2009 Horseshoe Southern Indiana
Event 11 - $5,000 Buy-in No Limit Holdem. Final Results. 2009 Horseshoe Southern Indiana WSOP Circuit Events.
| 2009 Horseshoe Southern Indiana World Series of Poker Circuit Events Official Results |
2009 Horseshoe S. Indiana Championship Event
2009-2010 World Series of Poker Circuit
Horseshoe Southern Indiana
Event #11, Day 3
Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 2009
No-Limit Hold’em Championship
Buy-In: $5,000 + $1,500
Number of Entries: 55
Total Prize Money: $275,000
Horseshoe Southern Indiana
Event #11, Day 3
Oct. 31-Nov. 2, 2009
No-Limit Hold’em Championship
Buy-In: $5,000 + $1,500
Number of Entries: 55
Total Prize Money: $275,000
| Gabriel Cook |
Final Results:
Place
Name
Hometown
Prize
To view the complete schedule and results for the 2009 Horseshoe Southern Indiana WSOP Circuit Events, click on the link below:
2009 WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Indiana Schedule and Results
2009 WSOP Circuit Horseshoe Indiana Schedule and Results
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Gabriel Cook
Christopher Tryba
David Leonard
Ronald Surenkamp
Chase Steely
Harold Evans
Jamin Stokes
Steve Galey
Karen Hayden
Christopher Tryba
David Leonard
Ronald Surenkamp
Chase Steely
Harold Evans
Jamin Stokes
Steve Galey
Karen Hayden
Terre Haute, IN
Newport Beach, CA
Gahanna, OH
Avon, IN
Williamsburg, KY
Evansville, IN
Grand Rapids, MI
Petersburg, IN
Louisville, KY
Newport Beach, CA
Gahanna, OH
Avon, IN
Williamsburg, KY
Evansville, IN
Grand Rapids, MI
Petersburg, IN
Louisville, KY
$92,430
$51,350
$28,242
$20,540
$17,973
$15,405
$12,838
$10,270
$7,703
$51,350
$28,242
$20,540
$17,973
$15,405
$12,838
$10,270
$7,703
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After Wild Ride, Special Ed Teacher Gabriel Cook
Wins Championship
Playing just a Couple of Events a Year, He’s had 4 Prior
WSOP & Circuit Cashes
Elizabeth, IN — Gabriel Cook is a 32-year-old special education high school teacher from
Terre Haute, Indiana. He only plays two or three tournaments a year here when the Circuit
comes to town, occasionally flies to Vegas for a shot at the World Series, and hadn’t played
in a year. Coming in for this year’s WSOP Circuit event at Horseshoe Southern Indiana, he
played one satellite, won a seat into the $5,000 main event, and proceeded to win it after
a very wild ride. With 54 of the 55 entrants still left, he was down to just 700 chips. He built
it back up to 43,000 on day two, got knocked down to 5,000, then roared back to take the
chip lead for the start of day three. He lost it for a while to David “Dragon Luck” Leonard,
regained it and held onto it to the finish.
The prize pool was $275,000. First place officially paid $92,430, but a three-way deal was
made giving Cook $70,000, Leonard $55,000 and Christopher Tryba $47,000. Coming in
first, Cook also got the diamond-and-gold Circuit ring and a $10,000 seat into next year’s
WSOP main event.
Cook described his style of play succinctly: “I play like a maniac,” he said, which would
account for his up-and-down ride. Cook is single, has been teaching eight years, and began
playing poker six years ago, learning by watching TV. He has four cashes in other no-limit
events: 13th in a $1,000 event here; 14th in a $1,500 tournament at Tunica; 246th in a
$2,000 WSOP event and, his biggest cash, $26,389 for finishing 487th at the WSOP main
event in 2006. Despite his big win here tonight, he plans to continue playing only two or
three tournaments a year.
Day three started on day three as scheduled. When we got down to the final nine on day
two, it was only 7 p.m. Players were then allowed to vote.on whether to play through or
come back. Eight wanted to continue, but one chose to return, and since the vote to
continue had to be unanimous, play ended.
