WSOP - Event #35 Official Report

[Talking Poker]

2005 World Series of Poker
Rio All-Suites Casino-Resort
Official Report

Event #35
Pot-Limit Omaha
Buy-in: $10,000
Number of Entries: 165
Total Prize Money: $1,551,000

Official Results:

1. Rafi Amit Holon, Israel $511,835
2. Vinny Vinh Houston, TX $282,280
3. Jeffrie Rine Las Vegas, NV $155,100
4. Derek Baxter Radlett, UK $124,080
5. Simon ‘Aces’ Trumper London, England $93,060
6. Todd Brunson Las Vegas, NV $77,550
7. Ferit Gabriellson Norsborg, Sweden $62,040
8. Erik Seidel Las Vegas, NV $46,530
9. Istvan Novak Hungary $31,020

10. Julian Gardner Manchester, England $21,715
11. John Gale Bushey, England $21,715
12. Peter Costa Leicester, England $21,715
13. Max Pescatori Las Vegas, NV $18,610
14. Tony Bloom London, England $18,610
15. Anthony Cousineau Daytona Beach, FL $18,610
16. Kent Jonsson Sweden $15,510
17. Richard St Peter Paris, France $15,510
18. Zeik Tuit Cork, Ireland $15,510


The King of Omaha
Israeli poker player Rafi Amit wins half-million dollars and gold bracelet in Pot-Limit Omaha championship

The World Series of Poker would not be complete without an episode of controversy. The 2005 Pot-Limit Omaha world championship included an outburst which had the potential to change the outcome of the tournament and swing a quarter million dollars in prize money from one player to the other.
After 163 players had been eliminated over a three-day period, play was reduced to the final two players. Rafi Amit faced Vinny Vinh heads-up for the Omaha championship. After playing together for two hours, Amit inadvertently uttered an expletive which was overheard by several people, including the Tournament Director. WSOP rules are strict when it comes to the use of profanity. The bottom line is – cursing is not tolerated. The Tournament Director stepped in and administered a 10-minute penalty against the offender (Mr. Amit).

Such a penalty would normally not be newsworthy, but when it takes place with only two players remaining in the tournament (with huge prize money and a gold bracelet at stake, no less) the incident defined one of the most exciting tournaments of the year. Amit, who enjoyed a 5 to 1 chip lead at the time and was within striking distance of finally putting his opponent away, was given a penalty at the worst possible time. For the next 10 minutes the dealer dealt out hands, and Amit lost 24,000 in chips per round. For Amit and his packed gallery of supporters, it was torture to watch. Ten minutes seemed like ten hours. Vinny Vinh, who had been down to his last 120,000 when the penalty was declared, took the chips like fresh oxygen and was back up to 330,000 when Amit finally got to sit back down at the table.

That set the stage for a fabulous last hour during which both players bantered back and forth and Amit ultimately proved he could overcome any adversity. Amit adopted a ‘raise or fold’ strategy which ultimately served him well. He toyed with Vinh and finally busted the Vietnamese-born gambler at 4:00 am. The final showdown was so riveting that the crowd actually swelled the longer the two players continued. When Amit snapped on his WSOP gold bracelet for the first time, the prior incident was the last thing on his mind. Rafi Amit had 511,835 reasons to not want to change a thing.

When play at the final table began nine hours earlier, Amit arrived as the chip leader. There were two former gold bracelet winners in the finale – Erik Seidel (7-time winner) and Todd Brunson (one-time winner). The remaining players were all seeking their first WSOP win. Players were eliminated in the following order:

9th – Proving once again that Pot-Limit Omaha is very much a European game, of the 18 players who finished in the money in this event, 11 were Europeans. A Hungarian, Istvan Novak was the first player to make an exit from the finals. He arrived short on chips and was eliminated shortly after play resumed. Ninth place paid $31,020.

8th – Erik Seidel has now made it to three final tables at this year’s WSOP. His bid for an eighth gold bracelet ended early. He took a horrible beat with A-A-x-x when he flopped trip aces. Brit, Simon ‘Aces’ Trumper caught perfect-perfect to make a straight and Seidel was left shaking his head. Erik Seidel received $46,530.

7th – Ferit Gabriellson was playing at the WSOP for the first time. The 30-year-old Swede did not show his final hand. He mucked after Trumper showed a flush. Gabriellson collected $62,040 for seventh.

6th – Todd Brunson went card dead his final two hours and was down to less than 80,000 in chips. He tried to take the pot with an ‘all in’ move with an open-ended straight draw. But Rafi Amit made a full house on the hand and Brunson was eliminated. Brunson, who won his first gold bracelet two weeks ago, earned $77,550 for sixth.

5th – Simon ‘Aces’ Trumper may have the most memorable name in the poker world, but that wasn’t enough to go the distance. On his bust-out hand, Trumper started with the best cards (A-K-K-8) against fellow countryman Derek Baxter (A-Q-J-10). Two queens flopped and Trumper looked like he’d been slapped silly. Baxter made things worse for Trumper when a ten fell on the turn, good for a full house. Trumper got trampled and collected $93,060 for 5th place.

4th – Derek Baxter had no time to celebrate. He went out about 20 minutes later when he missed a flush draw and Rafi Amit completed a straight. Baxter, a 66-year-old poker pro from Birmingham, UK has been playing for a living for 45 years. He has also been playing at the WSOP for over two decades. Baxter’s cut of the prize pool amounted to $93,060 for 5th place.

3rd – Jeff Rine may have played smarter than anyone in the finale, except for the eventual winner. Rine was never up above 150,000 in chips (while the chip leader remained near 1,000,000 during much of the finale). Rine played hands only when he seemed to have the best of it, and his conservative approach served him well. Rine eventually had to start gambling and did so with top pair and a straight draw. But Vinny Vinh made trip aces, and that killed Rine’s dreams of a first WSOP victory. Rine finished in 4th place in the No-Limit Shootout last year, and made 3rd in this event. That’s progress. He collected $155,100.

2nd Place – When heads-up play began, Vinny Vinh and Rafi Amit were very close in chips, with about 830,000 each. It took four long hours to decide the winner. Amit was the more aggressive player and certainly caught a nice rush of cards at key moments. His momentum was nearly derailed when the excruciating 10-penalty was given for cursing. But Amit overcame the loss of chips and ultimately prevailed in the end. On the final hand, Amit was dealt J-10-7-6. Vinh was dealt K-K-5-2. After all of Vinh’s chips were in the pot on the turn, the final board showed J-7-2-J-8 – good for a full house (jacks over sevens) for Amit.

Vinny Vinh, a high-stakes poker player from Houston was born in Vietnam. He received $282,280 as the runner up.

1st Place – Rafi Amit is a 25-year-old poker pro. He has been playing poker for three years. Despite playing in high-limit cash games, this was Amit’s first time ever to make it to a WSOP final table. He’s now a perfect one for one.

Afterward, when asked about how the controversy affected the tournament, Amit brushed off the issue. “Justice prevailed,” he said.

Official Report by Nolan Dalla – World Series of Poker Media Director

World Series of Poker Circuit Director of Operations – Ken Lambert
World Series of Poker Tournament Director – John Grooms
Rio Poker Room Manager – Michael Matts
Rio Poker Tournament Director – Robert Daily