McKain, 32, is single and from Scottsburg, Indiana. He enjoys basketball and working out and has been playing poker for 12 years. This is his fourth year playing Circuit events, and he won his seat here via a single-table satellite. Prior cash-outs include $52,845 for 11th in a WPT/World Poker Open event at Tunica, a $25,460 win at the Fall Poker Classic, and two prior Circuit final tables, here and at Rincon.
McKain likes pot-limit Omaha and high-stakes no-limit in cash games. He describes himself as a “deep thought” player who adjusts his strategy according to the table. In this event, he was short-chipped in early action, went on a rush when blinds were 50-100, and doubled through to take the chip lead with 10 players left when he hit a jack to his J-10 to beat an A-K.
Also playing in this event was the always entertaining Men “The Master” Nguyen, one of the top players whose picture adorns the wall of this poker room. He finished 28th, one out of the money, announcing, “I’m the bubble man.” But while out of the tournament, he was far from out of the picture. As the mentor of Kevin (whom he had an obvious financial interest in), he would later complain about player behavior, conduct the money deal negotiations, and even grab the mike to noisily narrate one hand. Welcome to Caesars Indiana, Men.
The final table of this two-day event started with blinds of 1,500-3,000, 500 antes and 43 minutes left. McKain led with 109,500 chips, barely ahead of Hood and John L. Sullivan, who won a ring in a $300 event here last year.
Here were the starting chip counts:
| SEAT 1 | Tony Gong | 77,000 |
| SEAT 2 | Keith Correll | 106,500 |
| SEAT 3 | Steve Weigel | 34,500 |
| SEAT 4 | Ivan Carter | 44,000 |
| SEAT 5 | Tony Ballahood | 44,000 |
| SEAT 6 | John L. Sullivan | 103,500 |
| SEAT 7 | Ronnie Kevin | 51,500 |
| SEAT 8 | Bradley Hood | 51,500 |
| SEAT 9 | Brian McKain | 109,500 |
First out, on the 10th hand, was Ivan Carter. He opened for 10,000 with A-J, and Ronnie Kevin put him for his remaining chips with pocket 7s. The pair held up on a board of 8-6-4-K-2, and eight were left.
Carter, 40, is an aspiring author from Fairfax Virginia. The only other info on his bio sheet read, “This county is ruled by rhetoric,” a cryptic quote which he failed to explain. He collected $4,417 for ninth.
Keith Correll came to the final table with the fewest chips, only 15,000. He hung on, doubling through twice, but bowed out on the 22nd hand when he moved in with pocket jacks and ran into Kevin’s pocket kings. When a king flopped he was dead to two running jacks. One turned, but the miracle fourth jack never came, and he finished eighth, worth $6,625..
Correll is a 41-year-old plant controller From Glenwood, Indiana, with an M.B.A. from Ohio State. He’s single, learned poker by watching TV four years ago, and his poker highlight was winning a $10,000 mega-satellite at last year’s WSOP.
Blinds now rose to 2,000-4000. Soon after, Tony “Bones” Bolahood was granted a dramatic reprieve to stay in action. He moved all in with K-10, was up against McKain’s pocket aces, and hit a straight on the river.
Less fortunate was Steve Weigel. The 46-year-old business owner from Woodland, Alabama, had the best hand when he moved in with his last 11,000 with pocket 10s, only to see McKain, calling with K-3, hit a trey on the flop and a king on the turn.
Weigel, whose nickname is “Big Daddy,” is married with three children and enjoys hunting and fishing. He’s been playing poker 25 years, “Learning the hard way from losing.” This is his third year of Circuit events, and he won $8,834 for seventh.
One hand later, the 30th, Tony “Bones” Bolahood was outdrawn and out of action. Holding K-3, he pushed in his last 8,000, and McKain, with only 7-5, still had a fairly mandatory call. McKain paired on a flop of Q-6-5. Bolahand then picked up a lot more outs when a 4 turned to give him an open-end straight, but he couldn’t complete.