Action resumed the next day at level 13 with blinds of 1,200-2,400 and 300 antes, 15
minutes left on the clock. Average chip count was about 90,000, and Cook led with
211,000. Here were the starting counts::
Seat Name Hometown Chip Count
1. Ronald Surenkamp Avon, IN 9,700
2. Chase Steely Williamsburg, KY 1011,900
3. Steve Galey Petersburg, IN 60,100
4. Jamin Stokes Grand Rapids, MI 82,700
5. Christopher Tryba Newport Beach, CA 129,800
6. David Leonard Gahanna, OH 113,900
7. Gabriel Cook Terre Haute, IN 211,000
8. Harold Evans Evansville, IN 20,500
9. Karen Hayden Louisville, KY 96,000
The level ended with all players intact after two of them, Jamin Stokes and Harold Evans,
went all in on consecutive hands and survived, both with pocket aces. Ronald Surenkamp,
meanwhile, starting near the felt with 9,700, had worked his way up to 50,000. Blinds now
were 1,500-3,000 with 400 antes. Several more players went all in, each time surviving
with the best starting hand.
9th place: Then, with 10 minutes left in the hour round, we had a flop of 8-2-7. Holding 10-9
for an open-end straight draw, Karen “KiKi” Hayden moved in for her last 30,000. She
missed, losing to Leonard’s pocket 10s. Ninth paid $7,703. Hayden is a loan officer from
Louisville who won her seat by taking down the ladies event. No woman has ever won a
Circuit championship. The closest any came was when Jennifer Harman came in second at
the Rio in 2005. Hayden’s first encounter with poker was four years ago in a Fresno,
California casino while on a first date with her future husband, who later taught her the
game. Her most notable achievement outside of poker was climbing Mt. Whitney, the
highest mountain in the continental U.S.
After a break, play resumed with blinds of 2,000-4,000. Cook still led with 292,000 chips.
Suddenly there was bang-bang action as first Steve Galey, next Stokes and then Leonard
all went all in. Galey, shortest-chipped, turned up pocket 10s, Stokes showed pocket kings,
and Leonard turned up pocket rockets. The board came 4-4-Q-8-7 and two players were
knocked out at once as Leonard, now with about 240,000 chips, began to close in on Cook.
8th place: Galey collected $10,270 for eighth. He is a 55-year-old machinist from
Petersburg, Indiana with just three years of poker experience. His poker highlight was
winning the Denny Crum Poker Open championship. He’s also a hunter and fisherman
7th place: Second in chips in the three-way pot, Stokes got $12,838 for seventh. Stokes,
28, is a poker player from Grand Rapids, Michigan who before that was a student. He’s
played six years, learning strategy from books. He won a $1,500 Circuit event here three
years ago and has two WSOP cashes, including $214,289 for finishing fourth in a $10,000
heads-up event this year.
6th place: A couple of hands later, Christopher Tryba looked at pocket kings and moved in.
He was called by Evans, who had A-Q. The best Evans could do was pair his queen when
the board showed 6-2-8-Q-9, and he exited sixth, paying $15,405. Evans, 51, owns a used
car lot in Evansville, Indiana. He started playiug two years ago, learning online. He has
three final tables at the Kentucky Derby Poker Classic.
5th place: Next to risk all his chips was Chase “Chaser” Steely, who moved in with Ah-Kh.
Leonard called and showed pocket queens. A board of 6-10-7-9-2 was dealt, leaving Steely
in fifth place as Leonard, with about 350,000 chips, moved into the lead. Steely is 24 and
from Williamsburg, Kentucky. He’s played four years, learning from friends. His poker
highlight was collecting $219,000 for third place in an Aruba main event this year. His
payout today was $17,973.
Blinds went to 3,000-6,000 with 500 antes. Leonard was still in front with around 370,000
of the 825,000 in play.
