LA Poker Classic - Event two - $500 buy in - 7 Card Stud - Day Two
<center>Final Table with Chip Counts</center>
James Carroll 37,700 in chips
Max Pescatore 34,900
Quan Quong 32,800
Bradley Williams 18,300
Dave McAfee 17,500
Gevork Kasabyan 17,300
Ki Suk Hong 13,900
Bruce Levitt 8,600
The final table of the LAPC 7 Card Stud event started off very quickly, with three players eliminated almost immediately. Then things slowed down significantly, with virtually no notable activity for two hours. In the course of about 30 minutes the chips, and the cards flew like crazy. When the dust from the furious exchanges settled, James Carroll, who entered the day with the big stack, wound up on top, and is $27,000 + richer for it. So, you would think he pretty much went wire to wire, and had the chip lead the whole time, right? As they say at Hertz - "Not Exactly". Chips flew around the table at a rapid pace, and when the action got down to four, every one of the players was either in the chip lead, or very close to it at some point. Here are some key hands.
David McAfee was all in after the turn with trip 3's, and a diamond flush draw. Carroll called McAfee's all in with a heart draw, and got his heart on the River. David McAfee finished 5th, and collected $4,389
As soon as the action got to four players, an extended negotiation took place, which accomplished absolutely nothing, as Pescatore and Carroll could not come to an agreement about a fair deal. After what seemed like 45 minutes, play resumed. More key hands
Bradley "Burger" Williams had started the final four with the fewest chips, and at one point was down to only several thousand in chips. He fought his way back up to over 50,000 chips, and near the chip lead when he got into a huge pot with Pescatore. Pescatore, got his second pair on 6th Street, which wound up being good enough, as all Williams could manage was a pair of Kings, and a busted straight draw. From 50k, to 15k on one hand for Williams, and suddenly Max Pescatore is near the chip lead.
Pescatore's flirtation with the chip lead was short lived, as the very next hand he started with two 9's down, but did not improve, and lost a big pot to Carroll, who spiked a pair of Aces on 5th Street. This put James Carroll firmly back in the chip lead, a lead he would not relinquish.
Next Williams, who was getting very short put all his chips in with a pair of Aces, Quon Quong called him down with a starting four of KK1010. It was meant to be for Williams, though, as he caught a 4 on 6th street, which gave him aces up. Again, Williams lives to fight another day.
Finally, Max Pescatore had no choice but to put all his chips in with 2 Kings in the pocket. James Carroll called him with J99. Carroll caught a second Jack on 6th Street, and Max Pescatore finished in 4th place. Max's color, and character made him a lively addition to the final table, and was a lot of fun to watch.
Once the tournament was down to three players, the negotiations began again. Only this time, instead of it taking 45 minutes, it took 45 seconds, and a deal was made. Carroll, who had 101,000 of the 182,000 chips in play at the time, was declared the winner, and given the lion's share of the money. Final Standings are below, and the dollars amounts reflect the deal that was made.
<center>FINAL RESULTS</center>
1st - James Carroll $27,700
2nd - Quon Quong $16,600
3rd - Bradley Williams $16,200
4th - Max Pescatore $5,794
5th - Dave McAfee $4,389
6th - Gevork Kasabyan $3,511
7th - Bruce Levitt $2,624
8th - Ki Suk Hong $1,756
