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2006 World Series of Poker Circuit
Grand Casino-Resort – Tunica, Mississippi
Official Report
Final Results
No-Limit Hold’em
Buy-In: $9,800 (+200)
Number of Entries: 241
Total Prize Money: $2,289,500
Official Results:
1. Daniel Negreanu Las Vegas, NV $755,525
2. Bryant King Spokane, WA 416,690
3. Kia Mohajeri Rockledge, FL 228,950
4. Lee Marholt Eatonville, WA 183,160
5. Brian Lamkin Austin, TX 137,370
6. Brandon Adams Boston, MA 114,475
7. Wendell Barnes Charcton, MA 91,580
8. Robert Schulz Southaven, MS 66,624
9. Chad Brown Los Angeles, CA 45,790
10. Ernie Shepherd Lizella, GA 32,055
11. Mark Gregorich Las Vegas, NV 32,055
12. Daniel Alaei Las Vegas, NV 32,055
13. Don Barton Pahrump, NV 27,475
14. Hertzel Zalewski Houston, TX 27,475
15. Bill Edler Las Vegas, NV 27,475
16. Michael Tait Ft. Lauderdale, FL 22,895
17. Larry Satterwhite Houston, TX 22,895
18. Phil Galfond Gaithersburg, MD 22,895
The Kid is Back!
Negreanu Wins Tunica Grand’s WSOP Circuit Championship
Following a poor year in 2005, poker superstar
Daniel Negreanu starts off 2006 with a bang
The cards you are dealt can make you look like a genius….or an idiot.
-- Poker Pro Daniel Negreanu
Anyone who is considering playing poker tournaments for a living should take
a long hard look Daniel Negreanu’s earnings in 2005. Consider the fact that
at age 31, Negreanu is already one of poker’s icons. He has won three World
Series of Poker gold bracelets. He plays regularly in the biggest cash games
in the world (he’s both won and lost over a million dollars in a single
session). And, Negreanu is one of poker’s most dedicated students and most
creative strategists. Given his numerous advantages in skill, experience,
and dedication -- one would expect him to win lots of money playing in poker
tournaments.
Wrong.
Last year by his own admission, Daniel Negreanu lost money more money than
he won on the 2005 tournament circuit. He did not make it to a single final
table at last year’s World Series of Poker. While “Kid Poker” did manage to
do quite well in side games over the course of the year, his poor showing in
2005 illustrates the perilous financial swings of tournament poker. In other
words, busting out of $10,000 buy-in tournaments repeatedly does eventually
add up. Ten-thousand here and ten-thousand there, and pretty soon you are
talking about big money.
This is the preamble to Daniel Negreanu’s arrival in rainy Tunica,
Mississippi during the first week of the 2006 tournament season. When he
stepped off an airplane in the nearby Memphis fog two weeks ago, Negreanu
must have wondered if his tournament future was as cloudy as the overcast
skies. The days since a big win had stretched from weeks, to months, to over
a full year.
The World Series of Poker Circuit’s feature attraction -- the $10,000 buy-in
championship event – began four days and and attracted 241 entries to the
Tunica Grand Casino-Resort. The total prize pool amounted to $2,289,500.
With ESPN cameras on site to cover the competition, the large field was
gradually eliminated down to the nine finalists, which took their seats
inside the Tunica Grand Events Center. In an arena specifically designed for
boxing matches, it was fitting that the final table would resemble a
heavyweight prize fight. The early chip leader was Brian Lamkin, from
Austin, TX. But from the very start, all eyes were on the Las Vegas
wonderkid, Daniel Negreanu.
Expectations were high. Nothing short of a first-place finish would be
acceptable. In the end, Negreanu, nor his legions of fans, would be
disappointed.
The nine players took their seats at the final table and were eliminated
as follows:
9th Place – It took nearly an hour for the first player to bust out. Brandon
Adams and Chad Brown arrived with the two lowest stacks, so it was expected
they might spar in the first major confrontation. That’s exactly what
happened when Adams was dealt J-J and raised pre-flop. Brown re-raised ‘all
in’ with A-Q. Adams called quickly. It was the classic hold’em confrontation,
with an underpair versus two overcards. Adams’ pocket jacks held up and
Brown was the first player to exit. Chad Brown, the former actor turned
professional poker player accepted his defeat gracefully. “I played very
well just to get here,” he said afterward. “With just 100,000 left, I had to
move in with a coin flip at that point and I just didn’t get lucky. I have
no regrets about my decision.” Ninth-place paid $45,790.
8th Place – Robert Schulz was the final table’s local favorite. He arrived
as the only player from the Memphis area (Southaven, MS is about ten miles
north of the Grand Casino). Schulz brought a large cheering section with him
which unfortunately left disappointed when their favorite player busted out
in eighth place. Schulz was getting low on chips and moved ‘all in’ with
7-7. Daniel Negreanu, sensing his opponent was probably hoping not to get
called, made the call instantly with 9-9. Neither player improved, which
meant Negreanu’s pocket nines dragged the big pot. Schulz vanished. “It was
a very exciting four days,” Schulz told ESPN cameras following his exit. “I
was hoping to finish a little higher for the home crowd since everyone came
out to support me. But, I’ll be back here at a final table again sometime.”
Eighth place paid $68,685.
7th Place – The “The Daniel Negreanu Show” had only just begun. The
supporting cast was not pleased. Negreanu completely altered the balance of
the final table when he cracked two players in succession. His first victim
was Wendell Barnes, a welder from Massachusetts. Barnes was torched when he
was flopped two pair and moved ‘all in’ against Negreanu. Barnes initially
looked delighted to see Negreanu call the large bet. But Barnes might as
well have been standing on the railroad tracks waving at an oncoming freight
train. Negreanu had been dealt pocket aces and flopped an ace – good for
trips. Barnes was essentially drawing dead and was Negreanu’s second road
kill of the night. “That’s poker,” Barnes said in a post-tournament
interview. “It’s a long drive back (home to Massachusetts) but I’m leaving
with some cash. It’s all good.” Seventh-place paid $91,580.
A short time later, Negreanu won the biggest pot of the tournament up to
that point when he moved up to 1,240,000 in chips when his two pair (aces
and queens) crushed Brian Lamkin (his hand was not shown). It was a
devastating pot for Lamkin to lose. Lamkin had arrived at the final table
with a solid chip lead, but most of those chips vanished on the ill-advised
confrontation. In one single hand, Lamkin went from chip leader to the
shortest stack, with only about 100,000 remaining.
6th Place – Brandon Adams started off the day as the lowest stack at the
table. He managed to leap up three places on the money ladder. However, he
finally ran out of punches when he was short on chips and made a raise with
K-9 and was re-raised ‘all in’ by Brian Lamkin – holding A-Q. Neither player
made a pair and the ace-high played. Adams was eliminated. Brandon Adams
will earn his PhD in Finance from Harvard University later this year. This
is his second big-time final table appearance in just three months. Adams
also appeared at the final table at the 2005 Tournament of Champions (finishing
ninth). “My strategy during this tournament was to be the aggressor, don’t
be a caller,” Adams said later. “I went as far as I did because I followed
that strategy most of the way…..I will be teaching (college courses) this
spring, but I plan to play in the main event at the World Series of Poker,”
Adams stated, already optimistic about his future as a part-time tournament
player and college instructor. Sixth place paid $114,475.
5th Place – After Brian Lamkin doubled up from his devastating defeat to
Negreanu (besting Brandon Adams), he then found himself having to commit to
a coin flip situation when dealt 8-8. K
Source: Bodog ( WSOP Circuit Negreanu gets paid at Tunica )
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