seat 2)
Play lasted 45 minutes before Ed Jordan became the final table's first elimination. Coming off a third-place finish at the 2006 Foxwoods Poker Classic, Jordan entered into a hand with Negreanu and Mads Andersen, pushing all in on a Q
Q
10 4 board. The move elicited a fold from Andersen, but Negreanu, after taking several minutes, called Jordan.
Fan bases on both sides reacted as Jordan turned over the 8
7, and Negreanu showed the A K. The 6 river made Negreanu's flush, and Jordan exited as the sixth-place finisher ($169,145).
After the hand, Hachem (first holding a vote to makes sure everyone at the final table agreed) took the microphone and announced, "Daniel Negreanu is the sickest poker player on the planet."
Ten minutes later a second dramatic hand resulted in the final table's next victim. The action started when David Redlin raised to $180,000 from under the gun. Hachem reraised $500,000, then called after Redlin moved all in. Hachem's Q Q put him ahead of Redlin and his A Q. The 2005 WSOP champ maintained his lead with the 7 4
4 flop, but became a huge dog when Redlin paired his ace on the A turn. Hachem arranged his chips to send over to Redlin, until the Q, Hachem's last remaining out, hit on the river.
For the second elimination in a row the Tower Ballroom erupted. Redlin, who satellited into the DBNAPC for $70, saw his tournament run end with a fifth-place finish ($253,715).
Down to four players, the DBNAPC now featured two of the biggest poker stars in the world, and two participants who originally had no intentions of playing in the event.
Andersen, the 2006 EPT Copenhagen champ, entered the DBNAPC only after the encouragement, and financial backing, of fellow countrymen Gus "The Great Dane" Hansen. Meanwhile, Jim Hanna came to the Bellagio as a fan, and didn't sign up for the event until after his brother busted on the tournament's day 1A.
With Hansen in the audience, Andersen battled for two hours before going home in fourth place ($380,630). The Danish pro tangled with Negreanu on three consecutive hands, even doubling up once, but "Kid Poker" eventually delivered the kill shot when his A 4 made the nut flush, besting Andersen's 7 6.
Unfortunately for Negreanu, his matches with Hanna proved far less successful. Hanna doubled up through Negreanu to $4 million when his K J held against "Kid Poker's" K 9, then the amateur player turned a Broadway straight in a hand that cost Negreanu over $1.2 million.
The one-time chip leader, Negreanu soon found himself $5 million behind both Hanna and Hachem. On the 71st hand of play, Negreanu pushed his last $1,125,000 in over the top of a Hachem $450,000 raise. Negreanu turned over the K 10 and needed to improve when Hachem flipped up the 4 4. Negreanu's situation grew worse after Hanna admitted to folding pocket tens, and "Kid Poker's" 2006 Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship ended when the A Q Q 2 2 board offered no help.
While Negreanu fell short in his bid for a third title, the third-place finish ($592,000), netted him more than enough cash to pass Tuan Le as the WPT's all-time money winner.
The $2.1 million first-place cash prize and DBNAPC bracelet now came down to two players who shared Lebanese heritage, but close to nothing in the game of poker: Joe Hachem, the 2005 WSOP champion, and Jim Hanna, a part-time poker amateur.
The chip counts going into heads-up play were as follows:
1. Jim Hanna - $9,520,000
2. Joe Hachem - $7,985,000
The man famous for "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie!" needed only two key reraises to take the chip lead from Hanna. First, Hachem netted over $1 million in chips from Hanna after a $1.5 million reraise on a K 10 6 board got Hanna to fold.
The next key hand saw Hachem raise $450,000, followed by Hanna reraising an additional $900,000. A Hachem call, and a 9 6 5 flop, led to a $3 million Hanna bet. But when Hachem moved all in, Hanna, a former NFL player, went into the tank for several minutes, before mucking his cards.
Hachem's wins gave him a near $10 million chip lead, and the 2006 DBNAPC ended three hands later.
On the 80th hand, and after raising $720,000, Hanna called Hachem's all-in reraise. A race situation developed as Hachem showed the A 6 and Hanna turned over the Q J. The A Q 3 8 board gave Hanna outs, but he missed them all with the 2 river.
Hanna earned $1,099,430 for his runner-up finish.
Hachem celebrated by hugging his wife and friends, and then shaking the hand of his heads-up opponent.
"I'm floating, I can't even feel the ground," Hachem smiled after his win. "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.
"How cool do you reckon it is to belong to a club that only has four members?"
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