4th place: Surenkamp had been hanging on all this time, repeatedly going all in and
surviving. Once more he pushed in, this time for 51,000. Cook took a long time to decide
whether to call, standing up, counting his chips, thinking. He finally did and turned up
Kc-10c. Surenkamp was in the lead with Ad-9d, until a flop of K-Q-2 put Cook in front.
Another king hit the river for good measure as Surenkamp left with $20,540 for fourth. And
now Cook had the lead back again. Surenkamp, 54, is from Avon, Indiana and is self-
employed. He’s played for six years, and his poker highlight came in the WSOP main event
in 2005. On the first hand he had pocket aces. An opponent flopped a straight, but he
made runner-runner aces full. He also has a 10th in the Jack Binion World Poker Open. His
hobbies are hunting and skiing.
Next, this race tightened when Tryba doubled through Cook, beating Cook’s 9s when his K-
4 developed into a full house. At this point, Cook had about 350,000 to 270,000 for
Leonard and 195,000 for Tryba, and the three began a lengthy discuss of a possible deal.
Negotiations dragged on as the clocked ticked away and the level ended and blinds went
to 4,000-,8,000 with 1,000 antes. Finally the deal was struck and play resumed.
3rd place: A couple of hands later, the flop came 5-6-10 and Leonard moved in holding A-6.
He was all but cooked when Cook showed pocket 5s for a set. Leonard was then deep-
fried when a 5 turned to give Cook quads. Officially, Leonard would have gotten $28,242
for third had he not gotten $55,000 for second in the deal. Leonard, 40, was born in Korea
of a GI father, and now lives in Gahanna, Ohio where he is a contractor. He won an official
$43,515 for taking down a preliminary $500 event here. He began playing poker for
arcade/video game tokens with family and friends about 20 years ago and later played in
very low-stake home games. He prefers tournaments to cash games, and much of his poker
activity now centers at the private Gemini Club in Columbus, Ohio. He also won $15,000 for
finishing fifth at an Executive Invitational event at the MGM.
2nd place: Heads-up, Cook enjoyed a massive lead. Twenty minutes into the level, this
event ended. Tryba, holding pocket 6s, moved in and Cook called with As-Qs. Cook hit a
queen when the board came 7c-Qc-5s-2h-Ah, and he was the new Circuit champion.
Second paid an official $51,350, but Tryba settled for the $47 000 he had agreed to. Tryba
is 41 and from Newport Beach, CA. He listed his occupation as “unemployed,” but he spent
enough time working at poker tables to win about $500,000 in tournaments over the past
six years. His biggest cash was $50,310 for coming in fourth at a Circuit championship in
Rincon.
Max Shapiro
For more information, please contact:
Max Shapiro -- WSOP Media Director at (323) 356-3303
Or visit our official website: www.worldseriesofpoker.com
World Series of Poker Commissioner – Jeffrey Pollack
Director of Poker Operations for Harrah’s Entertainment – Jack Effel
Horseshoe Southern Indiana Poker Room Manager – Jimmy Allen
Tournament Directors – Brian Parson, Christopher Reason
Wins Championship
Playing just a Couple of Events a Year, He’s had 4 Prior
WSOP & Circuit Cashes
Elizabeth, IN — Gabriel Cook is a 32-year-old special education high school teacher from
Terre Haute, Indiana. He only plays two or three tournaments a year here when the Circuit
comes to town, occasionally flies to Vegas for a shot at the World Series, and hadn’t played
in a year. Coming in for this year’s WSOP Circuit event at Horseshoe Southern Indiana, he
played one satellite, won a seat into the $5,000 main event, and proceeded to win it after
a very wild ride. With 54 of the 55 entrants still left, he was down to just 700 chips. He built
it back up to 43,000 on day two, got knocked down to 5,000, then roared back to take the
chip lead for the start of day three. He lost it for a while to David “Dragon Luck” Leonard,
regained it and held onto it to the finish.
