Chad Batista Wins Championship Event of WSOP Circuit at Caesars Indiana

2006 Caesars Indiana
World Series of Poker
(WSOP) Circuit Event
Event #12
$5,000 + $150
Championship Event
Tournament Report

Chad Batista, 25, Wins $5,000 Circuit Finale at
Caesars Indiana Following Up-and-Down Battle

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Chad “Li’lholdem” Batista is 25, slightly built and looks like he’s barely 16. He
dresses street-fashion with turned-around caps and oversized clothes, he’s
had “not much” education, his work experience consists of one week as a
telemarketer, and at the poker table he chatters away, plays unpredictably
and seems in a state of perpetual excitement.

Not exactly your typical pro, but never mind. Today he’s on top of the poker
world after winning the $5,000 championship at the WSOP Circuit tour at
Caesars Indiana. The victory was worth $262,002 and a $10,000 seat in next
year’s WSOP main event. Actually, Batista might just be trying to project an
image, because away from the table he’s an exceedingly polite and well-
mannered, “yes, sir, yes ma’am” young man. Act or not, TV will love him if he
ever gets on camera. This is his second brick and mortar tournament. In his
first, he finished fourth in the preceding $2,000 event. He taught himself by
watching other players, and never read a poker book. Online, he won two
PartyPoker million-guarantee events in one month. Batista is from Coral
Springs, Florida.

This was a see-saw event, with Batista starting with the chip lead, losing it
with some unorthodox plays until, in the final stages, out-chipped about 9-1
and seemingly finished, he roared back to overtake and then beat runner-up
Hoyt Lance, a real estate developer.

Final table play began with Batista leading with 388,000 chips. All-told, there
were seven pros at the table.

Seats and Chip Counts:

Chad Batista
Robert Arthur
Joel Casper
Ed Corrado
Hilbert Shirey
William Brown
Hoyt Lance
Thomas Fuller
Douglas Carli

With five minutes left on the clock, opening blinds were 4,000-8,000 and
1,000 antes. Not unexpectedly, the aggressive Batista on the first hand tried
to take the $21,000 dead money with a $22,000 raise, only to have Hilbert
“Hill Street” Shirey shut him out with an all-in re-raise. After blinds went to
6,000-12,000, Batista made another move, taking the blinds and antes with
a 30,000 raise and then showing 5-3.

On hand three, 75-year-old Ed Corrado lost 110,000 of his 206,000 chips
when he bet the flop and then folded when Joel Casper raised him all in.

Blinds now went to 3,000-6,000 with 1,000 antes. On hand eight, Corrado
had 18,000 left after he moved in with Kc-Qc and lost to Douglas “Rico” Carli’s
pocket jacks. On hand 11, Shirey opened for 30,000 with As-Qs, Thomas
“Moon” Fuller moved in for 84,000 with A-J from the button, and Corrado,
with 12,000 in the big blind, added his last 4,000 with Q-7. When the board
came 8-7-5-Q-3, Corrado took the main pot and tripled up with two pair,
Shirey took the side pot, and Fuller took home $16,173 for ninth place. Fuller
is a 23-year-old pro from Boulder, Colorado who’s played poker seriously for
six years. Ninth place paid $16,173.

At this point, Batista and Robert Arthur were closely tied for the lead. As play
continued, Corrado doubled through, then took the blinds with an all-in bet,
and had zoomed up to about 100,000.

Hand 24 was the last for William “The Dog” Brown. Batista opened for 34,000
with pocket jacks and Brown, moving in for 46,000 with Ac-10c, busted out
when a board of J-10-3-A-3 gave Batista a boat. Brown, 64, is an insurance
agent from Fillmore, Indiana. He’s been playing for 58 years, and this is his
best finish ever. He won $24,260 for eighth.

Later, Lance bet 190,000 all-in into a 200,000 pot on a flop of A-A-4. When
Robert Arthur folded and Lance showed K-J, an admiring Batista, exclaimed “I
love it!” and high-fived Lance for his daring bluff.

As the level neared an end, Batista jumped up and did a little dance when he
discovered that his pocket 9s had the lead against Robert Arthur, all in for
130,000 with Ah-3h. Arthur missed a flush draw, and the 32-year-old pro
from Columbus, Ohio, went out seventh, collecting $32,346. Arthur, who’s
only been playing for a year and a half, said the highlight of his poker career
before this was taking out David Williams on day one.