Bolahhood, 50, is from Chicago, and is a business owner, pool player, musician and poker player. (Not surprisingly, he listed no hobbies. Where would he find the time?) He’s been playing poker 40 years, and once chopped a Circuit event.
Hand 44 provided lots of drama. With a flop of A-5-2, McKain bet 19,000 and Sullivan moved in for another 58,000. McKain pondered for several minutes. Both players then exposed an ace, and McKain finally folded his hand, which had the smaller kicker. After the fact, Nguyen, watching the action while playing in an adjoining side game, complained about the exposures and hand discussion, which could have drawn a warning.As play continued, Hood took the lead, briefly. After Kevin opened for 20,000 with A-K, Hood moved in for 91,000 more with pocket 6s, winning the coin toss by flopping a set, filling on the river.
Blinds now went to 3,000-6,000 with the same antes. Down to 55,000, Kevin was all in with pocket 5s and in sad shape when Sullivan flopped a king to his A-K. But Kevin got to shout “My turn!” when a two-outer 5 rescued him on the river.
Sullivan’s bid for a second ring ended on the 61st hand. Low-chipped, he had moved all in a couple of times and picked up some chips when nobody called. The third time, he pushed in with pocket 5s, up against McKain’s pocket rockets. Unlike Kevin, he couldn’t find a third five, and ended up fifth.
Sullivan, 45, is an electrician from Brunswick, Ohio, who is married with 10 children. He learned poker playing in small games four years ago, and this is his second Circuit try. Fifth paid $13,252.
Tony Gong now went out on a truly horrendous bad beat. McKain tried a steal from the small blind, moving in with just 8-2, and Gong called all in from the big blind with Ks-10-s. A chagrined McKain then proceeded to flop two pair and fill on the river, and Gong finished fourth for $15,460.
Gong, 33, is a restaurant manager born in China and now living in Chicago. He learned poker just a year ago playing with friends, and his best prior finish was sixth at the Heartland tournament. He collected $15,460 for fourth.
At this point, McKain had 240,000 to 184,000 for Kevin and 158,000 for Hood. The long negotiations got underway with “The Master,” by far the most experienced deal-maker, throwing out suggestions. “Over my dead body,” he exclaimed at one point when McKain asked for the ring as part of a deal. The three finally agreed to lock up cash and play for the rest. We were at hand 64, and it would take another 58 hands to play it out.
With blinds at 4,000-8,000 and 1,000 antes, this contest got heads-up after Hood busted out. Kevin opened for 50,000 with pocket 10s and Hood went for it for his last 54,000 with J-9. The board came Q-6-3-A-5, and Hood’s finished third, officially paying $19,877, but in fact worth $32,000.
Hood, single, is a 32-year-old controller from Pittsburgh. He has a bachelor’s degree in accounting, has played poker four years, and finished 11th in a Circuit event at Harrah’s Atlantic City.
Kevin now enjoyed a slight lead. McKain suggested a chop, but The Master forbade it. As play went on, McKain slowly chipped away, regaining the lead on hand 86 when he bet 52,000 pre-flop, then, then forced Kevin to fold when he bet 50,000 into a board of A-10-10-9-6.
On the final hand, Kevin moved in for 98,000 with As-Qs. He was a 64 percent favorite over McKain’s Ks-Jh until a board of J-4-10-5-6 finished him.
Kevin is a 35-year-old pro from Thailand, now living in Richland, New Jersey. Married with four children, he learned poker 15 years ago from friends, primarily Men. His numerous cashes include wins in the World Poker Finals and a $300 Trump Classic event, a third in the Trump Classic Championship, and a fifth in stud at Foxwoods. His cash-out for second was an official $38,871 and an actual $35,000.
Max Shapiro
Dieser Artikel erschien auf PokerOlymp am 04.04.2007.
