WPT -- Carlos Mortensen Wins the Hollywood Poker OpenMortensen Wins his Third WPT Title and Ties Gus Hansen for the Most WPT Wins Ever |
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Carlos Mortensen (pictured right) made history on March 24 when he won the World Poker Tour Hollywood Poker Open $10,000 no-limit hold’em championship event. It was the third time that Mortensen has won a WPT title, and it ties him with Gus Hansen for the most WPT victories ever. Mortensen won his first title at Festa al Lago in 2004, and he became the only player to win both the World Series of Poker main-event title and the WPT Championship during his career when he captured the marquee WPT title in 2007.
Mortensen came into the final table with the chip lead and then he proceeded to beat four young online professionals and Chris Bell, who was appearing at his fourth WPT final table. The tournament was small, with a turnout of 143 players, but Mortensen ensured that the first WPT event in the Midwest was a success by providing a compelling story line. He became the most decorated player in WPT history in the process, and also increased his career earnings to more than $9.6 million. Read on below to see how he achieved the win.
Final-Table Seating Chart with Chip Counts:
Seat 1: Mike Mustafa — 990,000
Seat 2: Jerry Payne — 268,000
Seat 3: Carlos Mortensen — 1,127,000
Seat 4: Ravi Raghavan — 488,000
Seat 5: Chris Bell — 372,000
Seat 6: Frank Calo — 1,075,000
The start of the final table played out with the three short-stacks falling in the first 37 hands. Jerry Payne exited first in sixth place ($88,791) when his Q-10 ran into the A-K of Mike Mustafa. Ravi Raghavan moved all in preflop next with pocket fives. Unfortunately for him, Frank Calo was eager to make the call with pocket kings. The board changed nothing, and Raghavan was awarded $105,234 in fifth place.
Two hands later, Bell took his shot at doubling up when he moved all in with A-9 preflop. Mortensen made the call with pocket fours, and he found a third 4 on the board to win the hand. Bell busted in fourth place ($124,966). Each of the survivors had now claimed an elimination at the final table, and their chip counts were as close as possible entering three-handed action. Mortensen led the way with 1,458,000, and Calo was just 1,000 behind him. Mustafa was last in the chip standings, but he was just 55,000 behind Mustafa. Just over two big blinds separated the final three in a gridlock.
An extended period of three-handed play came to an end when Mortensen raised to 90,000 from the small blind preflop, and Calo made the call from the big blind. The flop was dealt 5
4 2
, and Mortensen bet 150,000. Calo thought for a moment and then moved all in. Mortensen made the call, and they flipped over their cards:
Mortensen: 3 3
Calo: 5 4
Turn and River: 8 and 3
Mortensen rivered a set of threes and he won the hand to grow his stack to 2,249,000. Calo was eliminated in third place, and he took home $167,717 in prize money.
Mortensen held a slight lead heading into the heads-up final, and he soon increased his lead to a 3-1 chip advantage. Mustafa fought back when he made a check-raise worth 660,000 on an A Q 9 7 board to win a pot worth 880,000 uncontested. Mustafa then took a slight lead, but Mortensen doubled up to take a commanding lead. Mortensen moved all in with 8 7 on a flop of 10 9 6, and Mustafa had made the call with 10 9. The turn and river brought the J and the 3, and Mortensen doubled up to almost 4 million.
Mustafa was crippled with just 180,00 after the hand, and although he did manage to double up twice after the big hit, he essentially lost the tournament when Mortensen doubled up. The final blow came when Mortensen raised to 730,000 preflop and Mustafa made the all-in call. Their cards:
Mustafa: 6 6
Mortensen: K 10
Board: J 10 3 J 5
Mortensen won the hand and the tournament with a king-high flush. Mustafa was eliminated in second place and he took home $223,623. Mortensen was awarded $393,820 along with his third WPT title.
Final-Table Results:
1st Place: Carlos Mortensen — $393,820
2nd Place: Mike Mustafa — $223,623
3rd Place: Frank Calo — $167,717
4th Place: Chris Bell — $124,966
5th Place: Ravi Raghavan — $105,234
6th Place: Jerry Payne — $88,791
The next WPT event is the international stop in Bucharest, Romania. The €3,000 no-limit hold’em main event runs from March 27 – April 2. The WPT Championship for season VIII will run from April 18-24 at Bellagio in Las Vegas.
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