When the new level began with blinds of 8,000-16,000 and 2,000 antes,
Batista and Lance were virtually tied for the lead with 492,000 and 489,000
respectively. Meanwhile, the dogged Corrado had built his stacks to
187,000. Soon after, Joel Casper, another pro, busted and got $40,433 for
sixth. After Carli opened for 50,000, Casper moved in with A-4. Carli showed
pocket 9s, and when the board changed nothing, we were down to five.
Casper, 26, from Chicago, was a financial planner before turning to poker two
years ago.

A couple of hands later, Corrado went all in with pocket queens against
Batista’s K-9. When the irrepressible Batista jumped up and began calling for
cards, Corrado grabbed him around the neck and playfully (?) put his hand
over Batista’s mouth. A silenced Batista couldn’t catch up, and the
septuagenarian doubled through again.

As play continued, Batista kept moving up. After moving in and taking another
pot following a 50,000 raise by Shirey, he had close to 600,000. But then,
seriously gambling, he raised with 7h-5h, then called with the weak holding
and lost when his nemesis, Corrado, moved in for 240,000 with A-J.

With about 10 minutes left in the round, everything turned around as Lance
knocked out two players in quick succession to take a huge lead. First, on a
flop of 7-2-2, Carli moved in for nearly 200,000 with 9-7. Lance decided to
gamble and called with A-J. The gamble paid off as he hit an ace and a jack to
leave Carli in fifth place. Two hands later, after Lance opened for 50,000 with
pocket queens, Shirey went all in for roughly 150,000 with A-J. Lance filled on
a flop of Q-7-7, and we were suddenly down to three. When the level ended
soon after, he had 879,000 of the 1,670,000 chips in play, while Corrado was
second with 435,000, while Batista had dropped down to 377,000.

Carli, who is from Alliance, Ohio, got $48,519 for fifth. He was a stockbroker
before turning to poker, has a math degree and started playing at age 12.
Last year he was ranked 23rd in the world by Card Player, and fourth in total
final tables.

Shirey, 59, is from Winter Haven, Florida, and has three WOSP bracelets.
Married with six children, he’s been playing poker for 30 years. He earned
$64,692 for fourth.

The three finalists returned from dinner break playing for blinds of 10,000-
20,000 and 3,000 antes. Aggressively raising and taking pots, Lance, in 10
hands, moved up to more than 1,000,000. Finally, Corrado stood up to him,
going all in and taking the pot after Lance opened for 100,000.

Corrado, who gives his occupation as “gambler,” went broke soon after we
passed the 100-hand mark. On a flop of J-6-4 he moved in with pocket 10s.
Hoyt had an automatic call with J-7, and Corrado couldn’t help his pair,
cashing out third for $80,865. Corrado, who is from Naples, Florida, is officially
retired, has been playing poker for 50 years and loves the game because it
suits his competitive nature.

Heads-up, Batista didn’t want the chip count announced, because he had
only something like 175,000 of the 1,670,000 chips in play. But he won some
pots, quickly doubled through twice, once when his A-K held up against Lance’
s Q-9, the other time when he held pocket 6s and made a flush to run over
Lance’s As-3s. The two were now essentially even.

A few hands later, Lance was left with a bit over 60,000 when Batista, with Q-
10, bet 150,000 on a flop of 10-7-4. Lance moved in with J-4 and couldn’t
help his paired 4. After a couple more hands of cautious play, Batista moved
in with Qc-4c and Lance called with K-9 the board came A-2-2-3, and then a 5
on the river gave young Batista his winning straight.
Lance is 46 and from Ringgold, Georg1a. He is married with five children, and
this is his second main event final table in a row. At Tunica, he finished
seventh. He’s played poker 12 years, and this is only his first year playing full
time.

Reported by Max Shapiro

Max Shapiro -- WSOP Media Director

World Series of Poker Commissioner – Jeffrey Pollack
Director of Poker Operations for Harrah’s Entertainment – Jack Effel
Caesars Indiana Poker Room Manager – Jimmy Allen

Name Hometown Chip Count Seat