The prize pool was $275,000. First place officially paid $92,430, but a three-way deal was
made giving Cook $70,000, Leonard $55,000 and Christopher Tryba $47,000. Coming in
first, Cook also got the diamond-and-gold Circuit ring and a $10,000 seat into next year’s
WSOP main event.
Cook described his style of play succinctly: “I play like a maniac,” he said, which would
account for his up-and-down ride. Cook is single, has been teaching eight years, and began
playing poker six years ago, learning by watching TV. He has four cashes in other no-limit
events: 13th in a $1,000 event here; 14th in a $1,500 tournament at Tunica; 246th in a
$2,000 WSOP event and, his biggest cash, $26,389 for finishing 487th at the WSOP main
event in 2006. Despite his big win here tonight, he plans to continue playing only two or
three tournaments a year.
Day three started on day three as scheduled. When we got down to the final nine on day
two, it was only 7 p.m. Players were then allowed to vote.on whether to play through or
come back. Eight wanted to continue, but one chose to return, and since the vote to
continue had to be unanimous, play ended.
Action resumed the next day at level 13 with blinds of 1,200-2,400 and 300 antes, 15
minutes left on the clock. Average chip count was about 90,000, and Cook led with
211,000. Here were the starting counts::
Seat Name Hometown Chip Count
1. Ronald Surenkamp Avon, IN 9,700
2. Chase Steely Williamsburg, KY 1011,900
3. Steve Galey Petersburg, IN 60,100
4. Jamin Stokes Grand Rapids, MI 82,700
5. Christopher Tryba Newport Beach, CA 129,800
6. David Leonard Gahanna, OH 113,900
7. Gabriel Cook Terre Haute, IN 211,000
8. Harold Evans Evansville, IN 20,500
9. Karen Hayden Louisville, KY 96,000
The level ended with all players intact after two of them, Jamin Stokes and Harold Evans,
went all in on consecutive hands and survived, both with pocket aces. Ronald Surenkamp,
meanwhile, starting near the felt with 9,700, had worked his way up to 50,000. Blinds now
were 1,500-3,000 with 400 antes. Several more players went all in, each time surviving
with the best starting hand.
9th place: Then, with 10 minutes left in the hour round, we had a flop of 8-2-7. Holding 10-9
for an open-end straight draw, Karen “KiKi” Hayden moved in for her last 30,000. She
missed, losing to Leonard’s pocket 10s. Ninth paid $7,703. Hayden is a loan officer from
Louisville who won her seat by taking down the ladies event. No woman has ever won a
Circuit championship. The closest any came was when Jennifer Harman came in second at
the Rio in 2005. Hayden’s first encounter with poker was four years ago in a Fresno,
California casino while on a first date with her future husband, who later taught her the
game. Her most notable achievement outside of poker was climbing Mt. Whitney, the
highest mountain in the continental U.S.
After a break, play resumed with blinds of 2,000-4,000. Cook still led with 292,000 chips.
Suddenly there was bang-bang action as first Steve Galey, next Stokes and then Leonard
all went all in. Galey, shortest-chipped, turned up pocket 10s, Stokes showed pocket kings,
and Leonard turned up pocket rockets. The board came 4-4-Q-8-7 and two players were
knocked out at once as Leonard, now with about 240,000 chips, began to close in on Cook.
8th place: Galey collected $10,270 for eighth. He is a 55-year-old machinist from
Petersburg, Indiana with just three years of poker experience. His poker highlight was
winning the Denny Crum Poker Open championship. He’s also a hunter and fisherman
7th place: Second in chips in the three-way pot, Stokes got $12,838 for seventh. Stokes,
28, is a poker player from Grand Rapids, Michigan who before that was a student. He’s
played six years, learning strategy from books. He won a $1,500 Circuit event here three
years ago and has two WSOP cashes, including $214,289 for finishing fourth in a $10,000
heads-up event this year.
6th place: A couple of hands later, Christopher Tryba looked at pocket kings and moved in.
He was called by Evans, who had A-Q. The best Evans could do was pair his queen when
the board showed 6-2-8-Q-9, and he exited sixth, paying $15,405. Evans, 51, owns a used
car lot in Evansville, Indiana. He started playiug two years ago, learning online. He has
three final tables at the Kentucky Derby Poker Classic.
5th place: Next to risk all his chips was Chase “Chaser” Steely, who moved in with Ah-Kh.
Leonard called and showed pocket queens. A board of 6-10-7-9-2 was dealt, leaving Steely
in fifth place as Leonard, with about 350,000 chips, moved into the lead. Steely is 24 and
from Williamsburg, Kentucky. He’s played four years, learning from friends. His poker
highlight was collecting $219,000 for third place in an Aruba main event this year. His
payout today was $17,973.
Blinds went to 3,000-6,000 with 500 antes. Leonard was still in front with around 370,000
of the 825,000 in play.
4th place: Surenkamp had been hanging on all this time, repeatedly going all in and
surviving. Once more he pushed in, this time for 51,000. Cook took a long time to decide
whether to call, standing up, counting his chips, thinking. He finally did and turned up
Kc-10c. Surenkamp was in the lead with Ad-9d, until a flop of K-Q-2 put Cook in front.
Another king hit the river for good measure as Surenkamp left with $20,540 for fourth. And
now Cook had the lead back again. Surenkamp, 54, is from Avon, Indiana and is self-
employed. He’s played for six years, and his poker highlight came in the WSOP main event
in 2005. On the first hand he had pocket aces. An opponent flopped a straight, but he
made runner-runner aces full. He also has a 10th in the Jack Binion World Poker Open. His
hobbies are hunting and skiing.
Next, this race tightened when Tryba doubled through Cook, beating Cook’s 9s when his K-
4 developed into a full house. At this point, Cook had about 350,000 to 270,000 for
Leonard and 195,000 for Tryba, and the three began a lengthy discuss of a possible deal.
Negotiations dragged on as the clocked ticked away and the level ended and blinds went
to 4,000-,8,000 with 1,000 antes. Finally the deal was struck and play resumed.
3rd place: A couple of hands later, the flop came 5-6-10 and Leonard moved in holding A-6.
He was all but cooked when Cook showed pocket 5s for a set. Leonard was then deep-
fried when a 5 turned to give Cook quads. Officially, Leonard would have gotten $28,242
for third had he not gotten $55,000 for second in the deal. Leonard, 40, was born in Korea
of a GI father, and now lives in Gahanna, Ohio where he is a contractor. He won an official
$43,515 for taking down a preliminary $500 event here. He began playing poker for
arcade/video game tokens with family and friends about 20 years ago and later played in
very low-stake home games. He prefers tournaments to cash games, and much of his poker
activity now centers at the private Gemini Club in Columbus, Ohio. He also won $15,000 for
finishing fifth at an Executive Invitational event at the MGM.
2nd place: Heads-up, Cook enjoyed a massive lead. Twenty minutes into the level, this
event ended. Tryba, holding pocket 6s, moved in and Cook called with As-Qs. Cook hit a
queen when the board came 7c-Qc-5s-2h-Ah, and he was the new Circuit champion.
Second paid an official $51,350, but Tryba settled for the $47 000 he had agreed to. Tryba
is 41 and from Newport Beach, CA. He listed his occupation as “unemployed,” but he spent
enough time working at poker tables to win about $500,000 in tournaments over the past
six years. His biggest cash was $50,310 for coming in fourth at a Circuit championship in
Rincon.
Max Shapiro
For more information, please contact:
Max Shapiro -- WSOP Media Director at (323) 356-3303
Or visit our official website: www.worldseriesofpoker.com
World Series of Poker Commissioner – Jeffrey Pollack
Director of Poker Operations for Harrah’s Entertainment – Jack Effel
Horseshoe Southern Indiana Poker Room Manager – Jimmy Allen
Tournament Directors – Brian Parson, Christopher Reason
